We gotta stop meeting like this....

Dang, it seems like yesterday y'all were running us ragged out there. Before that it was baseball (great series, though!), now we've got to haul all the way back out there again for basketball.

Thankfully, we'll get to host the football game this year. We hope to be as hospitable (both on and off the field) as y'all were last September.

Perusing y'alls season results, we seem to have a fair amount in common. Y'all have some impressive wins (more than we do, for sure) then slip in games you probably should have won.

Following Clemson basketball this year has been a tilt-a-whirl of emotion. We lost a handful of games we should have won, mainly early on while our freshmen got their bearings. Life's been better the past month, which is how we played our way into the tourney.

Clemson prefers to run the offense out of a half-court set, looking to go inside when possible. Our conference folks know that, so they tend to pack in and dare us to go over the top. So it's eaither feast (like we have against Maryland, which couldn't control both inside and out) or famine (like Wake, which can). We're suspect against stong guard play (Felton/McCants from UNC and Elder of Ga. Tech had us for lunch), and we're still a bit streaky.

To beat Clemson, A&M needs solid guard play and a willingness to roll the dice on our free throw shooting. We'll either hit 80 percent or 45 percent at the line. We also have a pretty impressive swarming defense (minus the problem with top-notch guards) and we get a lot of second-chance baskets. You'll need to push the tempo, pressure our guards and hit from the outside.

Players to watch for Clemson: Center Sharrod Ford 6-10 and agile. Jones has him in the weight department, but Ford has really developed as a player, not just a body.

Watch guard Shawan Robinson, too. He's come on strong in the last month, named second-team All-ACC tourney and will make a team pay if they don't pay attention beyond the arc.

Two names y'll might not have heard: Forwards Sam Perry and Olu Babloa. Sam loves to hang around the basket while other teams are focusing on Ford and slipping in for easy baskets. Olu is just a great blue-collar player.

Like y'all, we're excited about playing again. It's been 6 years since we've seen the post-season.

And we're still looking forward to having y'all come down this September!

Best of luck!

Very insightful post. Good Luck to you too.

I'll let someone with more BBall knowledge breakdown the Ags for you, but I think you are right in that we sound fairly similar. Just wanted to say thanks for stopping by, enjoy Aggieland if you are able to make the trip, and can't wait to visit Death Valley this fall. Good luck Wednesday, but, obviously, I'm hoping for more than just a moral victory of making the postseason.

Enjoying this growing cross-regional rivalry, BTW. Who knows, we may meet again in baseball this year.

If what you say is a good scouting report, then it sounds like youve got a horrible matchup problem with us.

A&M will put the pressure on you on defense from both 3/4 (occasionally) and in the 1/2 court. They wont be afraid to put you on the line (a lot). And strong guard play (and wing play) is the strength of this team especially when Acie Law (our point guard) is hot.

[This message has been edited by JJxvi (edited 3/14/2005 8:41a).]

I just hope we don't come out so timid like we did in the Big 12 tournament. Especially Acie. If we play like we did in the regular season, I think we can do fine, but if we come out like we did in the Big 12 tourney, we will be sitting at home quickly.

JJxvi: Early in the season, the 3/4 trap was a death warrant for us. OP worked hard with the guys, and by the end of the season, most folks just sat back and tried the 1/2 court trap.

More often, defenses just sat back and waited for us to throw the ball away. Since our starting point guard has to sit out this year, it's been a pretty good strategy. The downside with the press against Clemson is if its broken we've got the horses to go straight to the hole....hence the foul shooting.

Acie Law will see considerable pressure. We tend to go full court, breaking into an aggressive man. If he can spot the opening wheh he's doubled, we will indeed have problems. Our guys are still a bit green when it comes to helping out at times.

Basically, the higher the score, the better y'alls chances. Like Zone 6 landscaping, we thrive in the 60s and 70s. Much above 80 and we start wilting.

Dont want to give you the wrong impression, we arent going to press a lot. Usually we play straight up man. Not a lot of trapping or more than 1/2 court pressure, although I was pretty impressed on occasions when we tried it.

[This message has been edited by JJxvi (edited 3/14/2005 9:00a).]

I was just going to post at how ya'll didn't lose many that ya'll shouldn't have.
Only non-conference loses were @ BC, G'town, & UAB... Good non conference wins @ S.Carolina & Ohio State....
Not too shabby..
Not many teams could put up with the rigors of the ACC conference...never a night to rest..
Much the same though in the Big XII except for Baylor (which will be getting better)
Thank goodness for Maryland though for you guys!! 3-Peat of the Terps and ultimately not allowing them to dance! SHould be fun Wednesday and I can't wait to visit Death Valley in September!

