Kentucky 16th
Auburn 24th

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Once the calendar flipped to 2023, Texas A&M was the 10th-best team in college basketball, according to BartTorvik's sorting tool. The players said the difference was simplifying how the Aggies operated. The Aggies won by defending at a high level ninth-best after Jan. 1 and then an aggressive offensive approach that included getting to the free-throw line and hitting the offensive glass.

It should be repeatable with four starters back and UIC transfer Jace Carter replacing Dexter Dennis. Carter is a slasher who will fit right in because he also has a high free-throw rate (40.1). Dennis was a terrific defender, so A&M will miss him there, but Carter's ability to score should help improve the offense.

Strengths
+ Continuity
+ Slashing
+ Getting to the line
+ Offensive rebounding

Question Marks
- 3-point shooting
- Early-season struggles
- Defending 3-point line

Starters
Wade Taylor IV
Tyrece Radford
Jace Carter
Henry Coleman
Julius Marble

Top Reserves
Hayden Henfer
Andersson Garcia
Solomon Washington
Eli Lawrence
Wildens Leveque

Ha! Forgot I resubbed. Thanks for the reminder.

I wonder what the ranking will be in the one that actually matters

West Point Aggie said:

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I wonder what the ranking will be in the one that actually matters

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None of the rankings matter

This feels like the low end of where most will have us ranked. I think we'll generally be in the 15-20 range.

I think the power index putting us at number 1 in conference was…a reach. But I believe nationally being ranked 21 is within reach of the team plays together.

I try to watch every game regardless.

This should be the year we don't struggle in non-con, right?

We got 4 returning starters and that likely starting lineup full of guys who are juniors or older. Radford alone will be 40 years old.

If we don't play well right out the gate this November, when would we ever play well early in a season?

That's the most disrespectful thing I've heard in my life

I am pretty excited about this year on the hardwood. Some of it is the new pieces being added but to be honest, I am really very excited about the potential growth and development I am hoping to see from Obaseki, Garcia, Washington and Hefner. I think we could see all of them really take a big step forward and I can't wait to see how far each has come.

I agree about our offensive scheme and philosophy last year and it is definitely what we should use again this year for success. I definitely could see all of these guys, Manny, Carter, Lawrence and Lindsey really being able to utilize that plan and make us one of the most effective teams in using it once again this year.

I think at least early on in the schedule, we will probably see Manny in the starting lineup instead of Carter but who knows as the season progresses how that lineup shifts???

I will tell you another thing that really has my attention is just how much development we see throughout the season with a few guys you didn't mention on your list like Lindsey (I think he has a chance to really be a scorer from anywhere on the court), White (I think we will see very little of him during SEC play but I am interested to see just how athletic he is and what the potential looks like as he will be our big moving forward), Ringgold as he could be a scoring weapon from anywhere as he has a good stroke and can actually hit 3s and we need that) and finally Manny as I think this is his year where he really needs to have the big "Light Bulb On" moment and have all that potential really pay off.

As you can see by my rambling and all over the place with my thoughts, I am super excited to see what this team can do and even more so after what I expect to be a really good season and we lose some pieces, super stoked to see what we carry over to next year and the really niece pieces we have in line already to join the program. I think Buzz is gonna have this thing really rolling moving forward.

I would imagine we don't see White or Ringgold this year and both redshirt. That is a complete guess by me and not based on anything other than Buzz's history with these type of players. Buzz seems big on redshirt years for guys that aren't going to play much.

IMO we shouldn't be signing anyone who needs a redshirt year. This isn't football.

Know Your Enemy said:

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IMO we shouldn't be signing anyone who needs a redshirt year. This isn't football.

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Well I don't think either are on scholarship so we didn't sign them which is why you didn't see any official announcement from the athletic department on them.

MarcAg said:

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Know Your Enemy said:

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IMO we shouldn't be signing anyone who needs a redshirt year. This isn't football.

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Well I don't think either are on scholarship so we didn't sign them which is why you didn't see any official announcement from the athletic department on them.

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Then I wouldn't expect much more than being a great layup line passer from them.

Know Your Enemy said:

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MarcAg said:

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Know Your Enemy said:

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IMO we shouldn't be signing anyone who needs a redshirt year. This isn't football.

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Well I don't think either are on scholarship so we didn't sign them which is why you didn't see any official announcement from the athletic department on them.

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Then I wouldn't expect much more than being a great layup line passer from them.

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Agree. If we get anything from those guys, it's a surprise. But I get taking a chance on them. What does the staff have to lose? At worst you have another body for practice.

don't forget about manny

Absolutely agree with that thought process b/c my thoughts were the same but when I thought about us losing guys after this season like

Lawrence
Leveque
Marble
Boots

And possibly guys like these if they opt to not return for their extra Covid year
Hef
Coleman

And realizing there is a very real possibility we could see Taylor go pro.

If made me start thinking, White may need to get some game experience even if lesser competition since he really hasn't play in quite some time and he will be a 5 going into next season, basically replacing Marble. Ringgold b/c he is very long and they will probably want to lean on him for minutes next season as well but also really for the fact that he has a smooth stroke and can hit it at a good rate from beyond the arc. If it wasn't for these factors and some things they will bring to us going forward in future seasons, was the only reason I strayed from my initial thoughts and felt like we could see them getting some minutes in OOC easier competition and maybe, just maybe in a couple of SEC games that we have situations that allow them to see limited action. IDK but that's the reasoning behind my post. When you consider those things, you still feel, they RS and we don't really see them this year at all?

Leveque might only end up averaging something like 6 minutes a game, but I still think that is a really big pickup for us even if it's just for emergency situations only for nights with foul trouble and injuries

If we do end up losing those 7 after the season, we better have made the most of it in terms of Ws in the season and the tournament. That's the only way we'll be able to recruit highly rated players that can come in and start day one in November 2024.

An L of an Ag said:

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If we do end up losing those 7 after the season, we better have made the most of it in terms of Ws in the season and the tournament. That's the only way we'll be able to recruit highly rated players that can come in and start day one in November 2024.

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Well, Boots, Lawrence, Marble and Leveque are gone after this year, count on that but the real questions are the other 3, does Taylor go pro? Do Coleman and Hef come back for one more year? If I had to guess right now, I would expect 5 of those 7 gone and we already have 3 really good additions coming in from the HS ranks. I would think Buxx would more than likely fill the last couple of spots with Transfer/Juco guys. When you look at the additions in this class and what we already have committed in the next class (Lindsey, White, Ringgold, Turkson, Dockery and Dre Mills), that is a very good HS prospect haul for back to back years. I think we do really good this year and I think those commits sign in November and we pick up 2 studs in spring and ultimately Buzz keeps this thing rolling.

I think 21st is low. We're going to be real good this year.

#NeverForget

What about 21th?

too high