Photo by Zoe Kelton, TexAgs
Texas A&M Basketball
Back in the win column, Texas A&M prepares to host Bulldogs on Senior Night
The Aggies are set to begin the last week of the regular season, after ending a five-game losing slide against Georgia on Saturday. On Monday's edition of TexAgs Radio, head coach Buzz Williams joined the show to discuss the win and Wednesday's matchup with Mississippi State.
Key notes from Buzz Williams interview
- I thought we had a good week. I know it's not the results we want. I thought our guys played with an incredible fight on Wednesday night.
- It was not quite enough against South Carolina in some respects, and on Saturday, we played with a good fight. We have a lot of work to do to play Wednesday against Mississippi State. We have work in front of us, but I’m very encouraged by the togetherness and fight we played with last week.
- There’s been a lot of evidence of things that we can and can't control. Not all of it has gone our way in the result. Last week was more evidence of how we care for each other and the trust and relationships people won't see.
- I don't think anyone would have thought after a five-game losing streak, we would win on the road with Solomon Washington in foul trouble and Henry Coleman III not playing.
- Wade Taylor IV had four points, four turnovers, and four assists, many of which were career lows. What’s interesting is all of the kids who played in the game, he had the highest plus-minus. To me, that just shows the value Taylor brings us in winning.
- I think it was the lowest points scored since Taylor was a freshman and probably the highest turnover count in a month or so, yet he impacted the game plus-minus more than any player on either team. It is not always in the stats that impact winning and losing.
- It's been a journey for Manny Obaseki. He was very impactful as a freshman. He started at the four. He's obviously anything but a four. I thought he had an okay non-conference before breaking his hand last year vs. Florida. Last week, I think it’s the best he's been since being a freshman.
- Obaseki stayed engaged, and he's hung in there. He made more free throws this past week than in conference play. He had more defensive rebounds this week than in the previous nine weeks combined in conference play. He was for sure a spark in both games last week, and hopefully, he can be a spark in both games this week.
- I told Tyrece Radford this morning, “I think rebounding is connected to your point total.” I don't know how many rebounds he has in the games when he scores 20 points, but I think they are correlated. It means he's not trying to manufacture everything in the hardest way. I think it's a byproduct of him in the fight on both the offensive and defensive glass.
- I did not think, in the first half, we were excellent in our defensive rebounding plan. 70 percent of their shots were from 3. That's an incredibly high number. That was one of the things we talked about during halftime, was our responsibility rebounding on 3-point attempts.
- If you're going to shoot 41 threes in a 70-possession game, it means you're really guarding the ball. I thought we really guarded the ball. We had nine turkeys, mathematically, that's really hard to do. That's only happened two times since we’ve been here. When you can do all that stuff and not foul or let the ball fly all over the gym, you'll be fine.
- I think the line of the game on Wednesday will be decided on the offensive and defensive glass.
- If both teams are hooked up, I anticipate it will be a football game. It will be in the trenches. It will be below the free-throw line. They have some guards that are superlative with the ball in their hands.
- We don't want to drive and get our ball blocked because that is a live ball turnover. That is what we call “gas.” We don’t want to give “gas” to the opponent. Anytime, there is “gas” involved by us, the first thing I do when the opponent gets the ball is, immediately find Solo. If he is behind it, he's going to have a chance to block it. He is a step or two behind the action because he is an offensive rebounder for us.
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