What Could Have Been for SMU Basketball

You got to feel for someone like Jordan Tolbert.
 
The Fort Worth native transfers to SMU from Texas Tech, where he was the best player on the court for the Red Raiders. The move to The Hilltop was a chance for Tolbert to shine.
 
The Mustangs looked like a team that could do some damage and make a run in the NCAA Tournament. Adding someone like Tolbert, who can put points on the board and clean up the glass, can make SMU a Final Four team.
 
Then the bottom fell out.
 
The Mustangs basketball program gets hit with a NCAA postseason ban for multiple rules violations, taking away what could have been one of the fun teams to watch in March.
 
Hall of Fame head coach Larry Brown’s squad showed the potential, starting out the season 18-0 and landing in the Top 10 before tasting defeat at Temple. Basketball in the American Athletic Conference is no joke.
 
But you got to give it up to the Mustangs, those kids go out there and put on a show despite the fact their season ends early this time around. High-risers like Sterling Brown and Ben Moore throwing down nasty dunks, Tolbert and Markus Kennedy bringing a tough presence down on the blocks. The backcourt of Nic Moore and Shake Milton (how great is it that Shake is the name of a guard) is probably one of the more underrated tandems in the nation. Moore has been a difference-maker in the last couple of games, lighting it up from the three-point land. 17 points, eight assists in Sunday's 92-58 win over USF, just another day at the office for Moore.

It’s a shame we won’t get to see more of this in March. It would have been all sorts of fun watching this team do its thing come tourney time. 

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