October 11, 2002
The Texas A&M men's basketball team will have its first official practice for the 2002-03 season on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. in the Reed Arena practice gym.
The Aggies will practice again at 11:30 a.m. in the practice gym before working out on the main floor at Reed Arena from 3-5 p.m.
A&M plays its first exhibition game on Nov. 11 against Ukraine's MBC Nikolaev, then meets the EA Sports All-Stars in the final exhibition on Nov. 19. The Aggies begin the regular season against Texas Southern on Nov. 24. All three of those games will start at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
A&M loses just three lettermen from last year, including two non-scholarship players. Among the 10 returning lettermen are six players who started in at least 65 percent of their games. Fifth-year coach Melvin Watkins also welcomes another nationally-ranked recruiting class that includes freshman forward Antoine Wright, arguably the highest-rated national recruit in school history.
"When you have that many players coming back who have logged a lot of minutes, you should have a much improved team," Watkins said. "When you factor in the newcomers, we should have an exciting season."
The roster is dominated by upperclassmen, featuring four seniors, eight juniors and just three freshmen. The only team in A&M history to boast more upperclassmen was in 1974-75, when the Aggies finished 20-7, won the Southwest Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament with 13 seniors and juniors.
"We think we have brought in Big 12 talent but it has been young talent," Watkins said. "We hope they have grown and become more mature basketball players."
Any discussion of the Aggies must start with senior Bernard King (6-5), who is on track to become the career scoring leader in Big 12 and A&M history. A three-time All-Big 12 pick, King is one of the country's most versatile players and could become only the eighth player in NCAA history to score 2,000 career points with 500 rebounds and 500 assists. King, who averaged 17.2 points and 4.7 assists as a junior, could be the prime beneficiary of the Aggies' improved depth.
"Bernard has been our everything-type player," Watkins said. "We are finally in a position to take some pressure off him. If we can do that, Bernard will be an improved player and that could be scary."
King has led the team in scoring and assists for three straight years, but several players could emerge to help him put points on the scoreboard and distribute the ball.
Senior Bradley Jackson (5-11) returns at point guard after starting in all 16 Big 12 games last year and averaging 4.4 assists in league play. He'll get immediate help from junior college transfer Leandro-Garcia Morales (6-1), a member of the 2001 Uruguay National Team who was the only JUCO player last year to rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring, assists and steals.
"Consistency at point guard has been a problem for us," Watkins said. "With Bradley returning and Leandro coming in, we have a chance to be better. We feel like we've addressed our concerns and this will be our best year yet in terms of getting production out of that position."
King, who also could see action at point guard, returns at shooting guard, while versatile junior Jesse King (6-7) likewise can contribute at the position. A potential All-Big 12-type player, Jesse King ranked third on the team in scoring last year with 7.5 points per game and made 62.5 percent from three-point range in Big 12 play.
Junior college transfer Kevin Turner (6-2), rated by Lindy's as one of the top 10 JUCO guards in the nation, is an outstanding long-range shooter. In one game last season he made 9-of-10 three-pointers.
The Aggies' deepest position may be at small forward, where Jesse King, who started in 14 games, saw his most action last year. Junior Tomas Ress (7-0) has struggled since missing the 2000-01 season with a severe illness, but is a highly-skilled player who could be a major surprise if he regains his strength and stamina.
The heralded Wright (6-7), a Parade All-America, is expected to see plenty of action as a true freshman and could see time at guard as well. ESPN.com rated Wright as the No. 4 overall prospect (and the top shooting guard) in the country last season. Freshman Marcus Watkins (6-4), son of A&M's head coach, was a first-team all-state pick last spring after averaging more than 30 points per game and could likewise see action at the forward and guard spots.
At power forward, junior Nick Anderson (6-6) returns after starting in 54 of 61 games in his career. Anderson has ranked second on the team in scoring the last two seasons and contributed 10.1 points per game as a sophomore. Ress could also help out, along with senior Brian Brookhart (6-10) and Bean. Freshman Luis Clemente (6-8is a partial qualifier who will be eligible next season.
A&M also boasts depth and talent at center. Junior Andy Slocum (7-0) averaged 7.3 points and 8.5 rebounds in conference play last season, but missed eight games with a broken left hand. He suffered a broken bone in his right hand last summer, but has recovered and should be at full speed. Bean logged the bulk of his minutes at center and added 8.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in league play. Junior Nolan Butterfras (6-10) could see increased playing time after adding 20 pounds in the offseason, beefing up to 265.
"This is by far the deepest team we've had since I've been here," Watkins said. "Every coach wants not only a strong starting five, but to be able to go to the bench and not have much of a drop off. We have as many as seven or eight guys who could start and that's a good position to be in.
"We also hope the depth is a strength to the point where if we have an injury we don't have that much of a dropoff," Watkins said. "Our weakness may be finding enough playing time for all these guys, but that's a good problem to have."
The Aggies face a daunting non-conference schedule, featuring road games against Miami (Fla.), LSU and Princeton and a home date against Tennessee. In addition, the Aggies will play in the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, Calif. After running that formidable gauntlet, the Aggies face the Big 12, which produced seven postseason teams last year, including two that advanced to the NCAA Final Four and four that went to the Elite Eight.
"We just want to be competitive night in and night out," he added. "If the team meshes and the chemistry is what we hope, then we don't want to set any parameters or goals that might hinder us from being the best we can be. We want to maximize this team's potential but we don't know what that is yet."
Watkins' program has been set back by injuries and internal problems, but he said those problems are in the past and the team is ready to move forward.
"We're behind in terms of what we've gone through with the injuries and suspensions -- those are things you don't anticipate," he said. "But as we look forward, we think this will be the best team Texas A&M has had in a while. If all goes as planned, this could be a team we can say has come light years from where we were a year ago."