College Hoops Top 50

Last Year: 21-15; 9-9, Seventh in the Southeastern Conference, lost in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament

Head Coach: Buzz Williams (Sixth Year; 97-62 at Texas A&M, with two NCAA Tournament appearances)

Projected Starting Lineup

PG Wade Taylor IV – 6’0″, 180 Senior

G Zhuric Phelps – 6’4″, 190 Senior

W Jace Carter – 6’6″, 225 Senior

F Henry Coleman III – 6’8″, 250 5th-year Senior

C Pharrel Payne – 6’9″, 250 Junior

Experienced Reserves

G CJ Wilcher – 6’5″, 210 5th-year Senior

W Manny Obaseki – 6’4″, 200 Senior

W Hayden Heffner – 6’6″, 190 5th-year Senior

F Andersson Garcia – 6’7″, 220 Senior

F Solomon Washington – 6’7″, 220 Junior

Freshmen

G Andre Mills – 6’4″, 205 / Top 100 recruit

W Rob Dockery – 6’6″, 215 (redshirt)

F George Turkson, Jr – 6’7″, 220

F Chris McDermott – 6’7″, 220

Which Aggies are going to show up this season? The guys who nearly dropped below .500 late last year, or the squad that almost messed around and won a loaded Southeastern Conference tournament? 

Given how high expectations were for Texas A&M last winter, even their late-season run didn’t quite satisfy the folks in College Station. As the sun rose on March 1st, 2024, A&M was sitting on a five-game losing streak and 15-13 overall record. By Selection Sunday, they had done enough to impress the people in the room where it happens. By advancing to the semifinals of the SEC tourney and winning their First Round NCAA matchup with Nebraska, the Aggies earned something to be proud of. 

The resounding success which had been anticipated by many back in the fall of ’23, though.. it was not. Fast-forward to the present, and expectations have been ratcheted right back up. Way up. With the return of two-time All-SEC star point guard Wade Taylor IV has a whole lot to do with that, and the Aggies are bringing back a strong group of energetic forwards. Head coach Buzz Williams has added some key new guys, as well. With a bit better health and much, much better shooting, it’s hoped that this season the blend will be positively sanguine. 

There are few players in the country more battle-tested than A&M’s leading man. Taylor is the Aggies’ top outside shooter, and on a team that doesn’t have many proven deep threats, the threat of his jumper is invaluable. The 98 triples that he splashed last winter were the second-most in the SEC and constituted 38.4% of the deep balls that A&M knocked down as a team. Despite his smaller stature, though, Taylor doesn’t just hang out on the three point arc. He has a tight handle and repeatedly drives the lane, leading to all sorts of freebies. Over the past two years, Taylor has made 5.5 trips to the line per contest, and he ranks ninth all-time in SEC history with an 84.6% career rate on 481 free throw attempts. All of those freebies are what has allowed Taylor to place fourth in the SEC in scoring each of the past two seasons. That’s because his shooting splits from the floor have been emblematic of A&M’s biggest problem: often, they pretty much can’t hit the broad side of a barn shooting the ball. A 36.9% career shooter overall, Taylor sank just 36.6% of his total shot attempts last winter. 

Though he’s become a star despite never having made 40% of his shots for a full season, Taylor really needs to find a new level of offensive consistency as a senior. He could also help the Aggies by cutting his turnovers, especially given that their recent wins have often been accomplished by rather skim margins. Helpfully, Taylor is a significant irritant on defense, and he’s racked up 127 steals over the past two campaigns. With his terrific quickness, Taylor has the ability to spring into passing lanes and get his hand on the ball even when he’s out of position or facing a size mismatch. He’s shown a particular affinity for picking up turnovers far from the basket where one quick pass or a couple of dribbles can turn defense into points for A&M, and that ability only makes Taylor more valuable. If Taylor can continue working his way into the paint for such high-efficiency production while becoming a more consistent outside shooter, he will take his game to the next level. If Taylor can do that, he’ll be able to lead his team deep into March – and be in line for every award and accolade a college point guard can accrue. 

With Tyrece ‘Boots’ Radford out of eligibility, Williams has brought in a new running mate for Taylor in SMU transfer Zhuric Phelps. A proven scorer and distributor who gets to the stripe with regularity, there are clearly reasons why Phelps should be a quality fit next to Taylor. The question is whether he can improve as a jump shooter, or if he will simply add his own deficiencies to one of A&M’s weak points. Want some good numbers? Across the past two seasons, Phelps has averaged 16.1 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.1 steals, and his 131 thefts over that span are more than even Taylor has racked up. 

Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks)

40.2% – Team FG Percentage (338th)

29.3% – Team 3FG Percentage (342nd)

41.5% – Offensive Rebounding Rate (1st)

24.7 – Free Throw Attempts Per Game (8th)

70.7% – Team FT Percentage (247th)

The less-inspiring figures with which Phelps has crossed the Lone Star state are his 39.0% overall shooting percentage since arriving in college, his 26.1% career rate from distance, and his 66.8% mark at the charity stripe through three seasons. Last winter was in fact the worst of his career from three, as Phelps sank just 21.6% of his tries. It’s imperative that he make defenses honor him as a threat from more than a few feet away from the rim, and if he can do so, the many other talents Phelps brings should shine through. One thing that his arrival ensures, though, is that the Aggies’ game plan of valuing offensive rebounds and free throw tries more than…you know, simply making baskets…will continue.

