November 07, 2001
The Texas A&M men's basketball team opens its two-game preseason exhibition schedule against Australia's Team ezybonds Thursday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
Aggie Athletes Involved, in conjunction with Twin City Mission, will be collecting Coats for Kids before the game. Fans who donate coats, blankets, sweat shirts or sweaters will be admitted to the game for $2.
Team ezybonds was 0-3 on its American tour going into Wednesday night's game at Sam Houston State. The Aussies have lost to Texas-El paso (103-77), New Mexico State (87-82) and Temple (84-66). They will continue their tour with a game at Arkansas on Friday. Team ezybonds is led by guard Braith Cox, who is averaging 16.7 points through three games, including a 20-point effort against Temple in which he made 6-of-8 three-pointers.
A&M returns four starters and nine lettermen from last season, along with a pair of seven-foot redshirts who started the last half of the 1999-2000 season as true freshmen. In addition, Watkins welcomes another strong recruiting class that includes a pair of talented junior college point guards and two freshmen.
"I'm as excited about this season as any since I've been here," Watkins said. "I was real excited last year, too, but then the 'Injury Armageddon' or whatever you want to call it made our team a shell of what we thought it could be. If we can keep everyone healthy, I think we have a right to be excited about this year. This could be our breakout season."
The Aggies still are among the youngest teams in the Big 12 with only one senior, guard Andy Leatherman (6'3"). Of the 15 players on the roster, nine are either freshmen or sophomores. Still, 12 team members have at least one year of Division I college basketball experience under their belts. In fact, the 15 letter citations on the roster are second most in the Big 12 to Kansas '17.
"I'd like us to be two-deep at every position and if I put my depth chart up right now, that appears to be the case," Watkins said. "It's critical for us to stay healthy and somehow have consistency throughout the course of the season. It's the most secure I've felt about our roster since I've been here. One of our issues has been to have enough players to have competition in practice. We haven't had that and that has taken away from what we've wanted to do. This is possibly the first year we've had that competition. That means that every day in practice we will have to compete and that's just something we haven't had.
"We hope to have a little more flexibility in what we do," he added. "I think you'll see more of that on the defensive end. We'd like to extend the defense a little more and be a little bit more aggressive. To do that, you have to play at a high level, which means you can't play as long. That's where that depth will come in. You'll probably see more faces out there, but we'll probably get more things done."
Without a true point guard the Aggies were inconsistent last year, but the addition of JUCO transfers Michael Gardener (5'11") and Bradley Jackson (5'11") appears to have filled that glaring need and will allow Leatherman to move back to his more natural shooting guard spot.
A lightening-quick slasher, Gardener was one of the top junior college freshmen in the country last season while Jackson, who started as a true freshman for coach Steve Fisher at San Diego State two years ago, is a hard-nosed defensive specialist regarded for his knack for making the right decisions on the court.
"We're excited about both of these guys," Watkins said. "They complement each other. Michael is a high energy, all-over-the-floor kind of player whereas Bradley is more steady and low key. Bradley is a little more like 'This is the way we do it and I'm just going to do it.' It's not going to be as fancy with Bradley as it is with Michael, but I think we're going to like that contrast."
The addition of the new point guards should lessen the pressure on junior guard Bernard King (6'5"), a two-time All-Big 12 pick who has developed into a bonafide All-America candidate. Last year, the versatile King ranked third in the Big 12 with an 18.0 scoring average and also was listed among the league's top 10 in assists (4.8) , steals (1.5) and three-point field goals (2.1).
King, whose 17.5 career average already ranks seventh in school history, became the first A&M player to reach 1,000 career points as a sophomore. He is one of only four A&M players ever to score more than 1,000 points (1,014) with 250 assists (258) and he's only played two seasons.
Last year, only two other players in country averaged at least 18.0 points and 4.5 assists per game -- Duke All-American Jason Williams and Monmouth's Rahsaan Johnson.
"Bernard has proven himself at this level," Watkins said. "If he wants, he can be an All-American. That should be one of his goals because he's that type of player and that type of player makes your team better all around. He's worked awfully hard because he feels he has something to prove and when a player of his ability feels they have something to prove, look out. The sky is the limit for Bernard."
While the influx of new talent at point guard will revitalize the backcourt, the return of a pair of seven-foot redshirts will make a dramatic impact in the frontcourt for a team that finished 11th in the Big 12 in rebounding a year ago.
Sophomores Tomas Ress (7'0") and Andy Slocum (7'0") each missed last season with medical problems, Ress with a severe staph infection and Slocum with a shoulder injury that required surgery. Both apparently are healthy again and look to pick up where they left off two years ago when Ress started the final 12 games of the year and Slocum started his last 14 games.
While Watkins will count on Gardener and Jackson to carry the brunt of the load at point guard, Leatherman and King can also handle spot duty at the position. At times, the Aggies could put as many as three guards on the court depending on the situation.
King has started at shooting guard in 57 of 58 career games going into the season, while Leatherman will return to the spot full time after being forced by the circumstances to play point guard as a junior. King has made 141 career three-points and needs just nine more to become A&M's career leader.
A number of other players should also see action at shooting guard, including talented freshman Daryl Mason (6'6") and junior Larry Scott (6'6"). Versatile sophomore Jesse King (6'7"), who will see plenty of action at the forward positions, could also see limited action at guard.
Mason led Bryan High School to the state Class 5A championship game last spring and could be one of the top freshmen in the Big 12 this season.
"We are excited about not only Daryl's athletic ability, but his passion to win," Watkins said. "He's going to play and time will tell what impact he'll have in the Big 12."
The Aggies' deepest and most talented position may be small forward. After sitting out the first semester, Jesse King came on strong at the end of last season after playing his way into shape and averaged 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in the last 11 games. Mason and Scott also could see playing time, along with sophomores Nick Anderson (6'6") and Ress, both of whom likely will see more playing time at power forward.
Anderson started every game at power forward last season and earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman team. He ranked second on the team in scoring (10.3) and rebounding (5.2) and led in blocked shots (29). In the last half of the season, Anderson arguably was the best freshman in the league, averaging 14.4 points in that stretch.
Ress may see more action at power forward this season to take advantage of his lanky 7'0" frame. He showed his ability late in his freshman year with a 22-point, 8-rebound performance at Missouri.
Junior Keith Bean (6'9"), a transfer from North Carolina State who sat out the 1999-00 season, was forced to play as an undersized center because of a lack of bodies last year and responded well, starting in 19 games, averaging 7.0 points and leading the team with 5.5 rebounds per game. The return of Slocum to the lineup should allow Bean to see more action at his natural power forward position.
Bean may still see some action at center, but wide-bodies Slocum and sophomore Nolan Butterfras (6'10") will carry the load, unless Watkins decides to redshirt Butterfras. Watkins wanted to redshirt Butterfras last year, but Slocum's injury forced him into the lineup.
Butterfras started in 10 games, including the final eight Big 12 games, and averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in league play. Slocum averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in Big 12 play as a freshman, including a career-high 14 points and six boards in a head-to-head matchup with Texas All-American Chris Mihm. Slocum also is a solid outside shooter who made 4-of-10 three-point attempts.