I’ve been kicking around this idea in my head for a bit, since at least December, when SMU joined the Big East: what does Matt Doherty have to do to keep his job?
Obviously, the bar is pretty low for SMU basketball. Last year’s 20-15 record was the best in Doherty’s five-year tenure, which also included nine-win and 10-win seasons.The fact that he’s still around (with a 66-88 record coming into this season) is a testament to the expectations at Moody Coliseum.
The jump to the Big East, though, means games against Connecticut and Georgetown, not Rice and East Carolina. And while this year’s squad is 9-6, a few facts:
– Two of the wins were over non-Division I teams, including one (Dallas Christian) that doesn’t even compete in NCAA athletics.
– The team is averaging 63.3 points per game, good for 271st in the country (out of 344 D-I teams), and grabs only 31 rebounds a game, 315th in the country.
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I’m not an SMU alum, so I don’t have a dog in this fight. And Doherty did land this guy. But as the school continues to grow, and make its way towards the Big East, what will this program have to do to become a viable option for recruits?
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