Kennedy's faith through adversity keys March transformation for A&M

When Texas A&M arrives in Los Angeles for the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA basketball tournament to face Michigan, some may wonder just how the Aggies got there.

Of course, one may state the obvious and say they beat Providence 73-69 and blew out North Carolina 86-65 in the tournament’s first weekend.

Some wise guy would answer by jet plane.

But getting to LA was more a matter of transformation than transportation. The Aggies have endured suspensions, particularly losing DJ Hogg for three games. They lost starting point guard Duane Wilson to injury. His projected backup, JJ Caldwell, was dismissed.

They’ve relied on the development of TJ Starks, who was essentially a third string point.

Robert Williams missed time with a concussion. Admon Gilder was slowed by a knee injury.

The Aggies endured a five-game losing streak to open Southeastern Conference play. It would have been six if a late shot by Ole Miss had not somehow spun out of the cylinder.

It’s been an up-and-down season for the (22-12) Aggies, but coach Billy Kennedy said he never lost faith in his team that once was ranked fifth in the country.

“I never did doubt,” he said after the destruction of North Carolina. “I never gave up because I knew we had talent. 

“We’ve got good kids who make mistakes. Unfortunately, they made more mistakes this year than I’d like. They came together when we needed to come together. And I really thought that we could always make a run because of our talent level and because of the quality of the kids that we have.

“I think we grew up some throughout the season throughout the adversity.”

Indeed, there was an abundance of adversity even as late as mid-February. The Aggies had climbed out of that 0-5 hole to start SEC play and had pulled to 6-6 in the conference race with a dominant win over Kentucky. But then suffered consecutive lackluster losses to Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Suddenly, there were doubts whether A&M would even get into the NCAA Tournament field. A faction of frustrated A&M fans called for Kennedy’s ouster. There was speculation that he might be replaced.

“We came to a point in our season where our backs were against the wall where we knew we had to win games and I really think it changed,” Kennedy said. "Our whole attitude changed and we played with more of a sense of urgency in practice. Practice habits got better. We just got better. We grew up. We beat Vandy at Vandy which is a tough task in our league. And from then on our guys have been different. When we prepare well and we’re locked in and we play together we’re as good as advertised.”

That was certainly the case in the first two games of the NCAA Tournament.

TexAgs

Junior guard Admon Gilder gave all credit to coach Kennedy for the Aggies' late season resurgence.

Tyler Davis and Robert Williams were dominant in the paint.  Starks scored 36 points against Providence and North Carolina. Hogg regained the form he showed in November and hit a trio of three-pointers against the Tar Heels. Gilder was steady as usual with 30 points.

The bench was atypically productive. A&M hit 16 three-pointers. The Aggies owned the boards. They were even respectable at the free throw line against North Carolina.

Gilder credited Kennedy for the resurgence.

“Coach Kennedy has done a great job keeping us together,” he said. “We’ve been through so much as a team and he’s always preached staying connected, staying together. And so we’ve got to give him the credit.”

Kennedy is more than willing to share the credit.

“It’s a God thing,” the deeply spiritual Kennedy said. “We were blessed. These guys bought in and grew up. Sometimes (adversity) can make a season or break a season. The adversity we went through made us and we grew up some.”