Oct. 9, 2000 SportsLine.com Reports

Big 12 Conference report

Sometime in the not-so-distant future, the youthful members of Texas A&M's basketball program hope to look back on the 1999-2000 season and laugh at just how far the Aggies have progressed.

For the time being, though, the A&M players say the 20-loss season is no laughing matter.

"Basically, I've been on winning teams all of my life," freshman point guard Jamaal Gilchrist said after losing in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. "But I came here to try to change the program around. It's obviously not going to happen overnight, but I'm more committed than ever to make sure that it does happen.

"This is going to be my first and last losing season and this is going to be my first and last trip (to Kansas City) where we go one and out."

A glance at 2001

The brighter basketball future at A&M begins immediately, say the Aggie players. Texas A&M has produced just one winning season in the last decade and hasn't made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 1987. That Aggies have never won a game in the Big 12 tournament and haven't won a game in the NCAAs since 1980. But all that is about to change, according to Gilchrist.

"There are a lot of good things that we got out of this season," he said. "It was a big learning experience for me and everybody else. I learned what it takes to play at this level. But I also learned, as well as the rest of the younger guys, that we have to be totally focused every night out. We can't take any team for granted or take any nights off.

"I'm going to make sure that everybody on this team understands that there will be no more losing for us; no more long losing streaks; no more blowout losses; no more losing in the first round (of the Big 12 tournament). A&M is not known for winning basketball, but a lot of things are going to change around here. We're going to start winning, and this terrible feeling I have right now will push me every day."

With virtually everybody of significance coming back next season, the Aggies should be much better in 2000-01. In addition to all the youngsters on the roster, A&M's immediate future received a major boost when the NCAA announced that it had granted senior forward Aaron Jack another year of eligibility. Jack, who led the Aggies in rebounding and field goal percentage, had applied for the extra year prior to the start of the season. But after early indications seemed to be positive, the delay in the decision was cause for alarm.

Jack has played just two and one-half years since transferring from Penn State at mid-term in 1996-97. Jack redshirted his first season at Penn State in 1995-96 and played just a handful of games at PSU prior to suffering a concussion early in 1996-97.

"It took a lot of weight off of my shoulders," Jack said of the NCAA's decision. "It's been a pretty emotional few weeks for me not knowing. One minute I'm thinking I'll be back, the next minute I was thinking that this would be my last season. I'm excited about being back next year and seeing better times."

The coach

While Melvin Watkins' record in two seasons at A&M (20-35) hasn't been overly impressive, everything else he has done has been. When Watkins was hired to replace Tony Barone following the dreary 1997-98 season, Watkins vowed to hit the recruiting trail and turn things around.

He hasn't broken that promise. Watkins has signed back-to-back Top 20 recruiting classes, and although it is young, this may be the most talented bunch at Texas A&M since the 1980 team reached the Sweet 16.

Who'll be back

Everybody of importance will return. And in all likelihood, everybody will be improved. Without a doubt, Bernard King has the most upside of anyone on the roster. King's stellar freshman season earned him numerous postseason honors, including AP Freshman of the Year and Big 12 coaches co-Freshman of the Year along with Missouri guard Kareem Rush.

The AP also named King third-team All-Big 12. A 6-3 shooting guard, King averaged 17.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals. He set a Big 12 and Texas A&M freshman scoring record with 474 points this season and tied the Big 12 freshman record for 3-pointers with 79.

All of the five freshmen made significant progress at one time or another. Center Andy Slocum averaged 3.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in non-conference play, but improved those numbers 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in the conference games. Slocum, who did not play in the Big 12 tournament because of an enlarged spleen, must continue to develop to give the Aggies a consistent inside threat. If Gilchrist and fellow freshmen Tomas Ress and Larry Scott improve significantly, the Aggies could have an arsenal of weapons next season.

Who's gone

With Jack coming back, the only roster losses will be guard Jerald Brown and Paul Jacobs. Brown, who averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, was valuable because of his experience and positive attitude. But neither Brown nor Jacobs provided any kind of consistent spark on the court.

Key newcomers:

• F Keith Bean (6-8, 273, So.): Bean is a power forward who gives the Aggies some much needed muscle in the paint. Bean appeared in 24 games in 1998-99 for North Carolina State, averaging 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. He posted six double-figure scoring games, including a career-high 14 points in just 10 minutes against eventual Final Four participant Ohio State.
• F Nick Anderson (6-7, 212, Fr.): If Anderson can get into school -- there are some concerns about his eligibility status -- he could immediately make the Aggies a potential qualifier for the postseason NIT in 2001. A teammate of Scott's at Southern Lab High School in Baton Rouge, La., Anderson is ranked as the 18th best prospect in the country by The Sporting News and is one of the highest rated national recruits in A&M history. As a junior, he averaged 23 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots per game and earned first-team all-state honors.
• C Nolan Butterfras (6-10, 235, Fr.): More of a project than Anderson or Scott, Butterfras will give the Aggies some depth at center. He was injured during his senior season and had limited playing time because of the injury.