April 01, 2005
| The numbers don't lie. A 21-10 record, the third best win total in A&M basketball history. A 14-win improvement from the 2003-2004 season, the best turnaround in the nation and the best in school history. Three All-Big 12 player selections and Big 12 Coach of the Year honors. And an all-time best average of 8,148 fans per game including four record-breaking crowds. But do the numbers tell the complete truth? Or do they fall short of justly depicting the resonating impact this memorable team has had on the men's basketball program and Aggie athletics as a whole. To truly understand how special the 2004-2005 season was and to envision the impressive future it sheds light on, one must look in between the lines and past the simple numbers.
"I've never seen a tougher team, I've never seen a closer team, and I've never seen a more giving team," Coach Gillispie said following the loss to St. Joe's last Wednesday. "We weren't the best team in the country as far as beating other teams, but I don't think anybody played the game as hard as us or played together as well as we did." There aren't stats to quantify toughness or playing together. Nor are awards handed out for unconditional sacrifice and bringing maximum effort to every practice. And the record books sure don't have sections honoring history's closest-knit teams and the selfless, family-like attitude that grows amongst them. It may be these intangibles, though, and not the record-breaking numbers, that best highlight where the A&M program is heading. "The togetherness of our team," sophomore Acie Law said proudly when asked the main reason for the Aggies' turnaround. "One thing that played a big part in our success is how close we are. We're like a family from Coach G to the last trainer. It's like everybody on our team is extremely close like a family, and we just want to hang out together, and I think that played a big part in our success this season." Where does such team unity develop? How does a group of 17 players, 4 coaches, and numerous staff put their selfish desires aside and grow into a family that continuously depends on the support and friendship of the others? "Just the hard work at the beginning of the season," Law said. "Like boot camp and just all the conditioning. The work is so tough, so if you're not together you really can't survive it. You have to have somebody to depend on, so we just depended on each other to get through all the hard work Coach G put on us. So I think boot camp and stuff like that, not only gets us in better shape, but it builds closeness in the team which played a big part in our togetherness." Outsiders gauge performances on figures. And thus, rightfully so, from that perspective, this basketball season will forever be considered one of the most impressive in Texas A&M history. But the game situations that garnered numbers like the best season record since 1980 or the best team three-point percentage in school history are not necessarily responsible for them. Those records are earned daily in practices and team meetings that the public often overlooks. "I can't say how much every person on our team did every day," junior Antoine Wright said. "This year shows that each day counts. We didn't know it was going to take that every day, to come in and practice and to be ready to go every day, but now we know that. Coach always says that you'll never be able to get it back."
By stressing day-to-day improvements to a team that had finished the previous season's conference stretch without a single victory, Coach Gillispie spurred an overall improvement that earned him Big 12 Coach of the Year honors-the only time an A&M coach has won the honor since the conference's inception in 1996. Fans and voters alike obviously based Gillispie's recognition on the impressive 14-game turnaround he quarterbacked in just a year's time. But Gillispie and his staff do more than just produce wins for the Aggies. What goes on between the head coach and his players at times that those voters and fans aren't watching is what truly makes him deserving of Coach of the Year. "Coach G is just ... I don't know the word to describe it," Law said. "We're just so close; I mean on the court it is business, but off the court he is just one of us. We can joke with him and have fun with him. I mean that is a big part of our success because he is so close to us. He's just a great dude. And I love Coach G, just like he says he really does love us, I think we really do love him." There is definitely much more to this team than any stat column or game note can show. Everyone knows that two freshmen and a walk-on started most of the games for the Aggies. Most saw A&M's lone-senior make an outstanding argument for sixth-man of the year honors with exciting play off the bench. People watched as the 2003 Freshman of the Year began playing the game with a smile again after a demoralizing sophomore slump. But getting caught up in the numbers-Wright's increase in field goal percentage, Law's impressive 26 points against Texas, or Joseph Jones's seven double-doubles-often makes one forget the human nature of those involved, and just simply how fun a year it was for them.
