SMU Still Waiting on Decision at Coach While Old One Gets Job
Rob Lanier didn't waste a lot of time finding a new home while Mustangs try to land one that's drawing national attention
DALLAS — SMU fans can't let a single season sour their feelings about potential Mustangs coach Andy Enfield.
The Ponies have yet to officially find a replacement after not buying into former head coach Rob Lanier's plans. However, local speculation centers on one particular candidate at the moment.
All the folks around the Ponies are talking about USC coach Andy Enfield. It's even making the rounds in the national news.
The Mustangs appear to be positioning the entire athletic program for improvement and heading to the ACC where they'll be facing the likes of current NCAA Tournament teams Duke, North Carolina, Clemson and North Carolina State. Enfield has found a way to be successful despite 11 frustrating seasons in Los Angeles where his program has never received the money needed for high quality facilities, top-quality staff, or NIL needed in this day of near complete seasonal roster changes.
This wasn't the best of seasons for the Trojans. Still, it appears the team Enfield expected finally got healthy at the same time, winning five of its last seven games, including an upset over No. 5 Arizona. They also won a game in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Before that, Enfield had 21 wins during seven of the previous 10 seasons with five NCAA Tournament appearances. He knows how to win at a high level.
More importantly for SMU, he knows how to build a team that can win at the top. Don't put a lot of stock into this past season because every team in college basketball is always on the verge of collapse via injuries and issues which inevitably come up.
If he can get the Mustangs' community (and Dallas) fired up about his program, he'll do fine. Just remember the Larry Brown days with the Ponies, or ask an old-timer who was around a while back when it was the hottest basketball ticket in town.
Ponies' fans probably won't have to wait long for an answer one way or the other. With recruiting starting to swing into motion and the transfer portal going, SMU will likely not take much longer. It's a good bet they had somebody in mind before pulling the trigger on Lanier. It might have been Enfield, one of the reported targets the entire time.
