4-6 Conf/Strike up the band

[rich_alum]

If I had a $1 for every BHop turnover I would be...........never mind I already am rich.

The scary part is that the b-ball program could get worse before it gets better.

Our athletic program is a perfect script for a move to D-II

[Hoop Fan]

you'd have $4 last night. But once again you have misplaced blame. Hopkins goes for 20 points, on better than 50% shooting, 3-3 from the line, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 turnovers and 4 steals. Not a bad line. The Nevada point guard had 4 turnovers also.

RA, what do does your astute basketball mind think of the rebounding disparity? Did that matter? How does Pat Simpson only get 2 rebounds in 34 minutes of action? Our big guys got destroyed in the paint by Fazekas and Pinkney. Isham has disappeared and D Roberts had a terrible night at 1-12 shooting. Pearson got in early foul trouble and was a non factor. But lets blame Hopkins. Brilliant.

[Sam I Am]

In the Dement era, the teams seemingly had a "star" player who would lead the team greatness. That star was usually a shooter who could get headlines. There is almost an inverse correlation between a team having a winning record and having a featured scorer on the floor. Defense, rebounding, and free throw shooting are the team stats that make the difference in just playing good or winning. The less SMU depends upn Hopkins, the better they will be.

[EastStang]

We never seem to get a stud for inside the paint. Simpson has clearly not improved his technique since his freshman year. Castro is okay, but clearly not big or fast enough to avoid getting pushed around inside. The Rack has been hurt all year (and he's paper thin anyway). If your big men can't get offensive rebounds, then other teams are safe to press your perimeter shooters.

[rich_alum]

Hopkins did play well....I wouldn't argue that. I would agree that he was not too blame.

However, I would like to see two games in a row where he doesn't have more than 2 TO's. I would like to see the floor leader/best decision maker (should be our PG) make some good decisions on a consistent basis. I would take Stephen Woods over Hopkins any day of the week. I might even put Jamail Rich ahead of him too.

Where are Mohammed Tijani and Jon Forinash when we need them.

I don't believe we would have this kind of record under Dement.

[Waz]

Totally agree with you on your last statement, RA.

[Pony_Fan]

If you are so rich, why don't you Pony up some dough for the Moody renovations.

"I don't believe we would have this kind of record under Dement."

I think it would be about the same but with the losses by a bigger margin.
(See Rice and Boise last year) - Dement was a below average coach. Hopkins would have had more touches and green lights than he even does now.

[PonySoprano]

I don't believe we would have this kind of record under Dement.

Agreed. The record would be much worse because the team would have quit on Dement by now, like they did last year.

[OldPony]

Let's see. The team under Dement was 9-10 at this time last year with wins over TT & Purdue . This year the record is no better but with no real quality wins. (If you count Baylor this year, you have to count them last year too). We have the same team with another year's experience and , in fact, I might even say more talent because of a couple of the newcomers esp DR. I guess I have a little trouble seeing the vast improvemnent in coaching. Tubbs was brought in to recruit. He isn't going to coach his way to success. I am happy people support Tubbs but let's quit bashing Dement.

[Hoop Fan]

Yeah, lets not bash Dement, Hopkins is our whipping boy for everything. Lets not forget that. I'm just being sarcastic, but I think it always more valid for fans to criticize a highly paid coach or ex-coach than a player. I see more people rushing to Dements defense than Hopkins. Having said that, I don't criticize Dement and really never did, but I am a fan of what i see Jimmy Tubbs doing. You might not see it in the record or hear it in the radio broadcast, but if you are at the games watching you can see differences in approach. Maybe this team is what it is. You might say we beat Tech last year, but the major difference is we played them in Lubbock this year and they are a better team this year. Not comparable. We beat Fresno at home this year which is a decent win, not great. Why don't we give Tubbs the benefit of the doubt since he is our guy now and see how the season ends.

[DickerJames]

Rich_Alum wrote:

Where are Mohammed Tijani and Jon Forinash when we need them.


Surely you jest.

[Charleston Pony]

most people who followed SMU bball would tell you the intensity was turned up a notch in Dement's 1st year...and then he followed that by recruiting Sasser, Davis & Elsey (sp?) and that had everyone pumped up for the future of SMU bball. We all know how that turned out. Will coach Tubbs have more success? Time will tell, but the key will be to show year over year improvement. College bball has become a game where strong guard play can lead to some real upsets, and I like next year's backcourt. We all know Hop is a player, and Roberts looks like he'll be another good one. I'm assuming Dez will have an immediate impact and if the young gunner Williams gives us another 3 pt threat, we will be much improved in the backcourt. Yes, we have the same challenges in the low post that we've had for years and if you don't have strong low post play, you aren't usually going to fare well at crunch time when the game tends to slow down and become more of a half court game, but I still think next year's team has a chance to improve vs this year's version. The key to improvement, assuming Tubbs will only be able to recruit the same level of talent that Shumate and Dement did, will be how well those guys develop over the course of 4 years. Now, if Coach Tubbs can just land another Ira Terrell type player in the next recruiting class, he'll be on his way to turning this program around and this debate will be over.

[rich_alum]

[quote="Pony_Fan"]If you are so rich, why don't you Pony up some dough for the Moody renovations.

I am rich for a reason.....SMU Athletics is not a good investment.

Besides, Moody is a great facility for fans.....I don't understand what is wrong with it. The student section is right on the court unlike some courts.

A new facility would not help recruiting or fan support....

What is the O/U on BHop TO's tonight? I will set the line at 5.

SMU will lose by double digits and this program will continue its decline. Keep telling yourselves that Tubbs is great.

[Hoop Fan]

whats your problem? really, take some of your supposed money and get some counseling for that attitude. Or just fess up and admit your a TCU fan or whatever you are.