Head coach Buzz Williams reviews A&M's execution vs. Ohio State

Coming off an emphatic 14-point win over Ohio State, Buzz Williams & Co. are sitting at 3-1 as non-conference play continues. With Southern up next, the head coach joined TexAgs Live for the first time this season to speak on his 2024-25 squad.

Key notes from Buzz Williams interview

• We did a lot of good things against Ohio State. They are really talented and had a great start to the season. After our loss to UCF, we were much more connected. We executed at both ends of the floor at a much higher rate.
   
• Analytically, we had the best defensive first half in my tenure here. We fouled a little bit too much in the second half, which kept us out of sorts, which is what happened at UCF. We did much better offensively during that stretch than we did in Orlando. There was growth in our group, and they understood that in real-time. That is encouraging. 
   
• Ohio State started two McDonald's All-Americans at the forward spots. Bruce Thornton is arguably one of the better ball guards in the country. He was really good last year and again Friday night. Meechie Johnson started and was arguably the last player last year at South Carolina. Together, they are a top-20 backcourt in the country, and then they are starting two McDonald's All-Americans, one from Kentucky and one from Duke. Their commitment to accumulating as much talent as possible is similar to their football team. There were three returning players for Ohio State from last year. I anticipate that they will have a really good year. They are doing things a little differently schematically. This is the first full season for coach Jake Diebler. 
   
• We learned a lot from the loss. We went on the road against a Big 12 opponent. That was the first time Texas A&M played on the road to start a season in 20 years. I had never played my first game of the season on the road as a Power 5 head coach. 
   
• We will have a hard time winning against any opponent if we only shoot fourteen free throws. We were not putting ourselves in a position to be fouled, and the quality of our offensive possessions was not good enough. In Orlando, we fouled more in the second half than in any other game since we have been here. Offensively, if you were to grade our possessions, it would have been a D-minus.
   
• Last year, as poor of a shooting team we were, our offense finished 26th in the country. Much of that is because of our production at the free throw line. You accumulate fouls of their players and points when the clock is stopped. You position yourselves defensively if you utilize any pressure. There are a lot of correlated reasons why we want to get to the free throw line. 
   
• Wade Taylor IV was very inefficient offensively in Orlando. Manny Obaseki was “December Obaseki” of last year. I thought Friday night he was “March Obaseki.” Zhuric Phelps will play well at some point, and it will be for a long stretch. He missed twenty practices, two scrimmages and game No. 1. His rhythm is not all the way there. His talent helps our team tremendously on both ends. 
   
• Zhuric Phelps' evaluation was bad because that was during COVID-19. We made a bad decision not recruiting him harder. We signed Wade Taylor IV and Manny Obaseki in that class. We had just got here and COVID-19 hit at the end of that year. His dad had known of me and a lot of the people I know since before I was at Texas A&M. I told Zhuric that he could have called me. 
   
• We recruited Pharrel Payne out of high school. We did a good job of getting to know him and developing a relationship with him, which helped us when he entered the portal. He has a bright future, though he hasn't played very well. His presence at the rim has helped our guards guard the ball as effectively as needed.
   
• Losing Julius Marble last October completely changed our team. He was an effective player for us the previous year. He had a lot of impact relative to our success and going to the tournament the year before.
   
• Our roster has more than five starters. All good teams in college basketball have that. Some of it will be specific to the opponent, and some of it will be related to the style of play. I do not take for granted the ability to use our group's versatility and experience. I don't know all of the answers yet. We will continue to accumulate data. We want to get some consistency in what we want our rotations to be.
   
• Thus far, in the four games, fifty percent of the games, we have not had our entire rotation to play. We have done some good things. We have some positive ideas on how to mix and match the group. We are not completely there yet, but I don't think any team is. I like the experience and versatility.