October 17, 2003
For most college basketball teams, the loss of four starters -including the top scorer in school history -- would mean one thing: The dreaded "rebuilding year."
Texas A&M returns only one starter in 2003-04, but sixth-year head coach Melvin Watkins still expects the Aggies to better last year's 14-14 record, which was its first .500-or-better ledger in nine years. The Aggies tied for seventh in the rugged Big 12 and, according to some observers, came up just one victory short of making postseason play.
But Watkins loses the services of four key players from last year, including guard Bernard King, the school's career scoring leader and a four-time All-Big 12 pick. Other departed starters are center Keith Bean, forward Tomas Ress and point guard Bradley Jackson.
 Head Coach Melvin Watkins |
Considering the personnel losses, no one could blame Watkins for downplaying A&M's prospects. So why does he enter the season with such sunny optimism?
Sophomore guard/forward Antoine Wright (6-7), the consensus choice as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, has the ability to emerge as an All-American and will be supported by a battle-tested cast of six seniors, not to mention another highly-regarded recruiting class. The loss of four starters is deceiving as the five scholarship seniors have a combined 119 starts and 259 games in their maroon and white sneakers.
"While we may not focus on one player like we have in the past, we have a chance to be a better team," Watkins said. "I hope the word 'team' will stand out. We'll certainly miss the guys who are gone, but last year we got a taste of what it's all about. The group we have coming back is a little hungrier and more determined than we have been in the past.
"We were disappointed we didn't make postseason play last year," Watkins added. "We were knocking on the door, but now we've got to knock that door down. We've made some strides, but we want to take a few more steps and start moving toward the top of the Big 12."
Wright entered A&M as perhaps the most highly-regarded recruit in A&M history. He immediately earned a spot in the starting lineup and wasted no time backing up his press clippings. He led the team in rebounding (6.6), blocked shots (20), steals (35), and three-pointers (63), and ranked second on the team in scoring with a 14.5 average.
"Antoine is capable of being one of the top players in the Big 12 -- and if he's one of the best in the Big 12, he'll be one of the best in the country," Watkins said. "He is one of those do-it-all type players who rebounds, scores and defends. Antoine's got all the intangibles that spell success to me. He has All-America potential."
Wright was the only freshman named to the 2003 All-Big 12 team and was named the league's "best dunker" by one newspaper. Going into 2003-04, he is billed as the Big 12's "most versatile" player by Athlon magazine. He was outstanding on the team's tour of Italy in August, averaging 23.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
"Wright needs to be recognized ... because he is one of the top players in college basketball," ESPN college basketball analyst Andy Katz said.
But Wright isn't the only dangerous weapon in the Aggies' arsenal. Senior guard Kevin Turner (6-2) started in just two games last year behind King, but was named to the Big 12 All-Reserve Team after ranking second in scoring among the league's non-starters with a 7.9 average.
Turner was one of the top three-point threats in the league, dropping in 40.4 percent of his treys. In last year's win against Tennessee, Turner proved his worth by dropping in four straight three-pointers in an 81-second span late in the game to lift the Aggies to victory.
"He's one of those shooters we talk about - a specialist," Watkins said. "We've seen him get on a roll and teams have tried to do different things to stop him. The thing that he's really worked on and will help him this season is that he's gotten stronger. If he stays healthy, we look for him to light up the scoreboard."
Senior Andy Slocum, a 7-0, 275-pound mass of muscle, has battled a variety of injuries and other problems throughout his career. But Slocum averaged 14.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in the final three games last season and has the ability to become a dominant rebounder. On the Italy tour, Slocum contributed 10.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.
"Andy has gotten better each and every year," Watkins said. "His thing has been injuries. If we can keep him healthy, look for Andy to be an all-conference-type player this year, particularly on the rebounding end. If he does that, that will make us a much, much, better basketball team."
Senior forward Jesse King (6-7) is one of the league's top all-around athletes, while senior guard Leandro Garcia-Morales (6-1) is a hard-nosed player who can contribute at either guard spot. King struggled last year while recovering from knee surgery, but was a force in Italy, averaging 11.6 points and 8.8 rebounds. Garcia-Morales battled a variety of ailments throughout the season while forced by the Aggies' thin depth chart to play primarily at point guard.
"I'm just waiting for Jesse to break out," Watkins said. "He has loads of talent, is very athletic and has one of the nicest jump shots on the team. With him being a senior, I'm saying this is Jesse's year. He's going to be a guy who is going to surprise a lot of folks in the Big 12.
"Leandro struggled a little last season because we played him some at the point," he added. "We'd like to keep him off the point and play him at his more natural position two-guard spot, where he can be a very heady player."
In his first two seasons, senior forward Nick Anderson (6-6) ranked second on the team in scoring and was a regular starter, but as a junior he missed the last 19 games under academic suspension. If he can regain the promise he showed early in his career, Anderson could re-emerge as a mainstay in the lineup.
