THE MODERATOR: SMU has joined us for the next 15 minutes. Head coach Andy Enfield will offer an opening statement. Coach, the podium is yours.
ANDY ENFIELD: We're excited for a new season especially with young men like Jaden and Rowan here with me. Try to build on our success last year, making the NCAA Tournament, winning 20-plus games our first two years in the ACC.
But we have some bigger goals at SMU and look forward to the challenge.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach.
Q. Coming off of the success that you've had within the ACC, and like you said, making it to the NCAA Tournament last year, what are some of the things that you feel like have been maybe the intangibles that go beyond the wins and losses that have led to SMU being where you are right now?
ANDY ENFIELD: I think the support at SMU from the top down, to the president, to the athletic director, the whole administration. The community around SMU is pretty impressive. And to go from the American Conference into the ACC, everybody knew that everybody had to come together and make it work.
The worst thing that could have happened is SMU going to the ACC and not succeeding. If you look at our football team, very successful. Our women's volleyball team, top 5 in the country. I think our men's soccer team is ranked No. 1 in the nation right now. Our basketball team has been very successful.
So it's an exciting time to be a Mustang in Dallas, and we're excited to be part of our program.
Q. You noted the bigger goals that you have heading into the season, but how do you kind of dial it down, more on-the-nose goals? What are those for you?
ANDY ENFIELD: Well, the smaller goals are to get better every week. Generally our teams get better from November, December through into February and March. Last year we had a serious injury that -- where our team was really improving and we had an injury with BJ Edwards with four games left and we lost four straight.
That really hurt our season and our main goals of try to really be playing great basketball as we go into the ACC tournament and March Madness.
Now, we became a different team, so this year our goal is to improve every week. We had a really good scrimmage offensively, and we know we have to improve defensively in certain areas to become a complete team, but our coaching staff really likes the group that is together now. They're unselfish.
Part of the small goals we have are to have as many assists and shoot high percentages, because we're sharing the basketball and our team is doing an outstanding job of that currently.
Then defensively to play as a team. I think we have some growth to do in certain areas, but that's what the games are for, and we're excited to start.
Q. You all struggled at times defensively last season. When you were going into the transfer portal to bring some guys in, was that one of the main things you wanted to address this season?
ANDY ENFIELD: Last year we were terrible defensively. You are being nice to me, I think, or to us, but we were not good defensively last season. We were too small. We started four guards. On the flip side, we were exceptional on offense. We were dynamic. We could create shots for each other. We had great one-on-one players. We were very fast. Scored 85 points a game.
We had to outscore people last year, and we beat some of the best teams in the country by outscoring them. This year we tried to get bigger and longer at every position. We have NBA size. Rowan is a 6'4" point guard. Terrell is -- we have one guy under 6'4 on our roster, Cam Lomax.
All our guys have positional size. In fact, we're as big as most NBA teams one through five, and that will help us defensively and especially with the rebounding rim protection.
Q. Six one-possession ACC losses last year. Was there anything in those losses that stood out as something you could maybe prevent or do better in those close-game situation this is year?
ANDY ENFIELD: We won quite a few close games last year and lost a few. That's what college sports is all about. You look at any sport. Sometimes things go your way, and players have to make plays. In the games that we won, we had some big shotmakers. We got a couple of key defensive stops, and the games we lost, the ball rolled out for us twice and then the other team scored in the last possession.
I think those close games in the ACC, we can expect more of them this year, says and I think the experience that our players have had last year hopefully will carry over and prepare them to compete and hopefully win as many of those as we can.
Q. When you look at from 2025-' 26 now here in '26-' 27, assembling a new starting five, what you have been seeing from this team and how that's kind of coming together and what you see for the future of that starting five this season?
ANDY ENFIELD: Well, we haven't set our starting five yet, but that's what the preseason is for. I think we have a very deep team, so we have a lot of guys who could be in our starting lineup, and guys that maybe aren't in the starting lineup will probably play starters minutes off the bench. Meaning they'll play 20-plus minutes.
That's to be determined. We are much deeper than we were last year. We can sustain injuries and still keep rolling. Last year we had seven freshmen, and we were not able to do that. This happened late in the season.
So we feel great about our starting group, whoever that will be, but we feel even better about the depth of our team.
THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you. Questions for Rowan.
Q. You were a bit of a gym rat, and that dates all the way back to when you were in third grade. What was the attraction about basketball that kept you coming back day after day?
ROWAN BRUMBAUGH: I'd say the attraction about basketball is just being competitive and figuring out new solutions, and I feel like basketball is just a perfect way to do that competing. Whether it's playing one-on-one, three-on-three, five-on-five.
Q. You started at Georgetown. Now you're back in a power conference. What did you learn at your time from Tulane to kind of prepare you to jump back up to an ACC-caliber team?
ROWAN BRUMBAUGH: I'd say just expect the unexpected and just take it day by day, because you never know what's going to come. And just try to improve and embrace every single moment.
Q. What is it about what Andy Enfield is building at SMU that played you believe this was the right move from Tulane to come to Dallas to SMU?
ROWAN BRUMBAUGH: I'd say when he started recruiting me, I watched a lot of film on how they played, and it's a really fast-paced offense. He really emphasized ball movement and stuff like that, and I feel like from my type of game it fits perfect, the fast-paced tempo and the ball movement. I feel like I could be maximized personally, and I could really help a team that played Coach Andy's style. I felt like it was a win-win.
THE MODERATOR: You said recently that you've learned a lot from your younger sister. I'm curious to know what lessons she has taught you.
ROWAN BRUMBAUGH: Well, we're very different, so just talking to her and seeing her world view is one thing. Then she definitely carries herself very different from me. She's much more patient and she's a lot more considerate and compassionate, so I try to learn those qualities from her and try to apply them in my daily life.
THE MODERATOR: What makes you impatient then?
ROWAN BRUMBAUGH: I'd say probably just being a gym rat. I'm on to the next, on to the next. Just trying to beat the curve, trying to stay busy, and she shows me to slow down a little bit.
THE MODERATOR: Rowan, you and Jaden can switch spots. Questions for Jaden.
Q. So the last three games, small sample size, but you averaged around 16 points, 10 rebounds, 63% from the field. What kind of changed for you to help you during that stretch? Was it something that you did differently, or were you just on a hot streak during that time?
JADEN TOOMBS: I feel like I did get hot over that time, but the main thing was Coach Andy and my coaching staff installing confidence in me. Even when I wasn't playing well, they installed confidence in me. I feel like when I got in a high-pressure situation with a little bit more adrenaline, I feel like it all worked out in my favor.
Q. Jermaine O'Neal, Jr., just working with him and playing off of each other, how have you elevated each other's games up to this point?
JADEN TOOMBS: I mean, we've been playing with each other since eighth grade, so we kind of know what each other do, but basketball-wise I feel like that is what it is. Off the court we just motivate each other, hold each other accountable.
So I feel like when we get on the court, it all goes together.
THE MODERATOR: As a follow-up, you played in 27 games as a freshman and you posted some really good numbers. On paper and on video it looked like you adjusted really well from high school to college. Was it that easy for you?
JADEN TOOMBS: No, it wasn't that easy. Just the speed, the physicality, the size in college, it was definitely different. But I feel like for anything you do, once you get used to it over time, you kind of just get used to it and you just get better at things as you go over time.
Q. What is your message to the fans of SMU this year based on your team?
JADEN TOOMBS: My message to the fans is that this team is going to be the most exciting team that SMU has ever seen.
Q. I was wondering, is there something you pinpointed in the offseason that you think today you're so much better at than, say, a year ago in your game?
JADEN TOOMBS: Yeah, I feel like just my body. You know, being able to play a little bit more better defense, protect the rim at a higher rate. I want to rebound at a higher rate. So this summer I just really kind of worked on my defense, my body, obviously my jump shooting and my passing.
THE MODERATOR: You've been a part of USA Basketball since 2022, and safe to say, no one else in this room has really been part of such an experience like that. How has USA Basketball helped you where you are at this moment?
JADEN TOOMBS: Yeah, just seeing different basketball cultures around the world, going to play over there, I feel like it makes you grateful for a lot of things, especially -- you know, being in America, basketball is just different.
I feel like going to play those other teams, seeing their culture, seeing their play style, I just feel like it makes you appreciative of what you have here in the States.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports