Southern Methodist Mustangs

2023-2024 Result: 20-13 record (11-7 American), NIT Appearance

Key Losses

Tyreek Smith

Jalen Smith

Zhuric Phelps

Samuell Williamson

Projected Starting Lineup

Head Coach: Andy Enfield (1st season)

Guard: Kevin Miller (JR)

Guard: Chuck Harris (5th year)

Guard: Kario Oquendo (5th year)

Forward: Matt Cross (5th year)

Center: Yohan Traore (JR)

Key Additions

Kevin Miller (Wake Forest)

Kario Oquendo (Oregon)

Matt Cross (Massachusetts)

Yohan Traore (UC Santa Barbara)

Tibet Gorener (San Jose State)

AJ George (Long Beach State)

Jerrell Colbert (Kansas State)

Former USC head coach Andy Enfield has taken over the SMU Mustangs, and he hit the portal right away to acquire some high end talent. Enfield has been known for his recruiting ability and he proved that this off season by adding Kevin Miller and Matt Cross, who should be major contributors for a team that expects to compete in the ACC right away. Enfield also grabbed some big man depth in Yohan Traore, Tibet Gorener, and Jerrell Colbert.

The offense has potential to have a lot of firepower and that’s starting with the backcourt of Kevin Miller and Chuck Harris. Both of these guards have shown the ability to be big time contributors in power conferences and that should be the story once again this season. There’s a little uncertainty outside of those 2, as the Mustangs don’t project to have quality shooting on the wings, but I wouldn’t call that a glaring weakness. Matt Cross is also an interesting fit with this group, as he was a solid initiator of an offense during his time at UMass, but he will need to adapt his game to a little more of an off ball role this season. The frontcourt in general is going to take some time to figure out, as the Mustangs have a lot of options with who they want to start at the 5. Yohan Traore projects to be the starting center, but I am a little lower on his overall game than most, although he will be a solid pick and roll partner with both Miller and Harris. Keon Ambrose-Hylton and Jerrell Colbert should see some time at the center position as well, but they have much lower offensive ceilings than Traore. Overall, the offense looks like it’s going to be a solid unit, but I wouldn’t call it elite with the small concerns I have.

The defense is going to depend on how Enfield deploys his frontcourt. It is a good thing to have multiple options, but Traore has a much different play style compared to the other 2 centers. If Enfield wants to tap into the defensive side of the ball a little more, you will see more Colbert and Ambrose-Hylton minutes, but the more minutes Traore gets on the floor the worse the defense will be. This is where my biggest problem lies with this team, because Enfield defenses have typically depended on his roster construction, and there is certainly less talent defensively than what his USC teams had. The perimeter group doesn’t project to be bad defensively, but not needle moving by any means.

There are a wide range of outcomes for this SMU squad. The scoring talent can take them a long way, but Enfield will need to make the proper adjustments when his lineups aren’t gelling, and I am not much of a believer that he can do that. The defensive concerns in the frontcourt bring concerns along with the rebounding, so until  the defense shows it can perform at an average level, I am willing to say SMU will finish middle of the pack in the ACC at best.