December 01, 2002
Game #4: Texas A&M AGGIES (2-1) vs. Oakland GOLDEN GRIZZLIES (2-1)
Monday, Dec. 2, 2002
7 p.m. (Central)
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 6:45 p.m. (Central)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
None
The Texas A&M Aggies (2-1) begin a two-game homestand on Monday when they play the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (2-1) at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. The Aggies play host to Tennessee on Wednesday (7 p.m.) before taking a short road trip to Prairie View A&M on Saturday (3:30 p.m.). The Aggies are coming off an important 79-77 upset of LSU on Saturday in the Space City Hoops Classic at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Oakland is coming off an 88-84 loss to Akron at home on Saturday. The Aggies are 1-0 at home this season while the Golden Grizzlies are taking their first road trip. Monday's game marks the first meeting between the schools.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES
Oakland University is located in Rochester, Mich., just outside of Detroit. In its fifth season as a Division I program, Oakland returns one starter and six lettermen from last year's team that finished 17-13 overall and tied for second in the Mid-Continent Conference with a 10-4 mark. Head coach Greg Kampe is in his 19th year at Oakland and in 1999-00, was named National Coach of the Year by CollegeHoopsInsider after leading the team to the MCC title in their first season as a Division I program. Oakland is led by the outstanding guard tandem of junior Mike Helms (6-0) and sophomore Rawle Marshall (6-7). Helms, a first-team All-MCC pick last year, is averaging 25.7 points per game, while Marshall, a transfer from Ball State, is adding 23.3 points and 7.0 rebounds. Freshman guard John Floyd (6-0) is contributing 15.3 points and has made 69.2 percent from three-point range, and freshman center Shawn Hopes (6-8) is adding 12.0 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds. Oakland opened the year with consecutive wins against Spring Arbor (107-72) and Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne (95-68). The Grizzlies are averaging a whopping 95.3 points per game.
THE SERIES
Texas A&M and Oakland have never played. The Aggies are 11-6 against teams from the Mid-Continent Conference, with a 7-4 mark against Oral Roberts, a 2-0 record against Valparaiso and a 2-2 slate against Missouri-Kansas City. The last time A&M played a current MCC school was in 1998-99, when it lost to Oral Roberts in overtime, 89-86, in Tulsa.
THE COACHES
- TEXAS A&M: MELVIN WATKINS (UNC Charlotte '77)
- 41-78, 5th year at A&M
- 83-98, 7th year overall
- 0-0 vs. Greg Kampe
- 0-0 vs. Oakland
OAKLAND: GREG KAMPE (Bowling Green '78)
- 308-209, 19th year at OU
- 308-209, 19th year overall
- 0-0 vs. Melvin Watkins
- 0-0 vs. Texas A&M
TENTATIVE STARTERS
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (2-1) No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG 2 Keith Bean F 6-8 Sr. 7.0 7.3 5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Jr. 4.0 4.0 21 Antoine Wright G 6-7 Fr. 18.3 7.0 32 Bernard King G 6-5 Sr. 18.7 5.0a 10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-2 Jr. 6.3 3.7a Injury Report: Andy Slocum, back surgery (will not play). OAKLAND GOLDEN GRIZZLIES (2-1) No Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG 3 Kelly Williams F 6-5 Jr. 3.3 6.7 44 Jordan Sabourin C 7-0 Jr. 4.7 5.0 1 Rawle Marshall G 6-7 So. 23.3 7.0 10 John Floyd G 6-0 Fr. 15.3 3.3 23 Mike Helms G 6-0 Jr. 25.7 3.7a
WATKINS QUOTEBOARD
"Oakland has a couple of big-time scorers in Mike Helms and Rawle Marshall. Anytime a team can score points like they do, it can be a dangerous team. We've got to be sure we are focused going into the game. There is always a chance for a letdown after a win like we had against LSU. To avoid that, you have to be mature and we'll see how mature we are. Our guys are still trying to prove themselves and they are still hungry, so we're going in with the right attitude. In the past, we've had letdowns in games of this type but we've just got to be mature enough to handle it."
