Head coach Matt Doherty is set to start his second season at SMU. (John Schreiber)

The SMU men’s basketball team commenced the season with the team’s tip-off dinner at Moody Coliseum.

SMU President R. Gerald Turner, Athletic Director Steve Orsini, head coach Matt Doherty and guest speaker Bill Raftery welcomed SMU fans to the 2007-08 season. Guests were invited to take guided tours of the development of the Crum Center, mingle with coaches and players and eat dinner on the newly installed floor.

The Crum Center was expected to be finished when the season started in November, but because of record rainfall in Dallas the progress has been slowed down considerably. The building still needs work and is expected to be completed in mid-January.

Rich Phillips, radio voice of the Mustangs’ football and men’s basketball teams, announced the players as the band and cheerleaders welcomed them into Moody.

Doherty’s second season leading the Mustangs will rely on some youth. Returning just five players, three of whom are seniors, and adding seven first years leaves a lot of questions surrounding the new season.

“This year we have a schedule that may not get you fired up,” Doherty said. “Our non-conference schedule and I’m not going to apologize for that. We have a young team and I want them to get confidence and have success when we get to the conference schedule.”

The seniors leading the Mustangs this season are Jon Killen, Derrick Roberts and Paulius Ritter. Killen and Roberts both started last year while Ritter saw time off the bench.

“We do have a young team, but I won’t use that as a crutch,” Doherty said. “We have great leadership and to me that is just as important, starting with Jon Killen.”

Killen started all 31 games last season, and saw over 1,000 minutes on the court. He also served as one of four captains on the team last year. Roberts was a captain a season ago, but missed several games becaue of injuries.

“We want to win basketball games, we want to help put SMU on the map as an institution,” Doherty said. “And I want to stress institution, we are partners, we want to contribute to the greatness of SMU.”

The Mustangs will get the season started with the SMU Tip-Off Classic against Southern University on Nov. 10.

Jon Killen will be looked at to lead the Mustangs this season. (James Bilowus)