December 19, 2002
Game #8: Texas A&M AGGIES (5-2) vs. Louisiana-Monroe INDIANS (2-4)
Sunday, Dec. 22, 2002
3 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: 2:45 p.m. (Central)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION: None
After a week off for final examinations, the Texas A&M Aggies (5-2) play host to the Louisiana-Monroe Indians (2-4) on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station. Tickets can be purchased at the door ($15-courtside; $12-mezzanine; $10-balcony; $6-gallery). The Aggies are coming off an 80-75 home loss to Texas-San Antonio last Sunday, ending a four-game winning streak. Louisiana-Monroe is coming off an 80-57 loss at Mississippi on Tuesday. A&M is 3-1 at home this season while ULM is 1-3 in true road games. The Indians defeated the Aggies, 76-61, last season in the Las Vegas Classic.
About the Indians
Louisiana-Monroe returns 12 lettermen but only one starter from last year's team that finished 20-12 overall and placed second in the Southland Conference with a 15-5 mark. The Indians are in their 22nd season under coach Mike Vining, who has posted 372 victories. ULM is led by senior forward Kirby Lemons (6-7), who is averaging 17.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Senior forward Reggie Griffin (6-4) and junior guard Mark Keith (6-5) are each adding 11.7 points per game. The Indians have beaten Tougaloo (85-80) and TCU (90-79 in Fort Worth), with road losses to Baylor (79-74), Mississippi (80-57) and Centenary (92-71). They also lost a hame game to Centenary (80-65) to open the season. Offensively, ULM is averaging 73.7 points per game and making 43.0 percent from the field. They rank among the best offensive rebounding teams in the country with an average of 17.7 per contest. Defensively, the Indians are allowing 81.7 points while their opponents have made 48.6 percent from the field and 38.0 percent from three-point range.
A&M-ULM Series
Louisiana-Monroe leads the series, 1-0, after posting a 76-61 win against the Aggies last year in the fifth-place game at the Las Vegas Classic. The Aggies are 102-36 against current members of the Southland Conference.
TEXAS A&M vs. LOUISIANA-MONROE (ULM leads, 1-0) Year Result Site 2001-02 ULM 76, A&M 61 Las Vegas
Coaches
- TEXAS A&M: MELVIN WATKINS (UNC Charlotte '77)
- 44-79, 5th year at A&M
- 86-99, 7th year overall
- 0-1 vs. Mike Vining
- 0-1 vs. ULM
LOUISIANA-MONROE: MIKE VINING (Louisiana-Monroe '67)
- 372-252, 22nd year at ULM
- 372-252, 22nd year overall
- 1-0 vs. Melvin Watkins
- 1-0 vs. Texas A&M
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (5-2) No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG 2 Keith Bean F 6-8 Sr. 7.9 6.1 3 Jesse King III F 6-7 Jr. 7.3 4.7 21 Antoine Wright G 6-7 Fr. 18.1 8.7 32 Bernard King G 6-5 Sr. 16.3 6.1a 10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-2 Jr. 5.0 3.9a LOUISIANA-MONROE INDIANS (2-4) No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG 42 "Tank" Thompson C 6-10 Jr. 8.7 5.2 32 Kirby Lemons F 6-7 Sr. 17.7 11.3 23 Mark Keith F 6-5 Jr. 11.7 2.7 3 Reggie Griffin G 6-4 Sr. 11.7 4.7 20 Brandon Horn G 6-0 Jr. 5.7 2.7a
Watkins Quoteboard
"Louisiana-Monroe beat us last year and, after we lost to UTSA, they probably feel like they can come in here and get another win. They went on the road and beat TCU by 11 points, so we know they will come in with a lot of confidence. It's up to us to make sure that when they leave here that confidence is gone. We've got to do a better job of taking the ball to the basket. We are settling for too many jump shots and we've got to change that. We've got to get our mid-range game going. We know we can shoot the three, but the three is not going to go all the time. We have the type of kids who, when we are in practice and in meetings and even watching the tape, the questions they ask and the atmosphere in our meetings and in our practices is so much better than it's been in the past. Through the course of any season you are going to have some bumps in the road. The UTSA loss was a bump in the road for us and we've got to bounce back. I think this group will do that."