Henry Coleman returns for his fourth season in College Station, and he’s looking to reverse a trend of diminishing statistical returns. A gregarious, quotable big man who loves to crash the glass and lead by example, Coleman helps lead one of the best offensive-rebounding squads in the country. He’s already become just as loved among the Aggie faithful as Taylor for his boundless energy and enthusiasm, physical post play, and the occasional George Strait t-shirt. Now, Williams hopes, it’s Coleman’s turn for a breakout. A former Duke transfer and Top 50 national recruit coming out of high school, Coleman has averaged about 10 points, six boards and a steal per game through his first two seasons. Unfortunately, hes averaged fewer minutes, points, rebounds, and steals per game in each successive year he’s been an Aggie. 

Often, though, Coleman’s contributions are more immeasurable than that his standard stats. Coleman is the guy who always seems to get the key offensive rebound late in a game, knock the ball away from a guy who’s beaten his teammate and has a clear lane to the basket, or stuff a loud and powerful dunk when his Aggies need a jolt. After trying to show his shooting range in his first season, Coleman realized during his second A&M campaign that his efforts are put to better use at the basket. In his third year, he made 57.3% of his attempts overall last year, a career-high. What would really help the free throw-reliant Aggies would be for Coleman to convert more than 70ish% of his foul shots. Coleman’s leadership qualities both on and off the court are renowned, and this winter he’s hoping to continue leading the Aggies to the greater heights they’ve been looking towards. 

If Obaseki can keep improving as a jump shooter this could be his moment.

A former Top 50 national recruit who’s one of the more naturally talented players on the roster, Manny Obaseki is back for his fourth year. Two years ago he missed about half of the Aggies’ games, but last season Obaseki played right the way through and turned in his best effort. Still, he has yet to really break out. With good size and scoring versatility, he’s still a quality 6th man, and if Obaseki can keep improving as a jump shooter this could be his moment. Last year, he hit 21 deep balls at a 40.4% mark – if he could keep up that percentage and hit, say, 50 triples, it would be a vast upgrade to the Aggies’ attack. Obaseki has the length and explosiveness to get to the rim and, of course, knows his way around the free throw line. As with so many of his teammates, consistency will be the key. 

Also back on the wing is Jace Carter, who fared pretty well after coming over from Illinois-Chicago last spring. Unfortunately, he became a part of the shooting woes which have plagued Texas A&M. The good thing is that Carter helps in lots of ways that don’t involve shooting the rock, and proves too much for some wings to handle on his way to the basket. He has the size and strength to play some minutes against bigger guys defensively, and is quick on the wing. He can block a few shots, too, which always helps when the bigs don’t do a whole lot of that. Hayden Heffner is back for his fifth season as an Aggie, and the team really needs him to figure out his outside shot. He’s always been a shooter, but Heffner made just 28.6% of his deep heaves last winter. A&M needs outside shooting, and Heffner doesn’t do other things at a very high level. The objective is clear: make shots.

When Williams wants size, energy, and somebody to flat-out pound the boards, he can call upon Andersson Garcia. Though he isn’t a terrific scorer or the most multifaceted player around, Garcia is an extraordinary rebounder – he led the SEC with 9.1 boards per game a year ago – who leads the way in keeping the Aggies in games when the shots aren’t falling. A native of the Dominican Republic, Garcia debuted with Mississippi State but has found his home in College Station. By adding his tremendous energy and glasswork to the Aggies, Garcia is a major x-factor. As a guy who doesn’t always have to score in order to help out, Garcia makes an impact that other teams just don’t have on their side. 

Solomon Washington is back to help out at forward as well. The Louisiana product proved that he’s happy to do some dirty work inside, and converted the team’s highest returning rate of putback tries. He didn’t shoot a very good percentage, but Washington can make three’s and has umtapped inside/out scoring potential yet to reach. He led the team with 20 dunks last season, and there are times when Washington looks like he’s about to become a star. Williams hopes that those flashes come more frequently this winter and allow Washington to give the Aggies a top-flight rotation at forward. 

Two veteran transfers from the Big Ten are expected to help out, too; one as this year’s pivot and the other as a perimeter bombardier. Across three seasons at Nebraska, CJ Wilcher averaged 23.2 minutes, 7.9 points, and – vitally – 48 made triples at a 37.0% rate. He’s got good length on the outside, gets to his jumper quickly, and has a clean release, and Aggie fans are excited to add Wilcher’s genuine threat from downtown. If he can keep up the steady work, it will give A&M something that they really didn’t have to call upon last winter. 

The Aggies needed a legit rim protector who can finish with authority when some of the many drives made by their talented guards get cut off. Introducing: Minnesota transfer Pharrel Payne. The solidly-built junior averaged 9.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game on 63.8% shooting as a Golden Rodent, and last year Payne hammered down 41 dunks. Unfortunately, he’s just a 47.9% career free throw shooter, but hey, that’s something to work on. What Payne has proven to be already will surely help to solidify the heart of A&M’s post attack at both ends, and with a bit more polish, Payne could even step into a standout role. 

Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on

N Purdue – December 14

N Creighton – November 27

N Texas Tech – December 8

N Oregon – November 26

vs Wake Forest – December 3

While they just aren’t a great offensive team, the Aggies have proven to be tough customers who can beat good team by defending and pushing people around on the boards. They will buy themselves so many extra possessions and points with their effort, hustle and plain old grit that the potential is there for a big season. It’s what has been expected, and it’s what Williams and his guys want to deliver. 

Unfortunately, the Aggies really and truly can’t shoot the ball with regularity, and are not exactly pleasing to watch offensively. Their advantage seems to be that they know their tendency for brick-laying, and have engineered solutions on the glass and at the free throw line. The chemistry that comes with so much of A&M’s core returning should be an advantage as so many teams are virtually overhauling their lineup, also. With a monstrous non-conference schedule to face down before they even get to the meat grinder of SEC action, the Aggies will need to come together and show their quality early. If it can all come together and A&M adds some pizazz to their usual meat-and-potatoes style, the SEC may have yet another threat to take home the league title.