THE GOOD NEWS
The Mustangs return all but three seniors, including four freshmen who saw considerable playing time and started a combined 60 games. With three players from Senegal -- the return of junior C Bamba Fall, freshman F Papa Dia and the addition of 6-9 Georgia Tech transfer Mouhammad Faye -- the Mustangs will be longer inside than most of the teams they'll face.

THE BAD NEWS
The Mustangs need a go-to scorer on the perimeter and a solid, dependable team leader with the loss of senior G Jon Killen, who led the Mustangs with 14.9 points, 5.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game and often carried SMU in close games.

KEY RETURNEES
F Papa Dia, C Bamba Fall, G Mike Walker, G Ryan Harp, G/F Alex Malone.

ROSTER REPORT

--Fall came to SMU as a raw 7-foot-1 prospect but he improved his offensive skills over the past year, improving from 7.1 points per game in 2006-07 to 11.8 points per game in 2007-08, 12.4 in conference games.

--Dia, a 6-9, 250-pound low-post player, made an immediate impact in his first season at SMU with 10.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in conference play and earning a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman team.

--SMU has high hopes for Faye, who enrolled at SMU on Jan. 15 and spent the second half of the season practicing with the Mustangs. Faye redshirted at Georgia Tech in 2005-06, played in 30 games with eight starts in 2006-07 and played in five games in 2007-08 and produced four points and five rebounds in his final Tech game against Vanderbilt on Dec. 1.

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