PonyFans.com

couch 'em wrote:

ponyboy wrote:They mean a lot to a frigging team that went 59-and 164 in the previous TWENTY SEASONS. One Hundred Sixty Four losses to Fifty Nine wins. Sometimes I wonder about the collective memory of this board.

Perhaps thats why we arent attractive to recruits?

Couch em is right on this. SMU is just now getting out of the 'Worst team in football history' hole. We want our coaches to recruit harder. I don't know how hard they recruit and I don't know if anyone on this board does. However, it is easier to recruit when you are winning. Another problem our coaches have to overcome is players would rather play in front of 60,000 fans every week as apposed to 15,000.

Sorry I was responding to a comment above. As for Darrell Colbert - I think he is a GREAT addition and will most likely end up in the professional ranks. Great athleticism.

gostangs wrote:So how long are we suppose to celebrate average bowls, basically middle of the pack,before we move up our goals to be in the top 25 pct?

That's a fair question. I think the answer is we stop celebrating now. But I'm just sick of the constant sniper attacks on June Jones. The dude SAVED SMU football. Saved it. Let's never forget that even if we move on to a next phase without him.

Colbert will be a good QB for us.

SMU 86 wrote:Colbert will be a good QB for us.

I couldn't agree more

Lefty wrote:

SMU 86 wrote:Colbert will be a good QB for us.

I couldn't agree more

and if he isnt at qb, he'll be a contributor at wideout or DB / special teams in the future.

gostangs wrote:So how long are we suppose to celebrate average bowls, basically middle of the pack,before we move up our goals to be in the top 25 pct?

Considering where we came from and how far we've been down, I love not just going to them but winning them.

That said, I'd like to see the program move up to a better class of bowl games.

I am sick and tired of the coaching staff being blamed for their "inability" to recruit blue-chip players. It's not easy selling a program where often there are 1,000's of empty seats in a 32,000-seat venue. I've had it with the thousands of SMU grads who live in the Metroplex who never buy tickets; to paraphrase, if you don't vote, you can't complain.
If you want to criticize the coaches, buy season tickets - then you can whine and snivel all you want.
My two cents from a vacation in Amsterdam, which has great "coffee" shops.

Indeed. But people like to moan.

They forget that selling basketball is far different to selling football.

Larry Brown is to be congratulated but to compare his "effort" with JJ is pretty laughable. Their jobs don't compare.

Donnell88 wrote:I am sick and tired of the coaching staff being blamed for their "inability" to recruit blue-chip players. It's not easy selling a program where often there are 1,000's of empty seats in a 32,000-seat venue. I've had it with the thousands of SMU grads who live in the Metroplex who never buy tickets; to paraphrase, if you don't vote, you can't complain.
If you want to criticize the coaches, buy season tickets - then you can whine and snivel all you want.
My two cents from a vacation in Amsterdam, which has great "coffee" shops.

The empty seats don't inspire a lot of good players to come here, that's fer damn sure.

Mustangsabu wrote:Indeed. But people like to moan.

They forget that selling basketball is far different to selling football.

Larry Brown is to be congratulated but to compare his "effort" with JJ is pretty laughable. Their jobs don't compare.

Yep, Coach Brown getting a top 15 recruiting class his first full year was a cakewalk because his job is different. Any coach could have done that right? Wrong. Coach Brown is doing a better job than any basketball coach in SMU history. He is very visible in the public. Different does not mean easier. I know that some damage control propaganda it put out so Coach Jones will not look to bad but just saying it is different does not mean it is easier. You are downgrading the good job Coach Brown and his staff are doing when you say things like that. Basketball program was in worse shape than the football program imo and Coach Brown is rockin'. Coach Brown has already done what no other basketball coach in SMU history has done and that is a top 15 recruiting class in which he went up against many power conference school to land those recruits.

We have never had a basketball staff like this. Sometimes it is not about effort but more about ability. Coach Brown hired a staff with recruiting ability (more than SMU has ever had) which no amount of effort can replace. Glad Coach Jones is trying to go to a younger staff now like Coach Brown did the day he got here.

Donnell88 wrote:I am sick and tired of the coaching staff being blamed for their "inability" to recruit blue-chip players. It's not easy selling a program where often there are 1,000's of empty seats in a 32,000-seat venue. I've had it with the thousands of SMU grads who live in the Metroplex who never buy tickets; to paraphrase, if you don't vote, you can't complain.
If you want to criticize the coaches, buy season tickets - then you can whine and snivel all you want.
My two cents from a vacation in Amsterdam, which has great "coffee" shops.

Basketball has had to deal with an empty arena as well but they're recruiting just fine. The difference between the two is that basketball has a staff that knows how to recruit and football doesn't.

Donnell88 wrote:I am sick and tired of the coaching staff being blamed for their "inability" to recruit blue-chip players. It's not easy selling a program where often there are 1,000's of empty seats in a 32,000-seat venue. I've had it with the thousands of SMU grads who live in the Metroplex who never buy tickets; to paraphrase, if you don't vote, you can't complain.
If you want to criticize the coaches, buy season tickets - then you can whine and snivel all you want.
My two cents from a vacation in Amsterdam, which has great "coffee" shops.

Numerous programs went from no crowds and horrible team to a higher level by recruiting. See TCU, Boise.

Nonsense. Coach Brown has done an amazing job but he has more resources and an easier product to sell than JJ. One great player can turn an average team into a really good team. It only takes 7500 to fill Moody. Texas is a football state and it will be easier to establish SMU as a local BB powerhouse than football.

And then there is the practicality of recruiting. LB is a household name and has coached in the pros within the last 5 years. He also has a staff of 19 to help him. That is 19 people running a roster of 13 players right now.

JJ has a staff of 24 for 120+ players and does not have quite as much cache as LB. His pro coaching was a long time back and he never won a superbowl.

I'm loving LB and all he is doing but I'm sick to death of people whining that JJ should be doing more. Enjoy LB, but don't ignorantly use him as a weapon against JJ.