Congrats to Gillispie and the team for a remarkable season! No one anticipated an 8-8 record in the Big 12 as well as an undefeated nonconference record. There are so many firsts for A&M basketball this season. I posted these on another thread http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=420220&forum_id=7 I think this will be the team that starts a winning basketball tradition in College Station.

Now I would like to address some things which I think have to change for A&M basketball to get to the next level:

- Attendance has to get there for the nonconference games and the less attractive Big 12 games (I was surprised at the attendance of one of the Big 12 games - I think it was Iowa State and the number was around 7,000)

- Fix Reed Arena. Reed Arena was not what Texas A&M wanted (In short it took 15 years for A&M to get the approvals it needed from the education board and they even had to scale back the facility). As mentioned in other posts the issues include seating closer to the floor on all sides, center hanging scoreboard, exterior landscaping, exterior signage, exterior maroon accents, or something to make it look like a campus venue for major events like basketball and not a prison or municipal events center.

- Petitions, begging, and griping about Antoine Wright turning pro. After last season we were lucky to have AW for this season. It was a blessing he stayed and that is a huge credit to Gillispie. Gillispie did everything right and may prove to be one of the best coaches Texas A&M has ever had in any sport! AW is the first player Texas A&M has had in many moons that has a chance to be drafted in the first round (or at all). The fact he has the opportunity to leave should be a positive. Texas A&M needs players in the NBA. Think of the impact a guy like Antoine Wright will have on Aggie basketball 5 years down the road when he is an all-star NBA player and he comes back to Aggieland for an appearance at a game. That will have a great effect on recruiting. We want lots of Texas A&M players to turn pro!

- Student numbers and seating at games. The students are the driving force for creating a loud game environment in any sport. Those of us who were at Notre Dame (football) a number of years ago can attest to that. Every Notre Dame student does not get the opportunity to go to the football game. I don't know exactly how it works, but South Bend was not Kyle Field being rocked by tens of thousands of students - it was not even close. We need at least 8,000 to 10,000 students at every home basketball game - regardless of the opponent! And these students need to have preferential seating (as reasonably possible - to be determined by Byrne) to be close to the court and rock the game. See Duke and Kansas for examples of game atmosphere.

- NCAA Tournament should always be the goal. Those suggesting going deep in the NIT or hosting an NIT game is better just don't have a clue. Can anyone name a NIT champ of any year? I follow college sports closely and I honestly can't. In fact the pre-season NIT tournament (which I think is the Elite 8 from the previous year's NCAA) is more prestigious than the post-season NIT. Yes, losing in the first round of the NCAA as a #13 seed is better than winning the NIT. Maybe someone else can explain why better than I.

- Texas A&M must learn to win conference games on the road and in the Big 12 tournament. Being 0-10 in the Big 12 tournament is just pathetic. I trust Gillispie will change this.

- Other suggestions?

Gig 'em

you should have put the (long) warning on this one.

Otherwise, good points. At least the ones I actually read.

You're wrong to complain about attendance. The improvements we made there were just as big as the improvements the team made on the court. Attendance will come with continued winning.

I also think you're way off on the number of students you expect at a game. I'm not sure how many are allowed to pull, but your number of 8000-10000 per game is way too high. Don't get me wrong, I think students make for better fans, but they just won't ever get that many, nor will they allocate that many.

Finally, I agree that it will be a good thing to have an Aggie in the NBA, but I still hope we wait a year to have an Aggie in the NBA, because if Antoine leaves early, I think we'll struggle next year to match this year's success. I won't be mad at him if he leaves, but I hope he stays. The NBA will still be there next year and he's got an insurance policy already.

quote:

---

You're wrong to complain about attendance.

---

I didn't hear anyone complaining. I heard "changes" that need to be addressed for us to get to the next level.

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 3/11/2005 11:09a).]

Watty,

If we have 7,000 attending a Big 12 game (I think that was the approximate number for Iowa State) then in my opinion we are 5,000 students (and alumni, B-CS fans) short. I can't think of a circumstance when we wouldn't want students to fill up otherwise empty seats to get Reed Arena to capacity (I think it is 12,500 or something in that area). Obviously when UT or TT is in College Station we are not going to get 12,500 students there - too many alumni and B-CS fans will demand (and pay more) for tickets.

I hope AW stays another year. All I'm saying is that in the future if we have several players on the team considering going pro after their junior year it means we are recruiting the caliber of player we need. Players like AW playing at their potential is something new in Aggieland. I can't even remember the last time an Aggie got any serious attention from NBA scouts...

By the way, Watty, if you look at the other thread I linked (above) you will see that I already gave props to the huge attendance gain we saw this year. This thread was posted to discuss areas for improvement.

[This message has been edited by Old Main (edited 3/11/2005 11:12a).]

wright staying another year, alone, could get us to that next level next year.

if he leaves, and I have said it before and been slammed for it, we will do well just to match what we did this year.

There's no way the students would ever be given that many seats. The athletic department makes money off selling season tickets, not by swiping prepaid sports passes. I think the number of student seats we have now is as many as you will see with the exception of maybe filling in the south end of the arena around the band with students.

quote:

---

I can't even remember the last time an Aggie got any serious attention from NBA scouts

---

don't follow aggie basketball too closely do you? try 2 years ago, at the time the all-time big 12 leading scorer bernard king. he didn't quite make it (although i think he should have), but he went to some camps and is now in the nbdl. what you should have said is i can't remember the last time an Aggie made it to the pros.

Amen Old Main, A-MEN!

Bgrimm05,

I should have stated that differently. Bernard King was a great Big 12 player that probably would have made it to the pros if he had been coached by Gillispie or someone who could develop talent better than Watkins.

I have followed Aggie basketball for a long time (I am class of '87), but I've never heard the NBA talk in the past like I've heard it this year.

I'm just relieved that Aggie basketball could survive the Barone-Watkins era!

quote:

---

I have followed Aggie basketball for a long time (I am class of '87), but I've never heard the NBA talk in the past like I've heard it this year.

---

I think most of us knew what you were talking about. Bernard got the attention of some scouts, but they never lined up to see him play like they do Antoine.
I disagree with your comment that Watkins ruined him though; I think the reason King didn't make it in the NBA was that he is a reltatively unathletic person. At 6'5" he hardly ever played above the rim, and he wasn't the fastest guy either.
His advantages in the college game (ability to post up other guards, great passing, incredible confidence) were no longer advantages when he became a professional.

is there any school in the nation that averages 8000 student fans for BB games? I seriously doubt it.

It is tough to get 20% of the student body out to a game on a tuesday night when many of them probably have a test or something the next day.

Yes, I remember a couple of teams that I believe went to the NIT. ibelieve Oklahoma went there a while back. I don't recall how they did. I recalla school in Austin that also went. Matter of fact they won the thing. Where are these two teams in the conference in the past few years. I feel the NIT will be a springboard to our program. Other than UTEP, how many teams do you remember went during the first round of the NCAA's last year? We are getting publicity. That is what matters for the future.

Look, making the NIT this year is a huge step forward for Texas A&M. Had we won three more games (Nebraska, Oklahoma, and our first round game) we would have been 10-6 and a good bet for the Big Dance.

I guess what I am saying is that there is a huge amount of publicity surrounding the NCAA qualifiers, even the #16 seeds. Most everyone remembers teams like Gonzaga (before they became regular invitees), Rhode Island (I remember the spiders from a long time ago), and UTEP and Georgia Tech (last year).

I really never knew UT won the NIT. Maybe the NIT is off my radar or maybe I just don't remember. Anyway, I'm hoping that with Gillispie we will make the NCAA tournament 2 or 3 years out of 5.

quote:

---

It is tough to get 20% of the student body out to a game on a tuesday night when many of them probably have a test or something the next day.

---

This makes me laugh every time I hear this excuse. I'm not suggesting that any student forgo studying to attend a game if it's truly needed, but I also see many students drinking at Northgate on gamenights complaining about having a test the next morning...

Gig'em

What is the status of hanging scoreboard and stands all around the court?

quote:

---

Some things that have to change for Texas A&M Basketball

---

Your thread is fundamentally flawed because there is no such thing as Texas A&M basketball. It does not exist. There is no A&M in Aggie basketball.

Are you referring to the basketball program from T-Star University?

I don't know anything about them because I attended Texas A&M University.

What an ignorant post. The T-Star is the symbol of Texas Aggie basketball at this point. Get over it.

And where is it written that a logo MUST have letters that represent the university in it???

Wow, someone urinated all up in Wonderful's cheerios.

[Threats to other posters are not allowed. They are a clear violation of the user agreement. Texags Senior Moderator]



[This message has been edited by TexAgs staff (edited 3/13/2005 1:29p).]

I love the T-star. It's old school and just about as "Aggie" as you can get.

I think we should stop the band from doing the block T formation as well. Buncha shamed cowards trying to leave off the A&M!!!

And what the hell is this!!



OMG! This Univerity seal is just horrible! I mean it says Texas A&M University on it...but there is only a T and a Star in the middle!!! Blasphemy!!

Just think how Texas or Kansas State feels? They dont even have letters in their logos! Nobody ever knows who they are!

wow, he challenged me to a fight!

Way to go JJxvi!