Feb. 28, 2011
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Nathan Walkup & |
Texas A&M students will be admitted free to the inaugural Aggie Basketball "12th Man Day" at Reed Arena this Saturday when the 17th-ranked men host Texas Tech in the final home game of the season. Tipoff is set for 12:45 p.m.
Any current Aggie student will be admitted free when showing a valid student ID. Students are strongly encouraged to pull a ticket this week to ensure a seat, as tickets are expected to go fast. Students can get their tickets this week from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Kyle Field Ticket Office in the north end zone, or from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Reed Arena box office.
Students can buy a guest ticket for just $5.
Texas A&M is 14-2 at home this year and has won 32 of its last 35 games at Reed Arena. The Aggies are looking to become the only Big 12 team to record at least 15 home victories in seven straight seasons.
For more information on 12th Man Day, Aggie students are encouraged to check out and RSVP to the event on Facebook.
Audio from today's press conference is available to the right in mp3 format. Select quotes are available below.
HEAD COACH Mark Turgeon
How much time have you spent looking back and thinking about the zone? Not necessarily Baylor, but the fact that you may figure to see it again down the road?
“Well, I don't think we'll see a zone that good. That zone was fantastic the other night. They played with great energy and great length, and it was their night. We've moved forward, just like when we do when we win, we move forward when we lose. If we see a zone again hopefully we'll do a better job with it and hopefully I'll do a better job coaching our guys against it.”
What did you learn from it? Can you tell us what you saw on the film?
“Well, when you can't make a jump shot, and you can't finish at the rim and you don't make free throws, it's pretty hard to score. So with that said, we didn't play very smart against it. We had guys flying at us and we should have shot-faked. We were shooting over hands. And then we lost our confidence a little bit there for a stretch against the zone. Early, we did attack it well. But what I did learn is you can be atrocious on offense against a team that plays great, and you're still right there because you played unbelievably hard and had a lot of fight in you and defensively you played well. It's disappointing, but we've got to move on.”
Did the players learn that as well?
“Yeah, I think the guys know we played hard. We know we didn't play great at times, but you've got to give Baylor a lot of credit. They're as talented as anybody you'll play. They played that night.”
What's it like for you these days when you walk into Allen Fieldhouse as the coach of the opposing team?
“Well, I'll always get excited when I walk into that building. I grew up walking into that building and I grew up dreaming I'd play for KU. So I'll be fired up when I walk in it, but this is totally different the second time through. The first time was the first time and obviously we didn't play great, but this is to me just another road game where I know a lot of people. We haven't played too well in the state of Kansas since I've been the coach here, so hopefully we'll play a little bit better on Wednesday.”
When you look back at Kansas do you have a singular moment or memory that stands out?
“That's really hard to do. Obviously as a player, playing in the Final Four is a pretty great memory. Won a few championships, cut down a few nets, things like that. Just the whole thing was kind of a blast, for a guy growing up in Kansas and no one ever thought you'd play there, so to play there was pretty fun.”
Talk about Kansas' offensive execution...
“Bill (Self) does a great job with his team. They run a system and they can really space you. They've got the Morris twins inside who are playing great. Thomas Robinson, another big, puts a lot of pressure on you. Their guards are playing well, (Brady) Morningstar and Tyrel Reed are just having tremendous years for them. They're shooting the ball well and they're just really hard to guard. Some teams try to take away the Morris twins and guys are hitting threes on you. Or, you try and let the Morris twins get their twos and they end up with 27 (points) and 10 (rebounds) and 24 and 8 or whatever. I saw they shot 71 percent in the first half against Oklahoma the other day and those numbers are kind of hard to get to. So yeah, they're really good offensively. They really spread you. And you know what? Their ball movement is pretty special. The ball doesn't stick in one guy's hands, they really move the ball well and pass it well. That's what makes them hard to guard.”
Is this team one of the more challenging you've coached from a mental standpoint?