TALE OF THE TAPE (2002-03 STAT COMPARISON) ULM A&M Record 2-4 5-2 Conference 0-0 0-0 Sagarin 235 101 RPI --- --- W-L Streak L1 L1 FG Pct. .430 .447 Opp. FG Pct. .486 .399 3-Pt. FG Pct. .326 .382 Opp. 3-Pt. Pct. .380 .313 3-Pt. FG Avg. 4.7 7.9 3-Pt. Att. Avg. 14.3 20.6 FT Pct. .677 .648 Opp. FT Pct. .771 .597 Rebound Avg. 37.8 41.0 Off. Reb. Avg. 17.7 11.7 Reb. Margin +4.3 -0.6 Turnovers Avg. 20.5 16.4 Opp. Turnovers 16.8 16.0 Assists Avg. 13.5 18.6 Blocks Avg. 2.8 2.0 Steals Avg. 8.2 6.0 Scoring Avg. 73.7 76.1 Opp. Scoring 81.7 71.3 Scoring Margin -8.0 +4.8
UTSA Recap
COLLEGE STATION-- Ike Akotaobi scored 29 points and added nine rebounds to lead Texas-San Antonio to an 80-75 victory over Texas A&M on Sunday. UTSA's (3-3) LeRoy Hurd, who finished with 20 points, gave UTSA a 74-73 lead with a jump shot with 1:27 remaining. The Roadrunners did not miss a field goal in the final 6:50 and handing A&M its first home loss of the season. A&M (5-2) was led by a 16-point performance by freshman Antoine Wright, who added 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double. Kevin Turner hit his third three-pointer of the game midway through the second half to give A&M a 59-50 lead, its largest of the game. The Aggies missed six consecutive free throw attempts in the final two minutes, four by Bernard King, allowing the Roadrunners to close the game with an 11-2 run. A&M's only basket in the final two minutes was a layup by Wright with just two seconds remaining.
Last Year vs. ULM
LAS VEGAS (Dec. 22, 2002) -- After an impressive win against Purdue on Friday in the third round of the Las Vegas Classic, Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins hoped his team had turned a corner. Unfortunately for the Aggies, the Louisiana-Monroe Indians were waiting around that corner in Saturday's final round. The Indians (4-5) held off the Aggies (6-6) for a 76-61 victory in to capture seventh place in the round-robin tournament at Valley High School. The Aggies played without sophomore Jesse King, who suffered a bruised knee on Friday, and senior Andy Leatherman, who did not make the trip after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last week. Nick Anderson played with a sprained ankle and Bernard King was nursing a strained groin and a thigh bruise. The Indians took a 31-25 lead at halftime, then extended the lead to 42-30 just four minutes into the second half. But the weary Aggies, playing in the early game on the tournament's final day after beating Purdue in the late game on Friday, charged back to tie the game at 46-46 with 10:49 left, thanks largely to a trio of three-point field goals by Anderson. Louisiana-Monroe regained control behind a flurry of points by forward Brian Lubeck, who finished with a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds.
Quick Notes
- An early candidate for National Freshman of the Year, forward Antoine Wright has twice been named Big 12 Rookie of the Week. Wright leads the team in scoring, rebounding, steals, blocks, three-point field goals and minutes played. He's on pace to break Big 12 and A&M freshman records for each of those categories.
- Among Dick Vitale's Preseason Diaper Dandies, the commentator's the top 16 freshmen in the country, Wright ranks second in production index, which combined scoring, rebounding and assists. Wright has had perhaps the biggest impact of any freshman, as the Aggies are off to a 5-2 start after finishing 9-22 last season.
- After leading at halftime just four times last season (with a 2-2 record when they did), the Aggies have led at halftime in five of seven games this season. A&M is 5-0 when leading at halftime.
- Bernard King needs 134 points to become A&M's career scoring leader and needs 186 to break the Big 12 mark.
- King leads the Aggies with five three-point plays this season (FG+FT).
- The Aggies have out-rebounded five of seven opponents this season.
