SMU basketball loses three key players from their tight six-man rotation, but return star guard Shake Milton. How do they adjust to their new-look roster?
The SMU Mustangs enjoyed a memorable 2016-17 campaign where they earned an AAC regular season and conference tournament title and finished with a 30-5 record. SMU lost a close game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to USC, but that should not overshadow a remarkable regular season.
SMU played a short rotation with only six players and each of the six was long, athletic, and versatile. No rotation player was shorter than 6’5’’, which showed their great positional size advantage. This allowed the Mustangs to switch and be disruptive defensively and create mismatches offensively.
Most notably, Semi Ojeleye was a perfect fit in this style with his quickness, strength, and long-range shooting ability which allowed him to be used in a variety of ways. These skills not only fit in SMU’s system but have also earned Ojeleye a spot in the Boston Celtics’ early season rotation.
Ojeleye’s departure is clearly a major loss for the Mustangs, but he is not the only impact player who has left the program. Sterling Brown and Ben Moore have also graduated and have moved on to the professional ranks. Brown was drafted to the Milwaukee Bucks due to his 3-and-D potential. He was an excellent shooter (45% from three as a senior) but was also known for his lockdown perimeter defense. Moore was an athletic and energetic PF who earned an affiliate deal with the Indiana Pacers.
Between Ojeleye (19ppg, 6.9rpg), Brown (13.4ppg, 6.5rpg), and Moore (11.4ppg, 7.8rpg), SMU loses a ton of production, but, more importantly, they lose pieces that were key to their style of play. The Mustangs will no longer enjoy the positional size, outside shooting, and ability to switch that defined last season’s team, but that does not mean that they will struggle.
In fact, SMU is poised to return to the NCAA Tournament and finish in the top 4 of the ACC but they will have to do it differently than they did last year. The 2017-18 Mustangs have a revamped roster which is more guard-oriented and has less outside shooting. If SMU is to return to the Big Dance, they need to embrace their new look roster and adapt to a different style of play.
This article will analyze SMU’s starters, reserves, and non-conference schedule. It will conclude with a team overview where I rank the Mustangs both nationally and in their conference.