DALLAS — The SMU basketball team is in a new league, with a new coach and a lot of new players.
Andy Enfield, who went from an NCAA Sweet 16 with Florida Gulf Coast's “Dunk City” to Los Angeles and the past 11 seasons at Southern Cal, was hired to lead SMU into the basketball-rich Atlantic Coast Conference during the offseason.
And what does he have to work with? Well, SMU has three returning starters from a 20-win team in its final American Athletic season: senior guard Chuck Harris, (13.4 ppg), senior forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton (season-record 64.1% on field goals) and junior guard B.J. Edwards (2.43 turnover-to-assist ratio).
There are also 11 newcomers, seven transfers and four freshmen.
Below, let's look at the season ahead for the Ponies.
Players to watch
Harris (senior, G, 13.4 ppg). After three seasons at Butler, Harris made his SMU debut last season averaging 13.4 points and 3.4 assists per game. He was also one of the AAC's top 3-pointer shooters making 40.7% of his long-range attempts.
Kevin Miller (junior, G, 15.6 ppg). After two seasons as Central Michigan, Miller is going into his second ACC season with his second team. He also averaged 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game last season for Wake Forest.
Matt Cross (senior, F, 1.3 ppg). The 6-foot-7 post was a 54% shooter from the field who also averaged 8.3 rebounds at UMass.
Departures and arrivals
Zhuric Phelps was SMU’s leading scorer last season at 14.8 points per game, but transferred to Texas A&M. The Mustangs also lost their leading rebounder (7.1 rpg) with 6-8 forward Samuell Williamson now playing in Europe. Long Beach State transfer AJ George averaged 10.6 points and 4.1 rebounds for the Big West tournament champions. Guard Kario Oquendo is with his third power conference team in four seasons, having averaged 7.2 ppg for Oregon last season after 14.0 ppg in 60 games for Georgia over two seasons. The four incoming freshmen include 7-2 Turkish center Samet Yigitoglu and 6-7 guard Chance Puryear, a 1,000-point scorer at Carter High in Dallas.
Top games
The Mustangs open Nov. 4 vs. Tarleton. The ACC opener is also at Moody Coliseum, on Dec. 7 when they host Virginia in the Cavaliers' first conference game since the sudden retirement of coach Tony Bennett before the season. Seventh-ranked Duke visits Jan. 4, three days before SMU plays at No. 9 North Carolina.
Facts and figures
SMU hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2017 and haven't won a first-round tourney game since 1988. ... SMU is going to the ACC with Pac-12 teams Cal and Stanford, giving the league 18 basketball teams. ... Before the ACC, the Mustangs played in the old Southwest Conference, the WAC, Conference USA and the American.