LSU RECAP
HOUSTON (AP)- Bernard King scored 26 points as Texas A&M held off Louisiana State 79-77 in the final seconds Saturday in the Space City Classic at Reliant Stadium. LSU had a chance to tie the score with three seconds left after the Aggies (2-1) turned the ball over on an inbound pass and King fouled Torris Bright in the lane. But Bright missed the first half of a 1-and-1, and LSU (2-1) batted the ball out of bounds. LSU trailed by eight in the final minute before hitting two 3-pointers to move within 79-77. Freshman Antoine Wright scored 22 points for the Aggies. King scored six of the Aggies' final 10 points. Collis Temple III, who shot 5-of-7 from the 3-point line, led LSU with 19 points. The Tigers were 13-of-26 on 3-pointers. A&M led by 13 in the first half, shooting nine 3-pointers. King hit four 3-pointers during a 23-7 run by the Aggies. Texas A&M led 45-38 at the half.
LOOKING AHEAD
After playing Oakland on Monday, the Aggies play host to Tennessee on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. The Volunteers are 2-0 after beating Gardner-Webb (71-69) and Virginia Military Institute (88-56) at home in their first two games. Tennessee leads the series, 3-0, but has never played in College Station. The teams last met in in the consolation game of the 1985 Sugar Bowl Tournament in New Orleans, with the Volunteers posting a 70-64 victory. On Saturday, A&M makes its first-ever visit to Prairie View A&M for a 3:30 p.m. matchup. A&M is 4-0 against the Panthers, but Prairie View defeated Houston in its opener and pushed No. 8-ranked Oklahoma to the wire on Saturday in Norman before falling, 75-63. The Aggies will be off for eight days after the Prairie View game, then will play host to Texas-San Antonio at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15 at Reed Arena. A&M and UTSA have never played in basketball. UTSA's athletic director is Lynn Hickey, former women's basketball coach and senior associate athletic director at A&M. After another week off, A&M plays host to Louisiana-Monroe at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 22. LMU upset the Aggies, 76-61, last season in the Las Vegas Classic in the teams' lone previous meeting. After a break for Christmas, the Aggies meet Princeton on Dec. 27 in the first round of the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, Calif. On Dec. 28, A&M will meet either Mississippi Valley or host Santa Clara. The Aggies close non-conference play with a home game against Centenary on Jan. 2. A&M opens Big 12 action at home against Oklahoma State on Jan. 11 (6 p.m.).
WATKINS' GRADUATION RATE
Since becoming Texas A&M's head basketball coach in 1998, Melvin Watkins has posted an enviable graduation rate, with 11 of his 13 players who have completed their eligibility at A&M receiving their degrees (84.6 percent). The two non-graduates are playing professional basketball overseas. Of the seven players who did not remain at A&M, three have graduated and the other four are still in school. Among current players, Brian Brookhart graduated in August and is now in graduate school, while Keith Bean is on track for a May graduation and Bradley Jackson, Tomas Ress and Andy Slocum are expected to graduate next August.
HAIL THE KING
Senior guard Bernard King, a preseason candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year, scored 26 points in Saturday's win against LSU and is on track to become the career scoring leader in Big 12 and Texas A&M history. King now has 1,587 points (17.4 average), ranking fourth in Big 12 annals and third on the A&M chart. King needs 192 points to pass Vernon Smith (1977-81) as A&M's leader and needs 244 to pass Iowa State's Marcus Fizer (1997-00) as the Big 12 leader. King also has compiled 415 assists and 404 rebounds and is attempting to become only the eighth Division I player to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists and 500 rebounds in a career. King's 415 assists rank 11th all-time in the Big 12 and fourth at A&M. Last season, he was the only player in the country to average at least 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. King is rated as the 21st best NBA prospect in the Class of 2003 by NBADraft.net. King has has 33 career 20-point games.
DIAPER DANDY
Freshman forward Antoine Wright, the consensus pick as the preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year, is also a member of Dick Vitale's prestigious "Diaper Dandies," a list of the nation's top 16 freshmen as selected by the ESPN analyst. Wright was rated as the top shooting guard and the No. 4 overall prospect in the country by ESPN.com last year. Wright, rated as the 10th best NBA prospect in the Class of 2006 by NBA Draft.net, also was a member of the USA Junior World Championship Team last summer. He is averaging 18.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and has made a blazing 11-of-22 (.500) from three-point range. In the last two games, Wright has posted back-to-back 20-point efforts, scoring a career high 25 against Miami and adding 22 in the win against LSU. He has made 10-of-19 (.526) from three-point range in the last two games.