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Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M Aggies
School Name: Texas A&M University
Location: College Station, Texas
Arena: Reed Arena
Capacity: 12,500
Conference: SEC
Head coach: Buzz Williams

The Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team represents Texas A&M University in NCAA Division I college basketball. The Aggies play home games at Reed Arena, a 12,500-capacity arena in College Station, Texas on the campus of Texas A&M University. Buzz Williams is the current coach.

In the 2006-07 season, Texas A&M was the only program in the Big 12 Conference to have both men's and women's teams competing in the NCAA Tournament - the men as a 3 seed and the women as a 4 seed.[1][2]

The Aggies finished the 2009-10 season ranked No. 25 in the final polls.

History[]

Metcalf era[]

Shelby Metcalf took over the A&M basketball program in 1963. His impact was immediate, winning the Southwest Conference with a 13-1 conference record for Texas A&M's first title in 13 years. In his 26 years as head coach at Texas A&M, he won six Southwest Conference titles, two Southwest Conference tournament titles, and led A&M to six NCAA Tournament and four NIT appearances. He was fired by former A&M football player and then-athletic director John David Crow after coaching 19 games of the 1989-1990 season. When asked by the media what happened between the two, Metcalf remarked, "I made a comment that I didn't think John David was all that bright. And I thought I was being generous." Metcalf finished his career at A&M with an overall record of 438–306, making him the all-time winningest men's basketball coach in Southwest Conference history.

The Dark Ages[]

After Metcalf was fired, A&M went through the next fourteen years making only one postseason appearance (1994 NIT), finished above .500 in conference play only twice, and posted an overall record of .500 or above only twice. John Thornton finished out the 1990 season as head coach after Metcalf was fired. Soon after, Kermit Davis, Jr. was hired prior to the 1990–91 season. He resigned after posting a record of 8–21 and Texas A&M began investigating recruiting violations by Davis.[3] Tony Barone was hired from Creighton in 1991 to replace Davis. Barone lasted seven years as head coach of the program, finishing below .500 six times. It was in 1994 that he finished with a 10–4 league record for 2nd place in the Southwest Conference and was invited to the NIT. After Barone finished last in the Big 12 Conference in 1998, Melvin Watkins was hired out of UNC-Charlotte. While a good recruiter, Watkins never finished above seventh in the Big 12. He resigned after going winless (0–16) in conference play in 2004.[4]

Modern resurgence[]

Gillispie era[]

After Watkins resigned, Billy Gillispie, was hired out of UTEP after leading the Miners to an NCAA Tournament appearance and having the largest turnaround of any team in the nation, from 6–24 in 2002–03 to 24–8 in 2003–04. The Aggies, though picked by Big 12 coaches to finish last in the conference, immediately improved under Gillispie, winning their first 10 games and finishing at 21–10, 8–8 in conference.[5] Along the way, the team defeated ranked, in-state rivals Texas and Texas Tech. The team earned an NIT bid, Texas A&M's first postseason in 11 years, reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Gillispie's second year featured further improvement, with the Aggies defeating three ranked opponents in Colorado, Texas, and Syracuse. The team finished with a league record of 10–6 and a win in the Big 12 Tournament, Texas A&M's first since the conference first began play in 1996–97. The Aggies reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987 as a 12-seed, upsetting fifth-seed Syracuse in the first round. The Aggies fell in the second round to LSU on the final shot of the game.

In 2007, A&M was ranked as high as #10 in the pre-season polls. Despite early-season losses to LSU and UCLA, the Aggies accomplished several feats not seen in years by the Aggies, including a win at Allen Fieldhouse over then-#6 Kansas, a first for a Big 12 South team since the conference was formed. They suffered three losses in conference play, a sweep by Texas Tech and a double-overtime loss to a Kevin Durant-led Texas in Austin, and were able to secure the #2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. The Aggies lost in the quarterfinals to Oklahoma State. The Aggies received a #3 seed in the 2007 NCAA championship tournament, their highest seed ever, and reached the Sweet 16. In the postseason, the Aggies achieved a #9 ranking by the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches polls, the highest ranking ever attained in school history.[6]

On April 6, 2007, Gillispie resigned his position as head coach at Texas A&M to coach at the University of Kentucky.[7] Four days later, on April 10, Mark Turgeon, head coach of Wichita State University, was announced as the new men's basketball head coach at A&M.[8]

Turgeon era[]

