Key Returners:

Kevin Miller, B.J. Edwards, Samet Yigitoglu

Key Newcomers:

Jaron Pierre Jr., Sam Walters, Corey Washington, Jaden Toombs, Nigel Walls, Jermaine O'Neal Jr.

Key Losses:

Chuck Harris, Kario Oquendo, Matt Cross, Yohan Traore, Keon Ambrose-Hylton

Roster:

Reasons for Optimism:

When the Weave speaketh of SMU, the people should listen...

Last year, Andy Enfield's upstart Ponies checked in at number 50 in KenPom's final 2024-25 adjusted efficiency rankings - that's precisely where this esteemed triumvirate of prognosticators pegged SMU in last summer's top-50 rankings...

Andy Enfield's persistent consistency is why we've conveniently coined 'the Enfield Zone' (a range loosely defined between the top-40 and top-60 nationally) as a reliable baseline for assessing his squadrons.

This season, Enfield will go to battle with a potent two-headed monster of perimeter returnees, Kevin 'Boopie' Miller and B.J. Edwards, spearheading the backcourt. This Batman and Robin twofer is a sturdy foundation to start from in Enfield's annual quest to for another bubbly fringe NCAA Tournament team.

Boopie's head snapping quickness and game altering pace define this team when he's on the floor. The 6-0 speed demon remains the undisputed tone setter for the Pony Express, and his presence was sorely missed during an ill-timed foot injury over the last month of the year, when SMU stumbled to a 5-5 finish and heartbreaking loss to Clemson in the ACC Tournament.

The timing of the injury was brutal. A backloaded schedule allowed SMU to pick on a brittle ACC field from January through mid February, when Boopie was healthy, but the Mustangs dropped three stiffer league tilts late in the year - to Wake and Clemson at home, and Stanford on the road - when they really needed him.

This year's margin for error may be slim again but a more consistent BJ Edwards could be the antidote to any lurking volatility. It all starts with his outstanding defense, which helps cover for the smaller Boopie's feast-or-famine, steal-thirsty nature on this end of the floor. Edwards is bigger, more physical and even more disruptive in the passing lanes and on the ball (he's the sole returning member of last year's All ACC Defensive team).

Offensively, neither Boopie or BJ is a knock down shooter, but props to Enfield for complementing their glaring weakness via the portal. Stretch forward Sam Walters comes to Dallas seeking a more prominent role after being relegated to a reserve behind an elite Michigan frontline (the Vlad Goldin / Danny Wolf 'Area-51' tandem). Walters' impact last year was further diminished by an unfortunate back injury late in the season, so he could be a smart 'buy low' candidate in this new destination. He may be a one tricky pony as a catch and shoot specialist but the silky southpaw can rain threes in bunches. He's destined to swing a game or two this year with a barrage of triples.

The real upside this season lies in three critical cogs: shotmaker extraordinaire Jaron Pierre, interior space eater Samet Yigitoglu, and, to a lesser extent, downhill driver Corey Washington:

  • Pierre, frankly, was one of the sneaky huge steals of the portal. He's a slow burning developer who finally came into his own in a featured role at Jax State last year. His efficiency marks aren't off the charts but that's largely skewed by the blanketing coverage he drew from defenses as the focal point of the Gamecocks' offense, which forced Pierre into high difficulty shots. I loved Jim's instant reaction breakdown of the Pierre signing when the news dropped earlier this summer:
    • If a giant tree falls in the woods when nobody’s around, does it make a sound? Shocked how little notoriety this one got for such an awesome scorer and creator + definite plus shooter. I imagine he got a big ol’ bag to end up in Dallas, lots of programs could use him. Big guard with size who was the Gamecocks’ entire offense at times, and he got a ton of defensive attention in the C-USA as a result. Neither he nor Boopie Miller are pure PGs, but that should allow them to rotate duties and focus on scoring for stretches. Also good to have two solid (and different style) PnR threats in Enfield’s offense. Should be a tough cover even stepping up to the ACC.
      —Jim
  • Yigitoglu arrived to Dallas late last season after a delayed arrival to the states but improved considerably over the course of the year. His coordination and fluidity is quite impressive for a man of his magnitude - it's forgotten that he’s a legit 7-2, and his size pops immediately on the screen. Yigitoglu's skill level around the basket on the offensive end is impressive but the lateral mobility and sound feel defensively are underrated traits, too. No, you won't see him flying off hard hedges to blitz ball screens but he's not a liability in space, either. Remember, SMU's frontline wasn’t exactly vertically explosive last season - Yohan Traore and Matt Cross were more rebounding, ground bound bigs - so Enfield didn’t balk at anointing Yigitoglu his primary paint patroller, a role he'll surely retain this year.
  • Washington almost gets lost in the shuffle but he's a proven commodity on both sides of the ball. Sadly, he's not a feared long range shooter, and can be a ball stopping black hole at times, but he's terrific at getting to the bucket and putting pressure on the rim (he RARELY settles for jump shots). The conundrum here will be positional alignment. Washington is an elite two way rebounder, despite standing just 6-5, and has been most effective as a small ball 4 at both Wichita and Saint Peter's. He could pair nicely with Walters as an inverted 3 / 4 combination but my gut says he's best suited defensively as a 3 on the wing.