- The Aggies are 5-0 when shooting at least 43.2 percent from the field.
- Jesse King III leads the team in dunks with six, including four in the seocnd half against Oakland.
- A&M is 5-0 when it controls the opening tip.
- The Aggies have averaged 23.1 bench points this season.
- The A&M frontcourt has averaged 39.4 points per game while the backcourt has contributed 35.3 points per contest.
- Ten A&M players have started at least seven games in their college careers.
- A&M has had more assists than turnovers in five of seven games, something the Aggies accomplished just 12 times in 31 games last season.
Who's Hot?
- Kevin Turner has averaged 13.0 points in the last three games, making 10-of-22 from three-point range (.455). Turner made four straight three-pointers in 81 seconds to ice the win against Tennessee.
- Antoine Wright has had three straight double-doubles, averaging 17.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in that span. Wright has scored in double figures in all seven games.
- Bernard King has averaged 16.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists in the last three games.
- Jesse King scored 11 points against UTSA and has posted at least six rebounds in four straight games. He leads the team in field goal percentage at .649.
Dynamic Duo
The scoring combination of senior Bernard King and freshman Antoine Wright is shaping up to be one of the most prolific in school history. Through seven games, King is averaging 16.3 points and Wright is adding 18.1. "King and Wright are great players," Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson said after the Aggies' 83-66 victory. The only other time in school history that two players have each averaged more than 16.0 points for a season was in 1975-76, when Sonny Parker (20.7) and Barry Davis (16.2) turned the trick. That team won the Southwest Conference title.
A&M'S BEST 1-2 PUNCHES (Two players averaging 15.0 min.) Rk. (Combined PPG), Player (PPG), Year 1. (38.1), Joe Wilbert (22.9), Tony McGinnis (15.2), 1993-94 2. (36.9), Sonny Parker (20.7), Barry Davis (16.2), 1975-76 3. (34.4), Antoine Wright (18.1), Bernard King (16.3), 2002-03 4. (33.1) Billy Bob Barnett (17.4), Ronnie Peret (15.7), 1968-69
Hail The King
Senior guard Bernard King, a preseason candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year, has led the team in scoring three times this season, including a season-high 26 points against LSU and 19 points against Tennessee. King is on track to become the career scoring leader in Big 12 and Texas A&M history. King now has 1,655 points (17.3 average), ranking fourth in Big 12 annals and second on the A&M chart. King needs 134 points to pass Vernon Smith (1977-81) as A&M's leader and needs 186 to pass Iowa State's Marcus Fizer (1997-00) as the Big 12 leader. King also has compiled 443 assists and 420 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 443 assists rank sixth 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. Against Tennessee, he added a career-high 11 assists and six rebounds to his 19 points, his eighth career double-double.
Mr. Bean
Senior forward Keith Bean scored 11 points with a career-high 13 rebounds against Miami. Bean had a pair of double doubles last year and had a trio of 12-rebound games. He just missed another double-double against Oakland, scoring eight points with 10 rebounds. Bean has connected on 62.5 percent from the field after making 62.1 percent last season. His career field goal percentage of 54.5 percent ranks sixth in school history.
Diaper Dandy
Freshman forward Antoine Wright, the consensus pick as the preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year and an early candidate for National Freshman of the Year honors, 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 a team-best 18.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and has made a blazing 22-of-50 (.440) from three-point range. Wright has posted four 20-point efforts, scoring a career high 25 against Miami, adding 22 in the win against LSU and finishing with 21 against Oakland and Prairie View A&M. Wright has twice been named Big 12 Rookie of the Week and is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top 12 in the league in six statistical categories. He ranks seventh in the league in scoring and eighth in rebounding, the only freshman in the top 10 of either category. He ranks second in the Big 12 in three-point field goals (3.1) and leads the league in defensive rebounding (7.7).
