October 15, 1999
As Melvin Watkins enters his second season as Texas A&M's men's basketball coach, he may need a game program to identify all the newcomers in maroon and white jerseys. Still, the ever-optimistic Watkins thinks the Aggies can be competitive in the Big 12 Conference this season - if the newcomers rise to the challenge behind the leadership of the veterans.
Watkins gets his first look at the 1999-2000 Aggies when the team has its first official practice Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. All practice sessions are closed.
"We're all excited about lacing up our shoes again," Watkins said. "It's been a long time since our last game in March. All our new players are really excited about getting out there and showing us how good they are. One area we must improve in is our defense. We have the quickness and athletic ability to allow us to be a much better defensive team and we need to do that to be competitive in the Big 12."
Watkins' first full recruiting class at A&M has been ranked as high as No. 14 nationally by some publications. However, the Aggies return just three scholarship players from last season, including just one starter. Of the 14 players on the active roster, 10 have not played Division I basketball, giving the Aggies one of the youngest teams in school history.
"The recruiting class has everyone excited because the potential is there, but potential doesn't win basketball games," Watkins said. "You have to come in and play it out on the court. That means we are going to need the leadership of our returning players to play an extra part in us having some success this year.
"I don't think I've ever been associated with a team this young," Watkins added. "We will have to depend on some of the new players coming in and contributing immediately. You'd like to be able to bring those kids along gradually, but we are in a situation where some of them will be thrown into the fire right away. But with that, I think our fans will see some kids that have the talent to eventually be able to compete at the Big 12 level."
The team's lone returning starter is senior forward Jerald Brown (6-7), who has started in 66 career games. Other returning lettermen are senior forwards Aaron Jack (6-8), Paul Jacobs (6-9) and Jason Boeker (6-8), and sophomore guard Andy Leatherman (6-2).
The newcomers include five true freshmen - center Andy Slocum (6-11), forward Tomas Ress (6-9), forward Larry Scott (6-5) and guards Bernard King (6-3) and Jamaal Gilchrist (5-10) - and redshirt freshmen Larry Jackson (6-10) and Brian Brookhart (6-9). Watkins welcomes just two junior college transfers in sophomore guard Damon Escoffery (6-3) and junior forward Carlton Brown (6-6).
Watkins hopes the influx of newcomers will provide a firm foundation on which to build his program. With only four seniors, 11 players on the current roster are expected to return in 2000-2001 and only one, Carlton Brown, will be a senior.
"Hopefully, we won't have to recruit as many players every year as we did this year, but when you build a program, these are the things you go through," Watkins said. "We know that recruiting is the bloodline of any successful program. We feel we eventually are going to be very competitive in this league."
In addition to the rugged Big 12 schedule, which includes an ESPN "Big Monday" game against Kansas, the Aggies will play a competitive non-conference slate that includes home games against North Carolina A&T, Stephen F. Austin, Virginia Commonwealth and Centenary. The road schedule includes games against North Texas, Tulane, Rice, Lamar and Dayton, along with two games at the prestigious Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, Calif.
"We hope this schedule gives the young kids we have coming in a chance to get their feet wet," Watkins said. "The schedule gets progressively tougher and hopefully by January and February our players will have logged some minutes and have gotten a taste of what college basketball is all about."
For ticket information, contact the Athletic Ticket Office at 845-2311.
AGGIES AT A GLANCE Returning Starters (1) Jerald Brown 6-7 G/F Sr-3L 5.9 ppg 3.6 rpg Lost Starters (4) Chris Clayton 6-3 G 8.7 ppg 2.3 rpg 2.0 3-Pt. Clifton Cook 6-1 G 15.6 ppg 5.4 rpg 5.8 ast Shanne Jones 6-5 F 14.3 ppg 6.0 rpg Joe White 6-10 C 6.0 ppg 3.4 rpg 0.9 blk Returning Lettermen (5) Jason Boeker 6-8 F Sr-1L 0.3 ppg 0.9 rpg Jerald Brown 6-7 G/F Sr-3L 5.9 ppg 3.6 rpg Aaron Jack 6-8 F Sr-2L 5.6 ppg 4.0 rpg Paul Jacobs 6-9 F Sr-1L 3.4 ppg 3.2 rpg Andy Leatherman 6-2 G So-1L 2.7 ppg 1.2 rpg Returning Redshirts (2) Brian Brookhart 6-9 F Fr-Tr Larry Jackson 6-10 C Fr-Rs Lost Lettermen (7) T.J. Brown 6-1 G 0.3 ppg 0.4 rpg Chris Clayton 6-3 G 8.7 ppg 2.3 rpg 2.0 3-Pt. Clifton Cook 6-1 G 15.6 ppg 5.4 rpg 5.8 ast Shanne Jones 6-5 F 14.3 ppg 6.0 rpg Michael Schmidt 6-6 F 7.4 ppg 2.7 rpg Joe White 6-10 C 6.0 ppg 3.4 rpg 0.9 blk Shelton Wise 6-4 G 0.8 ppg 0.9 rpg Newcomers (7) Carlton Brown 6-6 F Jr-Tr San Antonio, Texas (Jay/Temple JC) Damon Escoffery 6-3 G So-Tr Brooklyn, N.Y. (Erasmus/Mont. Peninsula) Jamaal Gilchrist 5-10 G Fr-Hs Middleburg, Va. (Notre Dame Academy) Bernard King 6-3 G Fr-Hs Gibsland, La. (Coleman) Tomas Ress 6-9 G Fr-Hs Hileah, Fla. (Champagnat) Larry Scott 6-5 F Fr-Hs St. James, Md. (St. James) Andy Slocum 6-11 C Fr-Hs West Monroe, La. (West Monroe)