Causes for Concern:

The lack of depth and experience coming off the bench is a recurring theme for many high major programs this season. Across the country, this is a strong incoming recruiting class, but the Mustangs are in the same boat as many others - that is, they'll need freshmen to answer the bell early.

Mr. Enfield casually rounded up a top-10 ranked recruiting class nationally, the best in program history. The headline duo of the incoming freshmen are longtime flatmates Jaden Toombs and Jermaine O'Neal Jr. (they’ve lived together since middle school). Toombs is more of a prototypical post player, not a crazy athlete, but blessed with a 7-foot wing span and he can really score inside. I foresee Enfield platooning Toombs and Walters at the 4, but Toombs can also slide up to the 5 to spell Yigitoglu when he needs a breather (Walters can also slide down to the 3 on the wing in a potentially crazy long lineup).

O'Neal, on the other hand, is a gritty combo guard already regarded as a dogged defender - some view him as one of the best lockdown defenders in the class. His offense still needs to mature but the talent is evident on that end as well - and frankly, with Pierre coming on board, O'Neal's offensive bag isn't needed as badly.

The rookies are rounded out by lean 6-10 Texas native, Nigel Walls, and darkhorse prospect BJ Davis-Ray. Each may play key roles at times this season but Davis-Ray could especially benefit from a relatively thin backcourt rotation. Ideally, O'Neal cements himself as the fourth guard option and Davis-Ray is the contingency plan behind him, ready to eat minutes as needed.

The other two potential pitfalls of this roster are health and outside shooting, and Boopie is, again, at the epicenter of both dynamics. The fact that Boopie played a full season at Wake without missing any time in 2024 - the season after tearing his ACL in 2023 at Central Michigan - is encouraging that last year's leg issues can be put to bed. Still, SMU's late season swoon last year is proof of how vital he is to this team.

Offensively, Boopie's table setting as the primary facilitator optimizes role allocation for his running mates - Edwards, for example, had to create his own shot WAY more when Boopie was off the floor, and his shot selection suffered accordingly.

Per the two tables below, derived from play-by-play data on field goals made last year, notice the change in Edwards' percentage of field goals made that were assisted versus unassisted (FGM UAST% in the far right column) with and without Boopie on the floor. With Boopie, 57% of Edwards' field goals were assisted. Without Boopie, that number dropped to 30%, which means Edwards had to generate 70% of his buckets on his own.

      • Field Goals Assisted WITH BOOPIE
      • Field Goals Assisted WITHOUT BOOPIE

Unlike Edwards, Yigitoglu wasn't THAT reliant on Boopie to get his but he too battled injuries last year - specifically a shoulder injury down the stretch. On top of the aforementioned Walters' back problems that could certainly resurface this year, it's clear the rookies may end up playing high leverage minutes earlier than expected - yes, they are talented but we've learned the perils of relying on youth in today's landscape.

Bottom Line:

Despite his perceived underachievement at USC, Enfield is competitive year in and year out. The luster from Dunk City may be waning but I trust his X's and O's implicitly enough to believe in the roster possibilities here. In short, he assembled a terrific top-6 of proven producers, supported by an historically strong recruiting class oozing with versatility - if the Ponies stay healthy, I'd make them a short favorite to be on the right side of the bubble picture come March.