After getting bounced from the Conference USA tourney on Thursday, I have been thinking a lot about the state of the SMU basketball team. In my opinion, Matt Doherty has the Mustangs going in the right direction. I don't think it will be long before we see good hoops at the Hilltop.

I got posed the question yesterday, would you trade junior guard Derek Williams and freshman guard Paul McCoy for Memphis freshman guard Tyreke Evans? The question I guess is a fair one, but my answer might surprise some. No! To be completely honest, I don't know if I would trade McCoy straight up for Evans. I know, this is blasphemy right? Evans is the Sporting News Freshman of the Year. He is averaging 16 points a game and pulling down 5 rebounds for the 3rd ranked Tigers. Arguably, Evans is one of the top fifteen players in the country. He has made Conference USA fans all but forget about Derrick Rose.

That is the problem. Much like Rose, Evans is not expected to stick around Memphis long. Many draft projections have him as a mid 1st round draft pick if he leaves after this season. With a good performance in the NCAA tourney, the Memphis point guard could improve his draft stock even more before June.

Coach Matt Doherty surprised some when he was able to lure McCoy to SMU over schools like Kentucky and Virginia. The Oregon native was rated the 10th best point guard in the 2008 class by Scout.com. SMU's leading scorer averaged 13 points a game and 4 assists en route to being named to the All Conference-USA freshman team. It was no secret that McCoy was SMU's first scoring option this season.

When it came down to it, my decision was an easy one. Memphis will have Evans for one maybe two years. SMU gets Paul McCoy for four! For a program rebuilding like SMU, give me a solid four-year starter compared to a one and done. There is no way that Evans would have made SMU a tournament team this year.

McCoy is the type of player you build a program around. Right now he is part of foundation that Coach Matt Doherty is slowing building. Three years from now, Evans will be in the NBA earning millions of dollars and playing with the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant. McCoy three years from now will be entering post season play for the Mustangs after an All-Conference USA First Team

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