Gap, yes there could have been some things that if they had happened would have resulted in a better team this year.

But specifically on Wheeler, look...I grew to like Wheeler despite his size. But Andre Gordon who Buzz has brought in looks like he may very well end up being a stud PG. I don't know if I'd trade Gordon for Wheeler. Gordon is certainly bigger than Wheeler and has looked like a real gamer in what we have seen thus far. I recommend giving Gordon a chance.

With Starks now out of the picture permanently, Gordon is obviously going to be getting a ton of minutes, probably will be our starting PG, once he gets back from that current injury.

Gap said:

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bobinator said:

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Gap said:

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This season didn't need to be like this. Buzz could have put a better product on the floor if he desired.

The expectations set and reality are vastly different. It didn't need to bottom out this hard.

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What expectations set?

There's no doubt that we could have put a better team on the floor if we really wanted to, but that's the question isn't it. Does it hinder you in the long run to take those shortcuts now, or do you stick to your guns?

But Buzz's record speaks for itself, we're going to have to trust that he's got a plan.

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When Buzz was hired, most expected a really good team this year. The thought was keep Gilder, keep most of the strong recruiting class BK had including Wheeler, add a grad transfer big to an already solid roster and we are definitely a NCAA quality team. And as Buzz is a better coach the BK, so we have a lot to look forward to in 2019-20.

Buzz's recruiting has left a lot to be desired. He didn't keep Gilder or Wheeler who are great character guys and whose basketball skills benefit any roster. We didn't add a grad transfer or the kid from Kansas.

A quick turnaround has now become a long turnaround. The excuse about building a solid foundation is bull. He missed on putting a better foundation in starting when he was hired. I believe he will get it done but the length of the rebuild was unnecessary and the fans aren't a real winner here.

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I dont really think you are wrong to sound this alarm (on basically every thread) but we are 4 games into 30, and even with the roster churn and recruiting we are missing players with injury that could make the results look different in a few weeks. It's definitely not ideal, though.

I love Aggie basketball and want to have a great program. Buzz has a solid track record that should translate to success here. I just fear Reed being a wasteland for a couple of years if the fans lose interest. We sold a good amount of new season tickets this year. Those folks are the silent Aggie basketball fans we wanted to bring back from the Gillespie and early Turgeon era. How do we keep those people who want to be on board with Aggie basketball around?

Great content. Join the conversation and tell me why.

LawHall88 said:

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Pumpkinhead said:

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Tavares19 said:

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When you aren't closely followimg those other teams, you tend to believe they don't have the same problems but they do.

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Buzz had to suspend a kid who was a projected starter pre-season at Virginia Tech for the entire season last year (Landers Nolley), because the kid did some knucklehead stuff.

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Virginia Tech is 5-0 with a win over Clemson and is leading Michigan State in the second half as I type this. Mike Young had to rebuild the roster, recruiting class, and staff because the staff and recruits came here with Buzz, and 4 starters from last year's team graduated or transferred. I suppose you can say that's due to Buzz's culture, but it isn't giving Young much credit, especially since so little of what Buzz built is still there.

My point, I guess, is in college basketball every season is different. This is Buzz's team. I trust the process and we'll be better off in the long run, but it's a cop-out to say that anything bad that happens to this team is BK's fault.

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If this year turns out into a major struggle, I just hope we don't have to go through a super long rebuild like what Auburn did with Pearl. Pearl really sucked his first three years there. He went 4-14 in conference first year, then 5-13, then 7-11...no post season at all for three years...then obviously exploded his 4th season and has been doing great ever since.

But 3 years to suck while waiting for a culture change/rebuild to start really kicking in...yikes! Many Auburn hoops fans seem ready to cut bait mid-way through Year 3.

So hopefully if things go badly this first year, things play out like they did for Buzz at Virginia Tech with a some really noticeable jumps from Year 1 to Year 2 and then Year 3.

Gap said:

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I love Aggie basketball and want to have a great program. Buzz has a solid track record that should translate to success here. I just fear Reed being a wasteland for a couple of years if the fans lose interest. We sold a good amount of new season tickets this year. Those folks are the silent Aggie basketball fans we wanted to bring back from the Gillespie and early Turgeon era. How do we keep those people who want to be on board with Aggie basketball around?

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My only answer would be that after 4 bad Kennedy years we had big crowds for year 5 conf title team, so I think the fans will show up.

It would be nice to have Starks as a nice scorer and simply as a body to put out on the floor for some decent minutes, but honestly we are all just left waiting for him to be more than that.

Amazing how good culture programs have less problems.

Buzz brought FOUR 4* star recruits with him and just signed TWO more. Yet you think his recruiting leaves a lot to be desired?

Gilder was already gone. Very little Buzz could do. Many of these " grad transfers" wanted to go to what they saw as better situations. I can' understand why Buzz backed off of a 5/7 point guard. Maybe it was a mistake. And like I said you better buckle up as there won't be any short cuts here. Isn't a Stansbury bag man like Kennedy needed. Just good old player development.