"I've been surprised the whole season," Law said. "I've been, honestly, just happy that we started 11-0 and to do so well in conference. I've just enjoyed the ride, and it has been a thrill for me. I had a lot of fun this season just playing. Like I said, I love all my teammates and the coaches, and I just had a lot of fun. And Coach G, he just takes it one game at a time. That is one thing he stresses to us, take it one game at a time and get better every day. And we did that." Somebody must have been telling the fans the same thing. It started with the largest season-opening crowd ever on November 19. Then the public pulled their weight on December 29, with a non-conference record crowd for the Houston game while students were on Christmas break. The students upped the ante at the conference opener when they turned out in a record drove of over 8,000 for the Oklahoma game on January 18. The two sectors subsequently partnered to break the single-game attendance record four times over the rest of the season with a record mark of 13,151 coming out for the St. Joe's game. "Thanks to every single fan who showed up," Gillispie said after the game. "They tried to do everything they could to help us. I think that had we played like we played against Texas Tech and some other places, this would have been by far the best crowd. They tried their hearts out just like our team did. They've been fantastic all year long." Those attendance numbers are certainly fantastic. But the fans' devotion and their heartfelt embrace of this year's team go well beyond just showing up for the games. Students once again discussed Aggie basketball while riding buses from class to class. New yells were developed, traditions begun, and more signs made than ever before. The Aggies performances, successful or not, were talked about from the 'we' perspective and not the 'they.' Maroon and white-outs were formed, message boards were crowded, and 14 players became the campus's new best friends. That devotion did not go unnoticed. "I just wanted the team to play good for the fans and ourselves both," Law said. "Gosh, I can't explain it, man. You just have to be on the court to understand. You look up and just see so many people supporting you. And inside of you, you just get an extra boost of energy in the second half when that stretch comes, and everyone is tired and you just look up, and the crowd is going bananas. And then there's that boost and there it is, you make a run and you are able to come out with a victory." Where does Texas A&M basketball go from here? Most people were confident Billy Clyde could pull the Aggies into Big 12 contention someday, but none could have guessed it would have happened within one year. Now, expectations for 2006 'dancing' undoubtedly fill the air surrounding College Station. "I think at the end of the season, we were better than the best Boston Celtics team in a lot of people's minds," Gillispie joked in regard to the public's expectations. "I think everyone was shocked this year. And then you go from being shocking to being expected to not only be in the NCAA tournament but win it. And I'm talking about this year, not the next year or the one after. I think we've heightened the awareness of Texas A&M basketball in so many ways. That raises expectations but also puts pressure on you to perform."
Because Bobby Leach is the only player for certain not returning next year, it looks like the Aggies are primed to handle that pressure. Doing what the basketball world says he does best, Coach Gillispie is currently on the recruiting trail in hopes to add depth to the A&M lineup. Law says he's looking forward to mixing new freshmen into the team chemistry. "I'm not worried about the closeness next season at all," Law said. "I don't think it will necessarily automatically be there, but I'm not really worried about it. Everybody is just so loving and caring around here, so we are just going to accept them as they are, and then we'll just come in and work hard together as family." Family is all about relationships. And it is newfound relationships that are turning Aggie basketball into a force to be reckoned with-whether between coach and player, player and player, or fans and the team. These relationships will make Final Four and Big 12 Championship dreams a reality quicker than any number ever could. "I think we can turn A&M into a powerhouse," Law remarked. "Hopefully, we can become an NCAA tournament team every year. I mean after what we did this year in just one season, it has to build our confidence in what the future holds. And hopefully, we can reach some NCAA Final Fours up ahead. That would be big for us, so yeah I think our future is very very bright at Texas A&M." Like the age-old axiom goes, 'all that matters is doing your best.' What makes the impressive numbers of the 2004-2005 basketball season much more special than the records they represent can be summed up by Coach G himself. "We made the most out of what we had," Gillispie said. "I think that's the greatest accomplishment. These guys gave maximum effort. They got every single thing they could out of their abilities. If we can move forward from here, we're definitely heading in the right direction." |
