|
PRINT
THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE
Wednesday, November 25, 1998
SMU trying to outrecruit bigger schools on
home turf
By JAIME ARON AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) - Mike Dement is no stranger to the challenge of
in-state recruiting against big-name schools. After all, before
coaching Southern Methodist he spent four years at UNC Greensboro
going head-to-head with men's basketball powers North Carolina
and Duke.
Dement has more than held his own since taking over the Mustangs
in 1995. He's turned an inherited roster with just two Texans
into a squad loaded with 10 Texans, including several coveted
players. The payoff has been the first consecutive winning seasons
in a decade.
"When we took over, teams around the state - Texas and
Texas Tech, which was a Sweet 16 team that year - had their rosters
filled with Texas players," Dement said. "And every
school in the country was coming to Texas and taking players away.
We decided that we had to try to do a better job recruiting the
area and the state."
But just when SMU was becoming a place-to-be for Texas high
schoolers, the in-state recruiting game got a lot tougher.
Houston hired former NBA superstar Clyde Drexler and his early
commitments include two of the best Texas players. Texas brought
in Rick Barnes from Clemson and signed an early class of players
Dement says "all of us would love to have." Texas A&M
opened a new arena and has a new coach in Melvin Watkins, who,
by reaching the NCAA tournament the last two years while at North
Carolina Charlotte, overcame the same challenges Dement used to
face at Greensboro.
"They're all trying to do the exact same thing - and doing
it," Dement said Tuesday. "The competition continues
to grow."
Although further hampered by SMU's academic standards and the
pending WAC breakup, Dement likes the direction his program is
headed.
He started three sophomores and two freshmen in a season-opening
loss to No. 3 Stanford and two of the first guys off the bench
were freshmen. While that means taking some lumps now such as
the 86-51 thrashing by the Cardinal, Dement sees a bright future.
"It's a good group," Dement said. "Our freshman
class is where all our size is - they're all 6-8-1/2 or better.
They got a lot of minutes under their belt against probably one
of the best front lines in the country. Hopefully we learned some
very valuable lessons."
SMU, which went 18-10 last year, has no seniors and four juniors.
The top junior, guard Stephen Woods, has a stress fracture in
his foot and is likely out for at least two more weeks.
Dement said signing Woods, of Bay City, brought SMU credibility
and helped lure Willie Davis of Dallas, Chad Elsey of Dallas suburb
Flower Mound and Jeryl Sasser of Dallas.
All five members of the incoming freshman class are Texans
and the Mustangs have received an early commitment from another
in-state player.
The star of the group is easily Sasser, a 6-foot-6 guard who
led SMU last season in rebounds, assists and steals and was second
with 15 points per game.
Sasser, whose older brother Jason starred at Texas Tech and
has played in the NBA, is the kind of guy high school players
want as a teammate.
"In this area, I think Jeryl's coming here has picked
up a new level of attention and quite a bit of credibility,"
Dement said. "Hopefully we're having an identity and I think
he's a big part of that."
Send a Letter to the Editor about This
Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address)
of This Story to A Friend:
|
