November 20, 2005
The surprise factor is gone. The opportunities arising from being overlooked have run dry. And an "Aggie swoosh" now goes through the rim before catching net. Yes, the Texas A&M men's basketball team has finally gained something whose absence was often an advantage to Coach Gillispie's '04-'05 team-respect.
It's coming anywhere from Aggie fans packing Reed Arena, to opposing fans not putting an October-W beside the A&M game, to the single vote the Aggies received in ESPN's pre-season Top 25 poll. But the best indicator of the respect directed A&M's way to begin this season is their selection to finish 7th in the Big 12 Conference by a poll of the league's coaches.
 Along with sophomore Joseph Jones, junior point guard Acie Law will be carrying much of the scoring load for the Aggies this season. |
The Aggies finished 7th last year and also in 2003. But this pre-season ranking is the highest the coaches have given A&M since the conference's inception ten years ago.
"Expectations sometimes can be great," Head Coach Billy Gillispie said. "Sometimes they can be a killer. As far as the expectations that we're facing as compared to a year ago, every single thing in our program is different. Hopefully, we're further along than we were there. It will be interesting."
Coach Gillispie and his players understand that those expectations-from the locals and from the nationals-are at a totally different level than this time last year. That's what happens when you go from winning no conference games in 2004 to finishing at .500 last season-only the third collegiate team in history to do so.
"I think that the last year, actually, a lot of teams respected us before the conference began because we had a lot of success in the non conference schedule," senior forward Chris Walker said. "At some point, I think that respect grew and grew, you know every subsequent game that we played throughout conference, and I believe we somewhat shocked the conference when we beat Texas. I think whenever you beat a great team like Texas, people are going to notice and evaluate what they think about you."
Gillispie and his staff have proved two years in a row that they can turn any team on paper into a respectable, successful on-court product. Gillispie, last year's unanimous Big 12 Coach of the Year selection, and his staff ignited a nation-best 18-win improvement at UTEP in the 2003-04 season and topped the nation again last year with the Aggies' 14-win improvement.
"[The players] know I'm all about hard work and intangibles and all those kind of things," Gillispie said. "The new players learn that very quickly by watching the older guys. It really makes it easy on the coach when you have that kind of leadership."
After two recruiting seasons, Gillispie has also shown he has what it takes to make his team look good on paper as well. His two major junior college recruits, Antanas Kavaliauskas and Eddie Smith, made a great impact in A&M's two exhibition games as did freshmen Josh Carter. And as basketball forums and publications toss phrases like 'top-fifteen and top-ten ranked class' in the direction of this year's signees, fans expect to see the Aggies earn even more conference and national respect.
"Overall, with the addition of a strong contingent of guards, A&M has continued to build with talented in-state prospects," Scout.com's Dave Telep said. "You knew the day he was hired that Coach Gillispie was going to be strong in Texas and all he's done since then is prove it."
 The Aggie players are all ears when last year's Big 12 Coach of the Year addresses them during timeouts. |
Because Aggie basketball has stepped into the light, the players know that to meet the conference's expectations, they will have to do an even better job in following Coach Gillispie's frequently used slogan: "play hard, play smart, and play together."
"This year I think we have a lot better depth, but all our depth is going to be very inexperienced, so hopefully these experienced guys will bring those inexperienced guys along," Gillispie said. "They're going to put those guys in a position of where they can learn on the run a little bit. Just because you have more numbers or maybe you recruited to what I think is fairly well, it doesn't mean that they're going to be able to make an impact in a conference such as the Big 12. So hopefully these guys will grow up."
Some guy, or at least a contingent of guys, will also have to grow into the No. 21 jersey and fill the role of departed Big 12 All-Conference 1st Team Selection Antoine Wright.
"We probably can't replace Antoine," Gillispie said. "The best thing he turned into was he was the hardest worker on our team and was the best leader on our team, and those are the things that while it is very difficult to replace 17 or 18 points a game, it's going to be even tougher to replace his leadership and work ethic. I think everyone is just going to have to do a little bit more to piece it together. I don't think we're going to have one player that is going to be able to fill that role."
Filling roles is what the 2004-2005 team did best. Watching the players prepare for practice or celebrate a victory reminded us all of our high school science labs-chemistry was everywhere. Each player knew his role and did whatever it took to make sure he provided his piece of the pie. With new faces in the locker room and old grins departed, finding that chemistry again this season might just be the Aggie's ticket to the NCCA Tournament.
"We're trying to feel our way around a little bit as how the chemistry is going to develop," Gillispie said at the beginning of fall workouts. "The leadership that the veterans have exhibited through their work, through their talk, through never missing a class, never missing a study hall, taking weight training seriously, taking individual work seriously, you can't help but notice that as a player. It takes time to develop chemistry."
 Opponents will see a new body in the lane this season in the form of Lithuanian juco transfer Antanas Kavaliauskas. |
By observing their performance and attitude at the exhibition games, it looks like the team has definitely brought the chemistry together since boot camp in September. This year's team has the same toughness of the last season's squad and the same work ethic. According to Gillispie, his team's defense will be much better, practices are more competitive because of the added depth and the second year will be much easier because most of the players have had time to adjust to him and his staff.
"I'm really excited because I don't think anybody has worked harder from the time we lost to St. Joseph's until now," Gillispie said. We'll possess toughness and we'll be a very, very close team. We've already exhibited those kinds of things. We'll be better in every phase of the game."
The conference coaches and national analysts obviously agree. The Aggies have been designated as a pre-season bubble team for an invitation to 'the Dance' in March. Joseph Jones has caught inquisitive eyes with his stellar freshman year and potential to become one of the best big men in the country. Even Coach Gillispie himself, always quick to use downplayed 'coachspeak' and excessive humility, admits that the Aggie basketball program has a very bright future.
"I think we're heading in the right direction," he said. "We had a fun year last year. We established a few things as far as getting our program off to building the program back to what we need to build it to. I think we're on the right track. We have a long, long way to go, but I do think we've had a good start to get going."
If this were NASCAR, that start would be six spots behind the pole. And I can guarantee you, from here on out, every team will be watching for the maroon and white car.