Andrew Monaco offers thoughts on 2024 regular season, Aggie hoops

During Friday's edition of TexAgs Live, we caught up with the "Voice of the Aggies" as Andrew Monaco offered his thoughts on all things Texas A&M Athletics. Monaco discussed Mike Elko's first season as well as Aggie basketball's recent three-game win streak.

Key notes from Andrew Monaco interview

• During the breaks, I joke with Dave Elmendorf and John Thorpe that they need to charge me for therapy. I let it all out during those breaks. 
   
• What is disappointing is having all the opportunities in November and not coming through. Yes, it came down to the last game. I don't like rankings for the College Football Playoff starting in October. There is so much that can happen in November. A poll has never been the same on selection day as in October. 
   
• The bigger picture is really positive. The disappointment came from the change in expectations. I thought the Florida win was when the strain and effort kicked in. That win looks better now than it did at the time. As the Aggies kept winning, the expectations changed. There is a reason South Carolina rushed the team. Fans don't rush the field for beating bad teams.
   
• As that team, you have to get better as the number next to your name gets lower. That loss should have hurt after South Carolina. Something should have changed. It should have hurt after Auburn. It stings after Texas. Something has to change.
   
• There has to be competition at every position. Something has to change in the weight room. For as improved as they were, they were outmuscled in November. That is when things changed. Everybody has to compete. No one is going to be handed anything. That started this year.
   
• We focused on Conner Weigman and Marcel Reed so much that Elko would point out that a new receiver was in the starting rotation. That competition will be at every position. If you are the middle linebacker, you will have to beat out Taurean York. Taurean understands that he has to compete for that job. Nothing will be given to any of these guys.
   
• I'm not sure what happened to the defensive line. Every team in the SEC has quality edge rushers, whether seniors or younger guys. The Texas A&M defensive line received a lot of attention, and teams tried to take that away. Teams had to account for Shemar Turner and Albert Regis in the middle. November came down to the line of scrimmage, and Texas A&M did not win it in any of their conference games in November. 
   
• I agree that Marcel Reed was a different passer at the end of the year. That comes with all the reps. When he scrambled, his head was up, going through progressions. Even Conner Weigman doesn't have much experience. He has the years here but had not played a ton due to injuries. 
   
• Reed was thrust into action against Oklahoma State. He was quarterback No. 2 going into that game, and everyone was surprised that he was named the backup quarterback at the beginning of this season. Then, you saw that he prepared as the starter. You saw the team rally around him. You could see him getting better. That is all on Marcel. That says an awful lot about that young man. He has figured it out against SEC defenses while still gaining experience. 
   
• Someone will get an outstanding young man and a talented quarterback in Conner Weigman. The consistency just wasn't there. I am going to go back before the Notre Dame game. Auburn is on the road in 2022. That was not just Weigman. He has to figure out how to turn it around mid-game instead of on Sunday. He has it between the ears. He also needs to be healthy. I wish him the best. 
   
• The SEC doing what it did to the ACC in basketball shows you how tough the conference will be in basketball. I have never rooted harder for the Aggies to win than I did against Creighton. The Oregon loss was that disappointing. All three teams that the Aggies played in Las Vegas are really good. Rutgers has two stars. Creighton just knocked off Kansas. 
   
• There is something about this team's togetherness. I don't think he would have this non-conference schedule without this experienced team. He is trying not to leave anything to chance with the NCAA come tournament time. 
   
• The Wake Forest game was almost a scheduling loss. It was a hard time to play, but the team adjusted.
   
• The connectivity in the Ohio State win was unbelievable. I liked the change to the starting lineup. The guys coming off the bench are mojo changers. Andersson Garcia, Manny Obaseki and Pharrel Payne can do all that. There is a lot of talent on the floor. They are really good about moving on to the next game.
   
• You can't be the same team in March as you were in November, which was a good month for them. Sunday is a good test against Texas Tech. They take on the Texas Longhorns on January 4.