Williams & Co. buzzing to open 2025 as A&M's heater reaches eight

Texas A&M opened SEC play on the right foot as Buzz Williams & Co. posted a 20-point win over arch-rival Texas on Saturday night at Reed Arena. During Monday's edition of TexAgs Live, Williams spoke about the 80-60 victory before focusing on a Wednesday trip to Oklahoma.

Key notes from Buzz Williams interview

• Our returning players have done an incredible job of welcoming CJ Wilcher and Pharrel Payne. Relationships were able to be built sooner than normal in this day and age. Our staff was perfect in identifying the skillsets of what our team needed. The vetting process happens at a fast rate in the portal. If they don't know how we want it to work, their talent becomes negated. Whether it was Saturday or next Saturday, all of those guys will be able to impact winning, not just offensively but defensively.
   
• The rules have changed on the video you can watch live. That has had an impact. During the first half, I could not watch what they were watching. The staff collaborates in a good way on how to be effective in watching that and determining if decisions need to be made before halftime. We probably pay attention to too many things. Even before we get into the locker room, we have a lot of analytical things that we discuss. Our staff has done a good job of making changes and knowing what we want to adjust and what we don't want to adjust.
   
• The players know bits and pieces of the rivalry, but I don't know if they understand the layers of it... If you talk to the guys from Texas, they probably know 15 percent more. Henry Coleman III is a connoisseur of anything sports-related. I don't want to make it about me. I don't want to talk about my relationship with Acie Law IV. Our kids know him. I have brought him in to talk to the guys. It's not about "The Shot," but his journey since he finished playing. There was excitement that it was game No. 1, and we were at home. I was careful in trying not to give too much energy or emotion to the historical context. I don't know if that changes the job that is required.
   
• How about the Navarro College-Texas A&M connection with coach Aaron Glenn and coach Dan Campbell? Glenn and I are the same age. We lived in the same dorm at Navarro. We were there at the same time. I have known Glenn since I was 17. The Lions have more guys hurt than playing on the defensive side of the ball.
   
• How we play defensively correlates to what we are trying to accomplish offensively. We had five turnovers in the first half, four of which were live-ball, and they scored on them. They are uber-talented and ranked the fourth most efficient team in the county in transition. Defensively, you have to figure out how to not let them score in transition. You fuel their fire with a live-ball turnover. Going from five to two in the turnover category in the second half was really big. We never made any 3-pointers. I know we shot the same amount in the second half. We will always send three or four guys to the glass. If we shoot an unpredictable 3-pointer, we won't have the offensive rebounding we want or the guys getting back. Now, the floor is broken. In the first half, we probably shot three non-predictable shots.
   
• Our offensive rebounding percentage in the first half was the lowest it had been in any half all season long — 18 percent.
   
• We had two turkeys, and you can argue those were the biggest minutes of the game. They only scored six baskets in the second half. Our heavy-minute guys were really good at winning time of possession. That stretch going into halftime was the first thing I praised them for.
   
• Like I said on Saturday about Hayden Hefner, you can say whatever you want to say about the arrival of each kid. It is pretty justifiable to say Hefner was the least-touted. He is a good player. He was in our first recruiting class, and we recruited the heck out of him. I thought he was built on the right things. His family cares about Texas A&M. How much energy and emotion he gives to our program, whether he is on the court, bench, locker room or film room... If they were to do a documentary of his growth competitively and personally regarding what he was upon arrival to what he is today, I don't think you can quantify it. That's why I got emotional. I cheer for the underdog. I have the utmost respect for Hefner, as does everyone in our program.