The Aggies started the 2007-08 season ranked 14th in the preseason Coaches Poll. Once the season progressed, they won the 2007 NIT Season Tip-Off to extend their winning streak to 7–0. Their first loss of the season came to unranked Arizona. After the Arizona game, they would then win eight straight home games against unranked opponents. Team performance spiraled down once conference play had begun, losing to three straight unranked teams—at Texas Tech, at Michael Beasley-led Kansas State, and at home to Baylor in a 5-overtime classic. The Aggies would post wins at their next five matchups, including one over the 10th-ranked rival Texas Longhorns and three away games. They then regressed, losing to Oklahoma State and Nebraska at home. Another high point came when they defeated Texas Tech 98–54 at home, matching their highest margin of victory in school history (set in 1959 against Texas).[9] The Aggies regressed once again, this time losing 64–37 at Oklahoma. After the blowout, the Aggies were able to get revenge on Baylor in Waco, though came back home to lose their final regular season game to eventual national champion Kansas to finish the season at 8-8 in conference play. The team received a No. 6 bid to the Big 12 tournament, defeating Iowa State and Kansas State in the first two rounds, but lost to Kansas again in the semifinals. With their 24–10 record after the Big 12 tournament, the Aggies received a No. 9 at-large bid to the West Regional of the NCAA tournament. In the first round, they defeated 8th-seeded BYU 67–62 at Anaheim. In the second round, they faced UCLA at the same site, though allowed them to escape with a close 51–49 win.[10] The Aggies finished the season with a 25–11 record. The 25 wins matches the record for most wins by a first-year coach at a Big 12 school, set by former Texas coach Tom Penders in the 1988–89 season.[11]

The 2008–09 Aggies, led by Turgeon in his second year, went 14–1 in non-conference play, with wins over Alabama, Arizona, and LSU; the one loss was handed to them by Tulsa.[12]Josh Carter and Bryan Davis received preseason Big 12 honorable mention.[13] The team did not make the top 25 of the preseason AP or Coaches polls, though received votes.[14] During the 2009 signing period, the Aggies signed Naji Hibbert, Khris Middleton, Kourtney Roberson,[15] and Ray Turner,[16] all of whom were listed in the Rivals.com Top 150 prospects for the class of 2009. The Aggies went 9-7 in Big 12 play to make the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year; they defeated BYU in the first round for the second consecutive year before losing to UConn. Josh Carter became an All-Big 12 Third Team selection, while Derrick Roland was selected to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.[17] The Aggies finished 24-10, giving Turgeon 49 wins over two years.

In the 2009-10 season, the Aggies played a considerably tougher non-conference schedule, going 10-3. Senior guard Derrick Roland broke his leg grotesquely in December and missed the rest of the season. The team was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 in the preseason coaches' poll but finished tied for second. With their 22–8 regular-season finish and 11–5 mark in conference play, the Aggies participated in the 2010 Big 12 Tournament and defeated Nebraska before losing to No. 1 Kansas in the semifinals. They received an at–large bid to the NCAA tournament and earned a 5 seed in the South Region. They defeated 12 seed Utah State in the first round before falling to 4 seed Purdue in overtime in the second round to finish their season at 24–10. Donald Sloan made All-Big 12 First Team as a senior and Bryan Davis was named to the All-Big 12 Defensive team; they graduated with 100 wins, the most by any class in Aggie basketball history. Turgeon's 73 wins at the conclusion of the season surpassed Gillispie's 70 in three years at A&M. After the season it was announced that Turgeon, who is 73-31 at A&M, would return for a fourth after renegotiating his contract.

Notable former players[]

Name Class year Notability References
Walt Davis 1952 Former NBA player [18]
John Beasley 1966 Former ABA player [18]
Sonny Parker 1976 Former NBA player [18]
David Britton 1979 Former NBA player [18]
R.C. Buford 1980 San Antonio Spurs General Manager [19]
Doug Lee 1984 Former NBA player [18]
Jimmie Gilbert 1986 Former NBA player [18]
Winston Crite 1987 Former NBA player [18]
Darryl McDonald 1988 NBL player [20]
Bernard King 2003 Player for Mersin BŞB. S.K.