"As a senior, Nick is going to be one of those players we lean on for some leadership," Watkins said. "Nick is a very talented basketball player who I think will continue to improve and really help this team as we go forward."
 Sophomore Antoine Wright |
Sophomore forward Luis Clemente (6-8) sat out last season but practiced with the team, giving Watkins a glimpse of the Puerto Rican's talent and work ethic. Clemente was the biggest surprise on the Italy tour, averaging 15.8 points and 9.4 rebounds.
After sitting out last season, Luis is very anxious to get out on the playing floor," Watkins said. "The thing we like most about Luis is that he's just a relentless worker. Anytime you get a player who is going to work like that, usually something good is going to happen."
The Aggies also return sophomore guard Marcus Watkins (6-4) and senior guard Dylan Leal (6-4). Watkins, a post in high school, is making the transition to the perimeter. An athletic player with a developing jump shot, Watkins averaged 2.6 points last season. Leal, a shooting specialist, averaged 1.3 points and made six three-pointers.
"Marcus is a very solid player who logged some quality minutes for us as a freshman," Melvin Watkins said. "He's worked awfully hard for us in the offseason and we look for him to be a contributor. Dylan is a shooter and spends a lot of time working on that jump shot. There are other parts of his game he's improved, such as his ball handling and his ability to think on the floor, but he's primarily a shooter and it's always good to have a shooter on your roster."
The incoming recruiting class offers immediate help, especially at the point guard position with the addition of junior transfer Bobby Leach (6-0) and freshman Acie Law IV (6-3). Leach was an all-region pick in junior college while Law was an all-state pick at Dallas Kimball High School. Law scored a whopping 35 points in the Texas High School All-Star Game.
"Bobby was definitely a leader for his junior college team and we hope he brings some of that to the table for us," Coach Watkins said. "He's a competitor and is one of those kids who if you're in a war, you want him on your side. He's a go-getter type kid."
"Acie is a unique freshman in the sense that he just has a great understanding of the game of basketball," he said. "When you have that, no matter if you are a freshman or a senior, you're going to bring value to a basketball team."
Freshmen forwards LaKeith Blanks (6-5), a top 100 national recruit, and Marlon Pompey (6-8) also could have an immediate impact, along with freshman guard Justin Loewe (6-4). Blanks played last season at Laurinburg (N.C.) Prep, the mythical prep school national champion, while Pompey is a Canadian who prepped at Winchendon (Mass.) School, which also produced teammate Jesse King.
"LaKeith is very talented but will have to make that transition like most freshman," Watkins said. "But he's capable of doing that. Marlon is very athletic and I'm excited about his ability to rebound and his quickness. He also has the ability to defend bigger as well as smaller guys. We think he will come in and compete for minutes right away as a freshman."
"Justin is a freshman who obviously will have to go through that same transition as all our freshmen, but he has a good understanding of the game and a good mentality as far as not getting too high or too low," Watkins said. "That balance will add to his ability to play this game."
In the previous four seasons, the Aggies' offense started and ended with Bernard King. But the development of young players such as Wright, along with the experienced seniors and talented newcomers, give the Aggies a variety of fresh options.
"We plan on being a lot better simply because we will have more options and we will have a combination of players doing different things that we know will add value to our team," Watkins said. "I hope our team strength will be the ability to have that chemistry you need to be effective. At times, we missed that last year."
Watkins is most concerned about team rebounding and defense. A year ago, A&M ranked near the bottom of the league's rebounding and defensive statistics.
"Improving our rebounding will be a priority for us and we also want to be better defensively," Watkins said. "We know winning teams are willing to play effective defense every night, even on nights when the shots don't go down on the offensive end. That's an area we will put a lot of emphasis on."
Although faced with the task of trying to improve in what arguably is the top college basketball conference in the country, Watkins expects the Aggies to become competitive with the top teams in the league.
"We were competitive in most games last year and had some good wins," he said. "We've been saying for some time that we want have a chance to win any game we play. We were a lot closer to that last year and we expect a better situation this year, where we know we have a chance to go out and win ball games. From there, anything can happen.
"If you are competitive and put yourself in position to win ball games, then it depends on team chemistry and how much you mature, some of those intangibles," Watkins added. "I won't box us in and say we'll win 'x' number of games, but we feel good about this team."
Despite the loss of several of the Big 12's marquee players to graduation and the NBA, Watkins thinks the league will be as good or better than last season, when six Big 12 teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including two to the Final Four.
"There are some unknowns in the Big 12 with some coaching changes and some players leaving early, so that will affect some of the teams, but I still think from top to bottom this will be the toughest basketball league in the country," he said. "Who will emerge -- besides us -- I'm not sure. Traditionally, you've still got to look at Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and the Oklahoma schools, but what I hope will happen is that we will be able to edge into that group."