DIAPER DANDY PRODUCTION INDEX (Index = combined scoring, rebounding and assists averages by members of Dick Vitale's Diaper Dandy list) '02 '03 Rk. Index Player, School PPG RPG APG W-L W-L 1. 38.0 Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse 24.8 10.0 3.2 23-13 5-1 2. 29.4 Antoine Wright, Texas A&M 18.1 8.7 2.6 9-22 5-2 3. 28.3 Chris Bosh, Georgia Tech 15.1 10.9 2.3 15-16 5-2 4. 27.1 Rashad McCants, N.Carolina 20.1 5.1 1.9 8-20 5-2 5. 26.9 Bracey Wright, Indiana 18.7 5.6 2.6 25-12 8-0 6. 25.1 Sean May, N. Carolina 15.3 8.7 1.1 8-20 5-2 7. 22.3 Torin Francis, Notre Dame 11.6 9.8 0.9 22-11 9-1 8. 20.7 Raymond Felton, N. Carolina 10.4 3.9 6.4 8-20 5-2 9. 19.7 Daniel Horton, Michigan 13.2 3.0 3.5 11-18 2-6 10. 19.4 Jason Fraser, Villanova 9.9 9.0 0.5 19-13 5-3 11. 19.0 Hassan Adams, Arizona 13.8 4.0 1.2 24-10 5-0 12. 16.5 Shavlik Randolph, Duke 10.3 5.5 0.7 31-4 6-0 13. 14.5 Paul Davis, Michigan State 9.8 4.1 0.6 19-12 6-2 14. 11.1 Shelden Williams, Duke 6.8 4.0 0.3 31-4 6-0 15. 10.9 Brad Buckman, Texas 6.1 4.7 0.1 22-12 5-2 16. n/a Christian Drejer, Florida Has Not Played -- -- Stats and records through games of Wednesday, Dec. 18
Game Turner
Junior guard Kevin Turner, rated as one of the top 10 JUCO guards in the country last year by Lindy's, has quickly become a mainstay in the rotation and was the hero of the Tennessee game. Turner scored a career-high 16 points against the Vols, making 4-of-6 from three-point range. UT had trimmed a big A&M lead to 63-62 with 3:06 left, but Turner buried four straight three-pointers in the next 81 seconds to pace an 83-66 victory. Turner ranks third on the team with 9.7 points per game and has made 44.1 percent (15-36) from three-point range while playing just 19.4 minutes per game. Turner is averaging 13.0 points in the last three games and has been the team's top scorer off the bench in five of A&M's seven games.
Helping Hand
While the Aggies have struggled with turnovers, they have made up for it somewhat with assists, ranking second in the Big 12 with an average of 18.6 per game. The A&M record is 18.1 set in 1993-94, when David Edwards ranked second nationally with a school-record 8.8 average. A&M ranks fourth in the league in assists-to-turnovers ratio at 1.13. Senior Bernard King ranks fourth in assists at 6.1 while Leandro Garcia-Morales ranks 14th at 3.9.
On the Line
The Aggies were making a cozy 72.0 percent from the line through the first five games, a marked improvement over last season's 65.2 percent. The last time A&M made better than 70.0 percent from the line for a season was in 1988-89, when the Aggies connected on 70.9 percent. The last time A&M made better than 72.0 percent was in 1975-76 (72.8). But in the last two games, the Aggies have made just 55.6 percent (35-63), dropping their season percentage to just .648.
Bombs Away
A&M ranks fourth in the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 38.2 percent after ranking last in the league last year at 32.5 percent. The Aggies rank third in the Big 12 with an average of 7.9 three-pointers made per game, well ahead of last year's norm of 5.8. A&M tied a school record with 179 treys last season. Antoine Wright (3.1), Bernard King (1.6) and Kevin Turner (2.1) are each averaging at least one three-pointer made per game.
About Slocum
Junior center Andy Slocum, who missed eight Big 12 games last year after suffering a broken left hand against Texas Tech, broke his right hand in a pickup basketball game in the summer. The hand healed, but Slocum then suffered a back injury prior to the start of fall practice. Slocum is expected to return to action by the start of Big 12 Conference play in early January. He missed the entire 2000-01 season after having shoulder surgery. Slocum averaged 8.5 rebounds and 7.3 points in eight Big 12 games last year, including a 22-point, 14-rebound performance at Oklahoma.
