James Pyle pulled up and drained a 3-pointer with less than a minute to go. Pyle is a former student manager. His jumper gave SMU 103 points for the game.
So now you know. What the end of a coaching honeymoon looks like.
It looks like former President George W. Bush sitting courtside, gleefully watching a rout unfold.
It looks like the ESPN broadcast team bringing in Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and former SMU coach Larry Brown to help them talk about anything but the absurdly one-sided game.
It looks likes the SMU fans cheering “GO FOR 100! GO FOR 100!"
It looks like SMU’s Jarrey Foster slamming home a put-back dunk to give those fans the triple figures they were lusting after.
And it looks like Pyle calmly dropping in that 3-pointer for the final ignominious score.
SMU 103, Memphis 62.
No, I am not making that up.
It was the worst Memphis loss since 1947, when Delta State beat the Tigers, 76-35. And, yes, it was the end of the honeymoon for Memphis coach Tubby Smith. If he ever had one in the first place.
I’m not persuaded that he did, not the way most new coaches do. Some of this was because of the initial skepticism that Smith was the right fit for the job. Some of it was the work of Smith himself.
Buy Photo
University of Memphis guard Markel Crawford drives for a layup against the Southern Methodist University defense during second half action at Moody Coliseum in Dallas on Saturday, March 4, 2017. (Photo: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)
He didn’t seem to give a flip about promoting the program. He didn’t manage to bring in graduate transfers who could really bolster his shorthanded team. And his first real season of recruiting has so far produced a class that is ranked just 57th in the country by 247 Sports.
So Memphis fans comforted themselves by repeating the positive things you always hear about Smith. You know how they go.
He’s a Hall of Fame coach.
He’s won everywhere he’s been.
He’'ll take lesser players and coach ‘em up.
For a while, this season, that’s exactly what Smith did. It was impossible not to notice the difference in the Tigers, both individually and as a team. Markel Crawford was better. K.J. Lawson was better. Jeremiah Martin was better. Dedric Lawson was better, too.
So now you know. What the end of a coaching honeymoon looks like.
It looks like former President George W. Bush sitting courtside, gleefully watching a rout unfold.
It looks like the ESPN broadcast team bringing in Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and former SMU coach Larry Brown to help them talk about anything but the absurdly one-sided game.
It looks likes the SMU fans cheering “GO FOR 100! GO FOR 100!"
It looks like SMU’s Jarrey Foster slamming home a put-back dunk to give those fans the triple figures they were lusting after.
And it looks like Pyle calmly dropping in that 3-pointer for the final ignominious score.
SMU 103, Memphis 62.
No, I am not making that up.
It was the worst Memphis loss since 1947, when Delta State beat the Tigers, 76-35. And, yes, it was the end of the honeymoon for Memphis coach Tubby Smith. If he ever had one in the first place.
I’m not persuaded that he did, not the way most new coaches do. Some of this was because of the initial skepticism that Smith was the right fit for the job. Some of it was the work of Smith himself.
University of Memphis guard Markel Crawford drives for a layup against the Southern Methodist University defense during second half action at Moody Coliseum in Dallas on Saturday, March 4, 2017. (Photo: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)
He didn’t seem to give a flip about promoting the program. He didn’t manage to bring in graduate transfers who could really bolster his shorthanded team. And his first real season of recruiting has so far produced a class that is ranked just 57th in the country by 247 Sports.
So Memphis fans comforted themselves by repeating the positive things you always hear about Smith. You know how they go.
He’s a Hall of Fame coach.
He’s won everywhere he’s been.
He’'ll take lesser players and coach ‘em up.
For a while, this season, that’s exactly what Smith did. It was impossible not to notice the difference in the Tigers, both individually and as a team. Markel Crawford was better. K.J. Lawson was better. Jeremiah Martin was better. Dedric Lawson was better, too.
