Nick Russell welcomes New System at SMU

[ponyscott]

Good article from the Wichita paper today:

http://www.kansas.com/2012/05/15/233587 ... comes.html

Former Wildcat Nick Russell welcomes new system at SMU

By Kellis Robinett The Wichita Eagle Published Tuesday, May 15, 2012, at 4:36 p.m.

MANHATTAN When Nick Russell decided to transfer from Kansas State to SMU, he knew his life was going to change. Still, he never envisioned this. How could he? Russell made his pledge to the Mustangs thinking he would be spending his final two seasons playing in Conference USA under Matt Doherty. Instead, his team is now on its way to the Big East and his coach is Larry Brown, the only person to coach a collegiate national champion and a NBA title team. No one could have seen that coming. It was not at all what I imagined, but I cant complain, Russell said in a phone interview. I was excited when I heard he was our next coach, I mean, hes Larry Brown. His background speaks for itself and Im just blessed and fortunate to learn the game under him. A year after saying goodbye to the world of big-time college basketball, Russell is preparing for life as a member of one of the most-talked about programs in the country. SMU has experienced little success on the hardwood lately, last appearing in the NCAA Tournament in 1993, but Browns hiring has created unprecedented interest. Some view the 71-year old coach as the man who can finally turn the Mustangs around, especially with the prominent assistants on his staff. Former Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich, who has ties to K-State and Kansas, is the coach-in-waiting and former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard is viewed as a top recruiter. Together, they have as good a chance of winning in Dallas as any coaching staff before them. It feels like SMU basketball has sky-rocketed over night, Russell said. I can honestly say I never heard SMUs name on ESPN before, but now that Larry Brown is here I see SMU everywhere. I feel like big things are about to happen. Russell, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, hopes to be a leader of that transition. Though he left K-State with little on his resume, he has always been loaded with potential. Russell was a top-100 recruit coming out of Duncanville, Texas and has a smooth shooting stroke. He figures to be one of the teams most talented players when he becomes eligible to play next season. He spent his transfer season working on his body and his game and thinks he made several improvements. Im a lot more explosive now, Russell said. I feel like my dribble is a lot better. Im a lot more consistent shooter now, and Im ready to defend. Ive just been improving on all aspects of my game, just to become stronger at everything and compete at both ends of the floor. Whenever he needed motivation while he was sitting out, he took a look at the Mustangs on-court struggles. SMU won 13 games last season, and Russell watched every one, unable to help from the bench. Now that he is eligible to play, he wont hold back. I dont want to take any plays off, and just go as hard as I can, Russell said. There are no excuses from here. Theres no reason I shouldnt succeed. I have the talent. I just had to find the work ethic to go with it. I want to be consistent. Thats the biggest thing Ive worked on to help this team. Though he wont know exactly where he fits in Browns system until he begins workouts with him next month, he can already tell he will enjoy playing for him. Russell says he is a regular in Browns office. Hes a great guy, Russell said. Im getting to know him pretty well. Were basically just trying to build that relationship that we would normally build during the recruitment process. We talk about basketball, and he tells me stories about his playing days or when he was coaching Allen Iverson or Reggie Miller. He has so many stories from the NBA. I love hearing them. Russell also enjoys speaking with Jankovich. We talk about K-State and Aggieville and the Big 12, Russell said. Its interesting to know he went to K-State for some of the same reasons I did. Russell still thinks fondly of his time at K-State. He keeps in regular contact with his former teammates, and is thankful of everything former K-State coach Frank Martin taught him. As a freshman, he played sparingly alongside Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, but enjoyed being part of a team that advanced to the Elite Eight. As a sophomore, he played well enough to start in 14 games, but was little more than a role player as the season wore on. When he announced his decision to transfer, he said a lack of playing time was his main reason for leaving. But he now admits the true reason: He wanted to be near his sick father after cancerous cells were found in his back. My dad was ill at the time, Russell said. My mom wanted me to come back home and be close to family at a time of need. It was an important time in my life, and I felt like I needed to make the change. After 48 weeks of radiation treatment, Russell said his father is now in good health and ready to make the short drive to each of SMUs home games. Playing in front of him, and the rest of his family, on a regular basis will be a thrill. So will playing for Brown. I never thought all these changes were going to be made when I came to SMU, but God blessed me with a great opportunity, Russell said. I just hope I can go out there and do what Im supposed to do play well and help Larry Brown put SMU basketball on the map.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/05/15/233587 ... rylink=cpy

[gostangs]

SMU - one of the most talked about programs in the country. awesome

[Alasdair]

SMU - one of the most talked about programs in the country. awesome

Exactly why I'm one of the few in my area that know what SMU is or what it stands for... they think i means Southern Michigan University... and even a few teaches have asked if it was Southern Mizzou University.

[hoopmanx]

SMU - one of the most talked about programs in the country. awesome

yea, it's really quite amazing

[mavsrage311]

Thanks for posting the article Scott. I didn't know about Nick's dad's condition. I'm glad he's made it through.

[Comet]

Skip Bayless, "I want to go to S-M-U"

[hoyas29]

Skip Bayless, "I want to go to S-M-U"

See that's the kind of publicity we don't want.

[ponyboy]

What's the context of the Bayless comment?

[mustangxc]

Pony Excess

[ponyboy]

Oh yeah. Thanks. I thought I was about to find yet another reason to get mad at that guy.

[Stallion]

I'm not a big fan of Skippy's personality but without a doubt he has been the only columnist who treated SMU as a Big Time program in my lifetime. He loved covering SMU "and all that entails" (Pam -Urban Cowboy)