Former Big 12 career scoring leader

[21]
Antoine Wright 2006 NBA player for the Toronto Raptors [18][22]
Antanas Kavaliauskas 2007 Italian League player [23][24]
Acie Law IV 2007 NBA player for the Golden State Warriors [25]
Joseph Jones 2008 French League player [26]
Dominique Kirk 2008 Holds A&M record for games started (132), Plays EuroLeague in Turkey
Josh Carter 2009 Holds A&M records for games played (135), wins and winning percentage (98-37=.725), 3 point baskets made and was the first Texas A&M player to play in 4 straight NCAA tournaments (9 games) [18]
Chinemelu Elonu 2010 Spanish League Player for Zaragoza [18]
DeAndre Jordan 2011 NBA player for the Los Angeles Clippers [18][27]

Aggies in the NBA[]

Management[]

Current players[]

Retired jerseys[]

1Acie Law IV

Records[]

Career Points Scored[]

[28] Name Seasons Points
1 Bernard King 1999–2003 1,990
2 Vernon Smith 1977–1981 1,778
3 Acie Law IV 2003–2007 1,669
4 John Beasley 1963–1966 1,594
5 Winston Crite 1983–1987 1,576
6 Josh Carter 2005–2009 1,566
7 Donald Sloan 2007–2010 1,522
8 Rynn Wright 1977–1981 1,495
9 Claude Riley 1979–1983 1,383
10 Carroll Broussard 1959–1962 1,382
11 Bennie Lennox 1961–1964 1,344

2005-06 schedule and results (men)[]

Date Opponent Result Score Record Conf.
11/20/2005 Southern W 88-44 1-0
11/22/2005 Mississippi Valley State W 84-53 2-0
11/26/2005 Tulane W 83-57 3-0
12/3/2005 Pennsylvania State W 60-55 4-0
12/6/2005 North Texas W 72-70 5-0
12/10/2005 Grambling State W 101-71 6-0
12/17/2005 Savannah State W 67-34 7-0
12/22/2005 Auburn W 72-67 8-0
12/27/2005 Texas Southern W 81-56 9-0
12/31/2005 Northwestern State W 73-61 10-0
1/3/2006 @ Pacific L 56-63 10-1
1/7/2006 Texas Tech W 63-55 11-1 1-0
1/11/2006 @ Oklahoma State L 77-79 11-2 1-1
1/14/2006 Oklahoma L 44-45 11-3 1-2
1/18/2006 @ Kansas State L 54-58 11-4 1-3
1/21/2006 @ Iowa State (OT) W 86-81 12-4 2-3
1/25/2006 Kansas L 73-83 12-5 2-4
1/28/2006 Baylor W 72-70 13-5 3-4
2/1/2006 @ Oklahoma L 63-71 13-6 3-5
2/4/2006 @ Texas L 70=83 13-7 3-6
2/8/2006 Colorado W 61-58 14-7 4-6
2/11/2006 Oklahoma State W 46-44 15-7 5-6
2/18/2006 @ Baylor W 64-60 16-7 6-6
2/21/2006 @ Missouri W 54-51 17-7 7-6
2/25/2006 Nebraska W 66-55 18-7 8-6
3/1/2006 Texas W 46-43 19-7 9-6
3/4/2006 @ Texas Tech W 75-59 20-7 10-6
Big 12 Tournament (@ Dallas, TX)
3/10/2006 vs. Colorado W 86-53 21-7
3/11/2006 vs. Texas


2005-06 schedule and results (women)[]

Date Opponent Result Score Record Conf.
11/21/2005 St. Peter's W 77-36 1-0
Rainbow Wahine Classic (@ Honolulu, HI)
11/25/2005 vs. California State - Northridge W 76-52 2-0
11/26/2005 vs. DePaul L 71-84 2-1
11/27/2005 @ Hawaii L 66-68 2-2
12/4/2005 Washington W 79-65 3-2
12/10/2005 Sam Houston State W 94-52 4-2
Duel in the Desert (@ Las Vegas, NV)
12/17/2005 vs. Detroit W 72-54 5-2
12/18/2005 @ Nevada - Las Vegas W 73-48 6-2
12/21/2005 Dartmouth W 62-47 7-2
12/22/2005 Eastern Washington W 94-40 8-2
12/28/2005 Utah State W 81-55 9-2
12/30/2005 Arkansas - Little Rock W 78-64 10-2
1/2/2006 Rice W 65-64 11-2
1/4/2006 Oklahoma State W 74-52 12-2 1-0
1/7/2006 @ Texas Tech L 55-56 12-3 1-1
1/11/2006 Kansas State W 66-39 13-3 2-1
1/15/2006 @ Kansas W 78-64 14-3 3-1
1/18/2006 @ Baylor L 49-60 14-4 3-2
1/21/2006 Missouri W 72-52 15-4 4-2
1/24/2006 @ Colorado W 55-46 16-4 5-2
1/28/2006 Oklahoma L 72-81 16-5 5-3
2/5/2006 Texas Tech W 65-48 17-5 6-3
2/8/2006 @ Texas W 73-53 18-5 7-3
2/11/2006 @ Nebraska W 69-50 19-5 8-3
2/15/2006 Baylor L 59-84 19-6 8-4
2/18/2006 @ Oklahoma L 54-73 19-7 8-5
2/22/2006 Texas W 79-67 20-7 9-5
2/26/2006 Iowa State W 64-53 21-7 10-5
3/1/2006 @ Oklahoma State W 65-47 22-7 11-5
Big 12 Tournament (@ Dallas, TX)
3/8/2006 vs. Nebraska W 73-64 23-7
3/9/2006 vs. Baylor L 52-53 23-8


