SMU Basketball

[JW1952TX]

After a dismal season of football on the SMU campus there is hope that the basketball team can give the students and fans something to cheer about. After speaking with new coach JW1952TX he does express optimism. Without any true star power on the team, they will have to rely on hustle and pure will power. At least in the beginning they plan on pushing the tempo some. However, with a short bench those plans could change as the season wears on.

 

The starting 5 for the beginning of the season should look like this:

 

Guard - Dustin Cook - RSSO - Overall C

Guard Partick Brooks - SR - Overall C

Forward - Allen Delgado - SR - Overall B

Forward Elton Peak - JR - Overall B

Center Jose Valle - SO - Overall B

 

Coming off the bench will be:

Forward Anthony Nixon - SO - Overall B - Anthony will be given plenty of playing time and could work his way into the starting lineup before season end.

Guard Owen Hawkins - SO - Overall C

Forward Peter Lewis - JR - Overall C

Center Phillip Ward - SO - Overall D

 

A couple of incoming 7-1 Centers may work their way into some playing time unless they end up being given a redshirt. Both can Play some D and grab some rebounds but still need a lot of work on other parts of their games. With just a few days left before tipoff a decision will need to be made soon on their playing status. A good chance that decision will come on the flight out to play BYU in the opening game.

 

With 6 of the 10 OOC games being at home fans will get a good chance to see the SMU Pony Express before conference play begins. The Mustangs open on the road and then play their next 4 games at Moody Coliseum.

 

A .500 record at the end of the season is the goal. Time will tell if that was too big of a reach for a first-year coach and a team with a lot of hustle, but no star power.

[JW1952TX]

After meeting with coach JW, incoming 7-1 Center Nathaniel Perryman from Eritrea decided a redshirt would be best. He agreed he needed to get stronger and quicker. He has already met with the team trainer, and they have come up with a workout regime to make this happen. He said he looks forward to helping the team out in intra-squad scrimmages during the season and will come back ready to go next season.

[JW1952TX]

The Mustangs finished the pre-Christmas part of the season with 6 wins but also 6 losses. Turnovers have hurt the Ponies in several games, but they hope to improve on this in the second half of the season, which begins on January 2nd on the road against USF. They then return home to play Tulsa on January 4th. The Mustangs have 3 players averaging over 20 points a game led by Jr. Forward Elton Peak at 22.75. He is closely followed by a couple of Seniors, F Allen Delgado 21.17 and G Patrick Brooks 20.92. Not far behind is So Forward Anthony Nixon at 19.00 and RS Frosh Dustin Cook 17.67. Soph Center Jose Valle leads the team in both rebounds and steals. A lot will be expected from these underclassmen the remainder of this season and in the future. When asked first year coach JW1952TX said the Mustangs have played hard but that turnovers have really hurt the team in some games. This is something we will need to work on in the offseason. He also urged the students and locals to come on out and support the team. Moody Coliseum has a capacity of 7000 and we are averaging somewhere around 5000 for our home games.

[JW1952TX]

With the band and cheer squad playing in the background SMU coach JW introduced the recruiting class of 2023 basketball to the fans via a video presentation.

First off is Jason Hood. 6'2 Guard from Spain.

We then have one local Texas recruit in 6'2 Guard Jerry South out of Kingwood Park HS in Kingwood Texas.

Sean Stanga is a long lanky 7'0 Center coming to the Mustangs from Russia.

From Hungary we have 6'4 Guard Chad Blank.

Paul Groce from Bulgaria is a 6'8 Forward that will add an inside presence to the Ponies.

Coach JW says he can't wait for these young men to get on campus. He said not only are they fine basketball players, but they are all great young men and will be a big asset to the school and community.

Coach JW also thanks the students and community for the support they are showing for the team this season. The Mustangs currently stand 9-7 on the season and 4-2 in conference play. With 12 games remaining on the regular season schedule the pre-season hope of a .500 record is still in reach.