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If first impressions count for anything, Matt Doherty might just be the coach who can finally turn SMU's potential into production.

The Mustangs haven't enjoyed much basketball success since the days of Dave Bliss, when they earned three trips to the NCAA Tournament and one to the NIT from 1984-88. Since then, they have floundered somewhere between mediocre and moribund, despite the program's location and the marked progress of other Texas Division I programs -- UTEP, Texas A&M, etc. -- over the last decade.

The day Doherty arrived he immediately let it be known that SMU was a winning program just waiting for the right combination of factors to come together. It already has location, right in the heart of Dallas. It also carries a higher profile after moving from the Western Athletic Conference to Conference USA.

Now it has Doherty, a former North Carolina and Notre Dame head coach who spent the 2005-06 season putting his career back on track at Florida Atlantic. Now the program must make better use of its potential and take recruiting to a higher level.

"Why can't we do special things here? Why can't we be in the top 25?" Doherty said when he was hired on April 25th. "Why can't we be one of the elite programs in the country? ... I asked the players that: 'Why can't we? Why not us?' "

In an attempt to spread that message, Doherty has spent considerable time and effort recruiting SMU boosters and fans in an attempt to promote the program and raise funds for a practice facility and an upgrade of Moody Coliseum.

Doherty also met with a group of business, education and political leaders from South Dallas, a key recruiting area that often went ignored or untapped by past SMU coaches, including his predecessor, Jimmy Tubbs. Doherty told the group, "I want to be here and recruit here in my back yard" and seemed to win over many skeptical observers.

Doherty even spent time with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to learn more about the community. During that meeting, Cuban suggested Doherty start his own blog and Doherty took his advice, writing on a variety of subjects, including his meetings with SMU fans and local leaders as well as more personal issues, such as family time, making the move from Florida to Texas and humorous dealings with his assistant coaches.

"I've had a lot of fun doing it," Doherty said. "It's hard and it takes some time, but I like to write. I did some writing for CSTV and The Sporting News magazine. I've got a little bit of a sarcastic sense of humor that some people don't always appreciate, but it's been fun. You've gotta have fun, man. Tomorrow's not promised, so we better have fun with what we're doing today. Every day's a gift."

Turning the SMU program into a consistent winner won't always be fun for Doherty and his staff, but it's not an impossible job.

"SMU as a stock has been beaten up a little bit, but it's a good stock and it's going to get better because we have a new management team [led by new AD Steve Orsini] and a new infusion of capital. It's a good time to buy," Doherty said. "The state of Texas last year produced more than 130 Division I players and Dallas is an awesome city with a great airport. Dallas is also second behind New York City in corporate headquarters and this summer one of our players [6-11, 245-pound senior center Donatas Rackauskas] made good money at a corporate internship in his major. We have a lot to offer."

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