SMU Gets Commitment
He didn't even need an official visit to campus. Derrick Roberts, an explosive 6-foot-4, 190-pound combo guard from Nimitz High School in Houston, knew about and liked SMU so much that he decided to pull the trigger on a verbal commitment before taking his all-expenses paid trip to Dallas.
"I committed to SMU last weeky," said Roberts. "The coaching staff was straight up with me (on how I could contribute) and they've been recruiting me for a while. I really feel I can make an impact on their program."
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Roberts chose SMU over TCU, two schools who had been high on Roberts' list from the beginning, mainly because they were in-state and relatively close to his Houston-area home. A good student, Roberts lauded SMU's academics as a main reason for his decision.
"The biggest factor was the education," said Roberts, who plans on majoring in Engineering. "When talking to the coaches, they talked to me about getting me into an internship up there while I'm in school."
However, there were other things Roberts liked about being up the road in Dallas.
"On top of all that you can also work out with the Mavericks during the summer," said Roberts. "I like that."
Roberts, who has played at the point in the past, noted that the SMU staff plans on using him at shooting guard in the Mustangs "flex offense". With this in mind, he plans on getting himself ready to fit into that scheme in the fall of 2004.
"I'll be playing at the two this season because my coach wants me running the floor," said Roberts. "So I'm working on my pull-up jumper off the dribble."
Roberts is SMU's third commitment from the Class of 2004, joining forward Paulius Ritter and point guard Jon Killen. And even though he has committed, Roberts still plans on taking his expenses-paid trip to campus.
Jed Tai is a senior writer with Hoopville.com