PonyFans.com

Texas A&M will visit Moody Coliseum for the first time in 13 years, and the game will be a homecoming for 3 Aggie starters from the Dallas area, Bryan Davis, Donald Sloan, and Derrick Roland. Davis, a 6’9” senior will give the Aggies a physical inside presence again this year, despite the loss of last seasons leading scorer (Josh Carter, 13.8 ppg) and leading rebounder (Chinemelu Elonu, 7.3 rpg). Davis averaged 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last year, helping the Aggies reach the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament, and he’s already off to a strong start this year with 17 points and 6 rebounds in A&M’s season opener against Angelo State.

David Loubeau, a 6’9” sophomore, backs up Davis in the Aggie frontcourt and had an impressive opening game, as he came off the bench to lead the team in both points and rebounds with 20 points and 9 boards in the opener. As a true freshman last season, Loubeau played in every game, but was not a big contributor at the offensive end. He appears ready for a larger role this season, as he steps in to replace the departed Elonu. Khris Middleton, a 6’7” freshman, started in the other forward spot, and pulled down 8 rebounds and made 3 assists in his first college game.

Sophomore Dash Harris starts in the backcourt, along with Sloan and Roland. Last season, this group shot a combined 51/169 from beyond the arc, or 30%, and just slightly under 5 attempts per game. As a group, the Aggie guards are drivers, more than shooters. They score in transition, and in the half court they are more likely to drive the lane and try to get to the rim or pull up for a short jumper, rather than try to shoot over the defense, even when opponents pack the lane with a zone defense to cover the Aggie post players. Just looking at the teams assist numbers, it doesn’t look like the guards dish the ball off very often when they drive. Sloan led the team in assists last year, with just 3 per game. Also, if you need to foul someone, send Dash Harris to the line. He’s a career .500 shooter on free throws. The Aggie guards are strong, fast and athletic, but aren’t great shooters. Junior BJ Holmes was their best perimeter shooter a year ago, hitting more 3’s than Roland, Sloan, and Harris combined, (59/142, or 41%), but he has played limited minutes in their exhibition and early games this year. Holmes and Loubeau are probably the Aggies best players off the bench, but junior Nathan Walkup (6’7”) and freshman Naji Hibbert (6’6”) will probably also see time on the wings.

Great breakdown, X. I hadn't really looked too much at the A&M roster beyond a few kids. That write-up just gave me some hope

Ah, but remember the Doherty factor. If he can start Ryan Harp, who has no business being the court, then he can do anything to screw this up.

I would like to know how many games he essentially stole from the jaws of victory. If the South Florida game is any indication, look for him to be canned the moment a losing season is clinched.

And if that happens, I believe the new coach would give the Reggies the highest consideration of retaining them.

George S. Patton wrote: look for him to be canned the moment a losing season is clinched.
.

Losing season may not be clinched. There are 9 major cupcakes in our non-conference schedule, and I would say TCU was beatable, as well. 4-5 wins in conference would be enough for Doh's supporters (and he has a few major donors solidly in his corner) to say "look how much the team improved". Dont be surprised if he is back next year.

Go SMU!

Balatro Diabolus Ex wrote:

George S. Patton wrote: look for him to be canned the moment a losing season is clinched.
.

Losing season may not be clinched. There are 9 major cupcakes in our non-conference schedule, and I would say TCU was beatable, as well. 4-5 wins in conference would be enough for Doh's supporters (and he has a few major donors solidly in his corner) to say "look how much the team improved". Dont be surprised if he is back next year.

Valid points. But if he can lose to the UAPBs and SC Upstates of the world, it's possible with this group. And if some we'll go by your conference win total of 4-5 as improved, then their definition and mine are completely different.

BTW, I just wonder how much Papa Dia's drifting into the abyss was caused by Doherty.

And 11-17 out the free throw line ain't going to cut it. Can't make it over there until maybe the TCU game but from what friends told me, Friday was a carbon copy of 2008-09. Boy, isn't that reassuring.

PonyDoh wrote:Great breakdown, X. I hadn't really looked too much at the A&M roster beyond a few kids. That write-up just gave me some hope

You're welcome. I'm going to try to do one of these before every game. The next 2 (Florida GC and Huston Tillotson) may be a little short, though, there really isnt much to say about them.

George S. Patton wrote:BTW, I just wonder how much Papa Dia's drifting into the abyss was caused by Doherty.

I wonder this too - Dia's scared of his own shadow and are half of the guys on this team. Our half-court, no-motion offense bogs the team down. Lots of short passes that don't improve angles, get the defense out of position, weak screens that the defense easily gets around, guys not moving. Doesn't help that our pg's are really short sg's...they're great players but can't be relied upon to get anyone involved. Their offense produced a lot of open looks. The only time this team gets momentum is when we run and gun for awhile before Doherty shuts them down. Hopefully, part of the problem is blending a lot of new players in...we'll see.