Turn Out The Lights

[Waz]

Maybe that is the key. Motivate them to play 48 minutes/game of great D, and then only ask them for 40 minutes. We'd have some left over for the next game or OT. That would do the trick.

[EastStang]

I watched the Mich. State-Purdue game yesterday, if the Spartans had played for 45 minutes they might have won. They quit after 40.

[Uncle Morty]

So tell us Dooby, when was the last time you spoke to Copeland? You and Stallion make quite a pair, always so sure about things you didnt bother to actually find out about.

Letting a coach go into his last year without an extension isnt as "Unheard of" as you're claiming. John Shumate didnt have any kind of contract negotiations until after his contract ran out here. If he hadnt won the SWC title that year he might have not come back. Its happened plenty of places, and I can find examples if I need to.

On the subject of Shumate and the last SWC title year, the 1993 game between Texas and Texas Tech was just replayed on ESPN Classic. 61-59 at Halftime. Now that was a barnburner.

[Hoop Fan]

Yea, the AD has the ultimate say, but this has little to do now with deciding what kind of job Dement has done relative to how well someone else might have done under the circumstances. The issue here is dwindling interest and support. Depending on which side of the argument youre on, being 8-9 may or may not be primarily Dements fault. However, there is not much doubt the program lacks life right now and the fans have generally lost enthusiasm. Its been heading that way since Willie D dribble that ball off his foot. Sometimes it takes a new coach to kickstart things again. It has little to do with being right or wrong in an evaluation of the coach, which is why I think Copeland will honestly be compelled in his decision one way or the other, ie barring a massive turnaround, the decision is pretty easy.

[Charleston Pony]

this team will decide whether Dement gets another year. If they tank it for the rest of this season, I can't see Dement wanting to come back so there may be a mutual agreement that he should go. On the other hand, if these guys find some heart and show they WANT to play for this coach and actually make a late season run (reversing SMU's recent bball history), then I've got to believe Dement gets at least another year. After all, he's got most of this team coming back and with Derrick Roberts coming in next year, they could still turn out to be a pretty special group IMO.

Lost in all of this is the fact that Dement has a son in his Soph year at SMU. I would imagine the family would like him to be able to finish here. I'm getting ready to lose a job myself with one in his Soph year at Clemson and I fully appreciate how disruptive that can be. I'm personally hoping for a major rebound and for Dement to have a long successful career at SMU. I'm getting tired of starting over and hoping the next guy can get it done. These guys just need to win one of these upcoming road games and get their confidence back...and start having fun again. It was FUN when they were beating TTech and Purdue. I'd be showing them those films and trying to get them to remember where their heads were back then!