Another Watkins
Freshman guard Marcus Watkins, son of A&M head coach Melvin Watkins, has quickly made an impact on the Aggies. He scored nine points and added four rebounds in just 13 minutes against Texas Southern, then followed with six points against Miami. For the season, he is averaging 2.4 points and has made 54.5 percent from the field (6-11) and 83.3 percent from the line (5-6). As a senior last season at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, the younger Watkins earned first-team all-state honors after averaging 31.1 points per game, which included a pair of 50-point efforts. The 6-4 Watkins played post in high school but hopes to make a smooth transition to guard in college, just like his father did more than a quarter century ago at North Carolina Charlotte. Coach Watkins was a prep All-American as a center at Reidsville (N.C.) High School, but became a point guard at UNCC. he started his final two years, leading the 49ers to the NIT finals in 1976 and the NCAA Final Four in 1977, where they lost to eventual champion Marquette.
Pride of Uruguay
Junior guard Leandro Garcia-Morales, a member of the 2001 Uruguay National Team, has started in all five games at point guard. He is averaging 5.0 points and ranks second on the team in assists with 3.9 per game. He scored 10 points in the win against LSU, had a career-best seven assists in the opener against Texas Southern and added six assists against Tennessee. As a sophomore last season at Miami-Dade Community College, Garcia-Morales was the only JUCO player in the country to rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring, assists and steals. The Sporting News ranked him as the top under 6-5 passer in the JUCO ranks last season.
Gen. Bradley
Senior guard Bradley Jackson, who started in 19 games at point guard last season, has prospered off the bench this season. He scored 10 points with four assists and two steals against Oakland and his two free throws with 14 seconds left iced the game for the Aggies. He added a pair of free throws with nine seconds left in the second overtime against Prairie View A&M to ice that win, finishing with eight points and five assists and making 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Jackson is averaging 3.0 points and ranks third on the team with an average of 2.9 assists.
Board Stiff
The Aggies have out-rebounded five of seven opponents this season, but have an average rebounding margin of -0.6, thanks largely to being beaten on the boards by UTSA, 52-37. The Aggies out-rebounded their opponents in 20 of 31 games last season.
Turnover Woes
The Aggies are averaging 16.4 turnovers per game, third most in the Big 12, and rank 11th in turnover margin at -0.43. But the Aggies had just eight turnovers against Tennessee, their fewest since they had just five against Princeton on Dec. 27, 1996 in El Paso.
Efficient Offense
The Aggies handed out 24 assists with just eight turnovers against Tennessee, a 3-to-1 assists to turnovers ratio. That's the best ratio in Melvin Watkins' five years at A&M and the best by an A&M team since it had a school-record 34 assists with just 11 turnovers in a 102-61 win against Missouri-Kansas City in the second game of the 19997-98 season, a span of 145 games. A&M has had more assists than turnovers in five of seven games, something they accomplished just 12 times in 31 games last year.
Another King
Junior forward Jesse King, perhaps the team's best athlete, had a slow start this season while coming back from off-season knee surgery. However, against Oakland on Dec. 2, King scored 12 points and tied his career-high with nine rebounds, making 6-of-8 from the field. Four of King's six baskets came on spectacular slam dunks in the second half. King followed with 11 points against UTSA. King is averaging 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds and is making a team-best 64.9 percent from the field. King has averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in the last four games.
Watkins' Grads
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.
A&M's Best to be Honored
Texas A&M will honor its five basketball All-Americans at the Jan. 11 Big 12 Conference opener against Oklahoma State at Reed Arena. The four surviving players are expected to be in attendance: Walter Davis (1951), Carroll Broussard (1961, 1962), Bennie Lenox (1963) and John Beasley (1966). A&M's first All-American, Jewell McDowell (1950) is deceased. A former Olympic gold medalist and world-record holder in the high jump, Davis was named the top two-sport track athlete in history by USA Track & Field several years ago. He played five seasons in the NBA. Broussard is A&M's only two-time All-American , while Lenox scored a SWC record 53 points against Wyoming and led the Aggies to the 1964 NCAA Tournament. Beasley owns A&M records for season and career scoring and rebounding averages and played seven seasons in the ABA, earning MVP honors in the 1969 ABA All-Star Game.