Conference membership history[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. "2007 NCAA Basketball Men's Viewable Brackets". NCAA. 2005-03-11. http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/mens/brackets/viewable/2007. Retrieved 2007-03-13. 
  2. "2007 NCAA Basketball Women's Viewable Brackets". NCAA. 2005-03-12. http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/womens/brackets/viewable/2007/DI. Retrieved 2007-03-13. 
  3. "Aggies' Coach Resigns". The New York Times. 1991-03-16. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1DC1E3CF935A25750C0A967958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fT%2fTexas%20A%20and%20M%20University. Retrieved 2007-03-15. 
  4. "Melvin Watkins Resigns As Texas A&M Basketball Coach". AggieDaily. 2004-03-11. http://newsarchives.tamu.edu/stories/04/031104-3.html. Retrieved 2007-03-15. 
  5. "Men's hoops plays earliest road game in school history". http://asunews.asu.edu/20081117_MBasketball_vsAztecs. 
  6. "Aggies Ranked No. 9 in Final USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll". Texas A&M Athletics. 2007-04-04. http://www.aggieathletics.com/pressRelease.php?SID=&PRID=12732. Retrieved 2007-04-05. 
  7. Billy Gillespie to become new UK basketball coach | SPORTS | WHAS11.com | News for Louisville, Kentucky
  8. "Turgeon Named Texas A&M Men's Basketball Coach". Texas A&M Athletics. 2007-04-10. http://www.aggieathletics.com/pressRelease.php?SID=&PRID=12763. Retrieved 2007-06-29. 
  9. Davis, Brian (2008-02-28). "Texas A&M snaps losing skid in win over Texas Tech". Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/topstories/stories/022808dnspotechandamlede.3417889.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  10. Miller, John (2008-03-24). "Last-second loss to UCLA mirrored much of season". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. http://www.star-telegram.com/college_sports/story/543893.html. Retrieved 2008-03-31.  Template:Dead link
  11. "WEST REGION". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 2008-03-21. http://www.star-telegram.com/college_sports/story/540965.html. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
  12. "Turgeon's Aggies off to another good start". http://www.cjonline.com/stories/010909/loc_375431609.shtml. 
  13. "OU’s Griffin Leads Preseason All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Individual Honors" (Press release). http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=106110&SPID=13134&DB_OEM_ID=10410&ATCLID=1603047. 
  14. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings (Nov. 10)". http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings?seasonYear=2009&weekNumber=1&seasonType=2. 
  15. "Turgeon Signs Impressive 2009 Recruiting Class". http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/111208aaa.html. 
  16. "Turgeon Adds Turner to Stellar Recruiting Class". http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/111408aaa.html. 
  17. "Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards Announced". http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10410&ATCLID=3687666. 
  18. 18.00 18.01 18.02 18.03 18.04 18.05 18.06 18.07 18.08 18.09 18.10 "Texas A&M University". Basketball-Reference.com. http://www.basketball-reference.com/colleges/texasam.html. Retrieved 2007-06-23.  Template:Dead link
  19. "RC Buford San Antonio Spurs". Hoopshype. http://www.hoopshype.com/general_managers/rc_buford.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-23. 
  20. "44. Darryl McDonald". Melbourne Tigers. http://www.nbl.com.au/default.aspx?s=tigers_playerprofile&profile=41. Retrieved 2007-06-23. 
  21. "Bernard King:2007-2008 Season Game Log". http://www.tblstat.net/pd.asp?p=394. Retrieved 2008-02-03. 
  22. RAPTORS: Raptors Roster
  23. "Texas A&M Student-Athletes are Set to Graduate" (Press release). Texas A&M Athletics. 2007-08-09. http://www.aggieathletics.com/pressRelease.php?PRID=13181. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
  24. Italian Player Profile
  25. BOBCATS: Bobcats Roster
  26. French Player Profile
  27. CLIPPERS: Clippers Roster
  28. http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/mbasketball/docs/0708-factbook.pdf (Texas A&M Basketball Media Guide 2006-07 pg. 120)
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