“Every season is exhausting for a coach. But this team in the last month has really grown up. They're practicing better. They're more of a team. Our leadership is better. For a while it was a pretty good fight with these guys, but they've started to figure it out. The effort's been there. They've been very coachable here lately. It's been tough but every team is tough in its own right. This team's also been a lot of fun because they've overcome a lot and won a lot of close games up to this point. I've been proud of this group and what they've been able to accomplish. I said it last week, to be where we are record-wise, right now, is quite an accomplishment. You always say 'Well, we could have won this game' or 'we should have won that game', but we also 'could have lost that game' or 'lost that game'. But this group, to this point? I'm really proud of them and what they've been able to accomplish. I'm looking forward to coaching them for hopefully three or four more weeks and seeing what happens.”
As good as Marcus (Morris) is, do you think Markieff (Morris) is one of the most improved players?
“Yeah, and I think Markieff has been really consistent for them. Last year against us, Markieff played better against us than Marcus did. Marcus was in foul trouble both those games. It's hard to tell the difference to be honest with you. They are both so skilled and can do so many different things. (Markieff) kind of goes a little bit unnoticed but they could both be first-rounders by the end of this year, the way they're playing.”
Can you talk about what's been the biggest challenge since you took this job?
“You know, coaching is coaching. Every place has different challenges. But this is a great job. There are a lot of positives about this place. There are so many positives--the University and what it stands for, all the players in Texas, the support we've had, financially and the new practice gym, and our crowds have been great for four years, they really have. So I don't know what a challenge would be. Probably the biggest thing I had to adjust to was recruiting when I got here. It's really cut-throat at this level. I'm not a guy that likes to get sand kicked in his face, so I learned to fight back pretty quickly. That was the biggest challenge from coming from the Missouri Valley. It was a little bit easier to get involved and get those kids. But it's something you get used to pretty quick. It's hard to get kids. There's not as many out there who can play at that level and get you where you want to be. But we've got a lot to sell here, so that really helps. There's a lot of players in the state, so that really helps. And we've had six or seven really good years now, and that helps.”
On “politicking” as a coach and A&M's tournament resume...
“I think what we've done speaks for itself. Hopefully we'll finish strong. That's the whole key. We've still got two regular-season games left and the Big 12 Tournament before selection Sunday. But the one thing that we've been is really consistent. Not at the highest level, but we've been really consistent at this level. Sometimes that's good and sometimes that's bad. No one talks about us right now, because we're not a 1-seed and we're not a bubble team. So there's not a lot of talk about A&M, which is probably pretty good. It takes pressure off the players and they can just go out and try and get better.”
On what the team's working on over the final stretch of the season...
“There's a lot we're working on. You guys get tired of hearing me say it, but we're just trying to get better. I'm trying to get our young guys better, trying to get my young guys more consistent, trying to be more efficient on offense...we were really efficient on offense in that five-game win streak, we were shooting close to 49 percent. We were taking care of the ball better, our assist-to-turnover ratio was better during that stretch. And then we've been much more consistent on defense. Probably the most disappointing thing has been our rebounding. And we really tried to rebound the other night. I mean we fought, and we hit guys, but they were just physically a little bit bigger and stronger than we were across the board. I was proud of our effort. We'll just keep working on that, and I think if we can approach it as just keep trying to get better, we will get better. And we'll be tougher to guard and tougher defensively and will rebound better, and we will just stay confident. We should be a confident team. We've won five out of six so we should be a very confident team right now.”
On the senior floor leaders...
“I just think BJ (Holmes) and Nate (Walkup) are having unbelievable years. Neither one of them played great the other night but they just have had great years. In our last two home games Nate's been really good in those and helped us win. He's rebounded well and his toughness for his size (were big factors). Add what BJ's done and their leadership has just gotten better. I think Andrew Darko, another senior, has had a fantastic year. He brings it every day to practice and that rubs off on the other guys. Those guys have been a pleasant surprise for me.”