BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Coming off a 14-15 season, it’s easy for a basketball team to get defensive.
Texas A&M women’s basketball coach Joni Taylor certainly hopes so.
The Aggies' first-year coach intends to lead A&M back among the national elite by getting defensive.
She wants to do it fast, too.
Actually, she wants to do everything fast.
Taylor wants to push the basketball and score — or at least shoot — within eight seconds of taking possession.
That’s quite a change from a year ago when A&M employed a more deliberate style of play under legendary coach Gary Blair.
“What I really like about our team is their commitment to wanting to be better. You talk about 12 players who are being asked to do something totally different than what they’ve done in the past. Or if they’re freshmen, something new. Their commitment to wanting to do that and get that right is at a high level.”
- Texas A&M head coach Joni Taylor
But Taylor’s players quickly got the message. How else, right?
“(We’re) Getting out in transition. Being faster … a faster-paced team,” senior forward Aaliyah Patty said on Tuesday at Southeastern Conference Media Days. “Last year was a lot of half-court offense. This year, we’re really getting out and running.”
That starts with defense.
“We’re making defense our main priority,” Patty said. “Getting stops. Help-side defense. Rotation stuff. Just focusing on that type of stuff for sure.”
Senior center Sydnee Roby offered confirmation.
“We’re really honing in on our defensive style,” Roby said. “(Coach Taylor) definitely told us she wants us to be a defensive team this year, so that’s something that we’ve been emphasizing. Getting stops, pushing the ball up the floor, being a transition team so that we can push the floor, spread the floor, have nice spacing and get good quality shots.
“I think we’re just honing in on man-to-man coverage and things of that sort and pushing the ball up the floor. Transition and defense are going to be two big things for us.”
Deriving offense from defense isn’t exactly new. Basketball coaches have been preaching that concept since James Naismith nailed that peach basket on that wall.
But there are different ways to skin the proverbial cat. Taylor’s way is to skin it as fast as possible.
She aims for the Aggies to block shots, get defensive rebounds, get steals and then run like they stole something. If the opponent scores … well, run after that, too.
And do it for 40 unrelenting minutes.
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Through seven seasons in Athens, Taylor compiled a 140-75 (.651) overall record.
That plan worked for 21 victories at Georgia last season. During that campaign, Taylor’s Bulldogs were among the SEC leaders and the nation’s top 100 in scoring defense, blocked shots, steals and turnovers forced.
One of those victories was 67-58 over Texas A&M. Georgia blocked nine shots, forced 15 turnovers and limited the Aggies to 34.8 percent shooting.
“We had more depth,” Taylor recalled. “We knew that we were going to go four quarters with them. We were going to hopefully outlast them with our versatility and our depth.
“We had a distinct size advantage, so it was about getting the ball inside and trying to get some fouls on Sydnee Roby and Patty and some of their bigs to get them out of the game. We were able to do that.”
To do that at A&M will require a much different roster. To that end, Taylor has already made great strides in accumulating the necessary personnel.
Taylor’s recruiting class is ranked among the nation’s best. First, she landed 6-foot-4 Janiah Barker, who was rated the No. 3 prospect in the country.
Guard Sydney Bowles was ranked No. 37. Taylor was able to retain guard Mya Petticord, the No. 81 prospect who had committed to Blair.
Taylor also brought in Canadian sophomore guard Tineya Hylton, a transfer from Georgia who was the No. 21 ranked international player in 2021.
“(We’re) Getting out in transition. Being faster … a faster-paced team. Last year was a lot of half-court offense. This year we’re really getting out and running.”
- Senior forward Aaliyah Patty
They joined a roster with eight returning veterans, and those veterans are happy to have newcomers.
“We’ve got Janiah Barker coming in. Great player. She plays multiple positions. She’s very versatile,” Patty said. “Then, we’ve got Sydney Bowles, who can shoot it lights out. We’ve got Mya (Petticord). Everybody has their own threat. Everyone is their own person. They have their own talent. I think everyone coming in is great for us.
“I think everyone coming back is also great for us. They’re hungry to showcase what they have.”
Such potential and promise may whet the appetite for a big year at Reed Arena.
Yet, such hype might cause Taylor to say something she won’t often say: Slow down. Don’t put the cart before the racehorses.
“What I really like about our team is their commitment to wanting to be better,” Taylor said. “You talk about 12 players who are being asked to do something totally different than what they’ve done in the past. Or if they’re freshmen, something new. Their commitment to wanting to do that and get that right is at a high level.
"That being said, we’ve got a long way to go. What we’re judging and what our measurement is: ‘Are we better today than we were yesterday?’”
The Aggies will be a work in progress. The process will take time.
Still, there’s no question the Aggies aspire to be better than last year. Much better.
They hope to get better fast by being fast.