Gab desires 5 stars or nothing else. And nobody expected this to be a good season. I've said over and over I think this team will be a pain for SEC teams to deal with.

It's pretty simple to me. You play hard and you keep getting better.

I know the game sucked from a basketball standpoint, but being at that Troy game was fun. The crowd that was there got into it, our players were playing hard, and we found a way to win. I have a hard time imagining anyone that was there not wanting to keep coming back.

As long the team plays hard and keeps improving I think the fans that are there will keep coming back and more and more fans will start coming.

Junkhead said:

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Buzz brought FOUR 4* star recruits with him and just signed TWO more. Yet you think his recruiting leaves a lot to be desired?

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According to which rankings? The 2020 class has 1 composite 4 star and neither of the other guys are close to 4 stars by anyone. 2019 didnt have a single composite 4 star in it although Aku and Cash were 4 stars by at least 1 service before reclassifying.

Not worried about it. Buzz is gonna have us cooking. Va Tech just beat MSU.

But that happens with coaching changes. Players develop relationships with coaches, coaches develop relationships with players, and that's just the way it goes.

I'm not going to lose sleep over guys we didn't sign in a coaching change year.

phorizt said:

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Junkhead said:

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Buzz brought FOUR 4* star recruits with him and just signed TWO more. Yet you think his recruiting leaves a lot to be desired?

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According to which rankings? The 2020 class has 1 composite 4 star and neither of the other guys are close to 4 stars by anyone. 2019 didnt have a single composite 4 star in it although Aku and Cash were 4 stars by at least 1 service before reclassifying.

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This website called TexAgs.

Oh ok i had no idea Texags even had basketball rankings. So we had zero actual 4 star signees but texags just made up some national average rankings and called them all 4 stars based on no actual rankings from any of the national services. Looks like texags has ranked almost every single A&M signee over the past 6 years as 4 star recruits. Only something like 4 out of 25 signees they ranked as 3 stars. Seems legit. But I really hope texags is smarter than everyone else when it comes to ranking basketball recruits. Every one of our returning players was a 4 star recruit in their rankings so Buzz really has a lot of talent to work with.

phorizt said:

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Oh ok i had no idea Texags even had basketball rankings. So we had zero actual 4 star signees but texags just made up some national average rankings and called them all 4 stars based on no actual rankings from any of the national services. Looks like texags has ranked almost every single A&M signee over the past 6 years as 4 star recruits. Only something like 4 out of 25 signees they ranked as 3 stars. Seems legit.

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If you actually look at the rankings they have a TexAgs rating as well as a national average.

Yes but their national averages dont match up to any of the recruiting services either. They have a bunch of 4 stars in national averages when in reality none of them were 4 stars when you average the national rankings.

Who cares. For what ever reason those players moved on. This is the team we have. Buzz has a long track record of flipping programs around.

phorizt said:

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Wheeler is off to a better start than any freshman perimeter player that we signed. And Kobe Brown is off to a better start than any F/post player we signed. It's obviously early but the class we had consisted of some solid players who are doing better than the guys we ended up signing.

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Sucks- but Buzz has to get "his" guys. We are seeing this play out this year. It's hard for many of the returning guys to buy into the new system when they were used to basically the opposite coaching style. Same deal with recruits. Wants guys all in on playing in a buzz system.

phorizt said:

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Yes but their national averages dont match up to any of the recruiting services either. They have a bunch of 4 stars in national averages when in reality none of them were 4 stars when you average the national rankings.

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Star rankings are even more meaningless in basketball than in football. All about coaching.

Gap said:

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wacarnolds said:

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Gap said:

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Great content. Join the conversation and tell me why.

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not to speak for Marc, but

-BK did not leave a strong recruiting class

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That is flat out totally untrue. All the guys ended up at high majors. It was a top 25 class. Buzz came in and eventually released the entire class and they ended up at Georgia (Wheeler), Texas Tech (Smith), Oklahoma St. (Harris), and Missouri (Brown). Again all high major players.

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When Buzz Williams was hired by Texas A&M on April 3, 2019, the Texas A&M basketball recruiting class of 2019 consisted of:













































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Guessing you guys missed last years final four. Chalk full of teams without five star players.

and a class consisting of Wheeler, Smith, Brown and Harris would have ranked #32, 3 spots ahead of where we actually finished

and 7 spots below where you personally claim it would have finished, if we're talking about things that are completely untrue

Our class was in the top 25 after the early signing period and up until the time Kennedy was released.

What is your source? I'm referencing national sites like numbers and the other national recruiting site. I don't think there is an honest person who would tell us Buzz's class he brought here was higher ranked than BK's. We have just been told they are Buzz's guys. That is fine but let's be honest about it.

Star rankings are even more meaningless in basketball than in football. All about coaching.