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| INSIDE THE NUMBERS |
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2000-01 record: 9-22;
3-13 in Big 12 (12th)
Postseason: None. Last appearance in NCAA Tournament was in 1987.
RETURNING LEADERS
Points: B. King 17.2
Rebs: Slocum 6.4
Assists: B. King 4.7
FG: Bean 55.9%
3pt: J. King 36.7%
FT: Jackson 76.0%
01-02 Stats:
Texas A&M | Big 12
KEY LOSSES
A. Leatherman | 5.8 ppg
PROJECTED STARTERS
G | L. Garcia-Morales | Junior
G | Bernard King | Junior
G | Jesse King | Junior
F | Keith Bean | Senior
F | Nick Anderson | Junior
Player to Watch
Bernard King
Junior Guard
With 301 points this season, he'll become the Big 12's all-time leading scorer.
DATE TO REMEMBER
A year ago, Texas A&M's most surprising victory of the season came when they went to Austin and defeated Texas. Now, the Aggies will try to build a little streak at the Frank Erwin Center.
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TEXAS A&M AGGIES
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Melvin Watkins is certainly an optimistic guy. The former Charlotte coach arrived in College Station with ideas of turning
around an Aggies program that doesn't exactly have at a lot of tradition. Entering this season, his fifth at A&M, Watkins is still
optimistic. He thinks this is the year that the Aggies finally have enough depth to compete in the Big 12 and he thinks that three
consecutive solid recruiting classes will help. This team does feature one thing that the Aggies haven't had in a while -- a top-flight recruit who wanted to come to A&M. Antoine Wright, a multi-talented wing, was recruited by several big programs, but Watkins convinced him to play for the Aggies. He's a player who Watkins thinks can help turn things around. Just as important was landing junior college point guard Leandro Garcia-Morales. He should start from the beginning of the season and try
to solidify a position that was a disaster a year ago when the Aggies went a brutal 9-22. Senior guard Bernard King is the closest thing Texas A&M has to a known commodity after averaging 17.2 points per game last season.
TOUGH ENOUGH..............................
With Wright and King, A&M has the potential to create defensive matchup problems. One of the two should have a
favorable matchup in man-to-man in nearly every game. The combination should be good for around 30 points per game.
TOUGH ENOUGH?..............................
With center Andy Slocum out six to eight weeks after having surgery on his back, there are legitimate questions about whether the Aggies will be able to rebound effectively enough to be competitive. Keith Bean and Nick Anderson both saw significant minutes last season, neither is a real rebounding force. If the Aggies can't find a way to rebound, it's going to be difficult for them to win games.
BOTTOM LINE..............................
Yes, there is more talent on this Texas A&M roster. Yes, there are some players who can score. But this is still a program
that gone 39-77 in Watkins first four years. While there should be some improvement, it's difficult to turning a losing program into a winning program in one year. A record close to .500 would be an accomplishment. There's a reason why the Aggies are picked near the bottom of the Big 12.
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