11/19 Hampton W 98-54
11/23 UNC-Ash W 78-59
11/26 at BC L 79-70
12/01 Ohio St W 80-73
12/04 at S Carolina W 63-62
12/11 C Southern W 73-55
12/14 Norfolk St W 83-56
12/17 The Citadel W 76-52
12/21 UAB L 78-66
12/22 at Indiana St W 83-57
12/23 G'town L 75-60
12/29 E Carolina W 74-40
01/02 at #6 Duke L 62-54
01/08 #3 W Forest L 103-68
01/12 at Florida St W 56-54
01/15 at Va Tech L 59-57
01/19 #6 UNC L 77-58
01/22 at Virginia L 81-79
01/26 at Miami L 69-65
01/29 NC State L 80-70
02/01 #24 Maryland W 88-73
02/08 Ga Tech L 70-62
02/12 Miami L 83-77
02/16 Georgia W 59-42
02/19 at #4 UNC L 88-56
02/22 at Maryland W 97-93
02/27 Florida St W 83-74
03/01 Va Tech W 66-64
03/05 at Ga Tech L 64-56
03/10 at Maryland W 84-72
03/11 at #3 UNC L 88-81


[This message has been edited by 12thmanClass01 (edited 3/14/2005 9:26a).]

We have a few definite butt-cuttings this year, and yep, Maryland was a sure tonic for us. Strange how they could handle Duke, but not Clemson...

Our heartbreakers this year:
01/02 at #6 Duke L 62-54...led by 8 with 5 minutes to go, thanks to a rare good night at the free thrown line. Duke went to full court pressure and out-quicked us.

01/15 at Va Tech L 59-57: Had the lead throughout until two turnovers, then a steal and jam by Tech with 3 seconds to go...started us on a four game skid, including

01/22 at Virginia L 81-79: No excuse for this one. We were just out of synch, but still led late.

01/26 at Miami L 69-65: Solid guard play took this one in the waning seconds.

02/08 Ga Tech L 70-62: Led this one late, but BJ Elder lit us up late.

02/12 Miami L 83-77: Replay of the game earlier. Led late but couldn't close the deal.

03/11 at #3 UNC L 88-81: Arrrgh! the difference between freshmen and upperclassmen is they know how to seal the deal.


Better days ahead.

I guarantee you that timid will not be in the Ag's vocabulary on Wednesday. Home court is a big advantage in these games and BCG will have the team spitting nails by game time. Let's all do our part and buy a ticket!

Gig 'Em and Beat the Class of '72 Hell out of clemson!

Hey Rev Dodd,

Thanks for the run down. I hope you can make it over yourself, and I hope you have a great time in Aggieland. Hopefully the word got out about how your folks were treated at our place last fall and you can get more of your fans over for the game than would otherwise attend.

Sounds like you guys have a decent team. I'm sure glad we have the home court for this one.

clemson needs to get JJ in foul trouble (not too tough) and matchup on AW, possible double team from 17 in. make law beat you...best way to take it, imo.

at reed a&m has had a cast of characters step up on different games, including leach off the bench. should be interesting to watch.

A&M has played much better at home then on the road. Also, I have a hard time seeing AC Law having two terrible games in a row, especially with this game at home.

We should win this, but then that's why we play these game cause should doesn't put up baskets.

I'll be SHOCKED if you guys get above 65-70 pts on us. It'll be interesting to see how an ACC team matches up with our aggressive man to man defense.
This is a GREAT matchup, alot better than playing someone like Rice or TCU.
Players to watch from A&M: Obviously Jones, Wright, and Law, if they play well we win.

Step up player: Bobby Leach he's been great as of late and will come in off the bench and hit some big shots.

and since I'm talking about Aggie Basketball players, someoone I'd like to mention that's REALLY stepped up and been playing pretty decent ball lately is Marlon Pompey. He's a great athlete with arms that must be 35 feet long and lately he's been doing a good job of moving the ball faster and not turning it over.

The one player that is always over looked is Chris Walker. He's our walk-on 4 (we dont use traditional positions) that is just flat out annoying for whoever he's defending. On the offense, he's a bit timid inside, but can and will take an open shot from outside. If he gets some early shots to fall we're hard to beat.

RevDodd, thanks for the info!

.....have you considered a timeshare in College Station?