No. 11 A&M looks to right the ship on Saturday night vs. LSU at Reed
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Texas A&M basketball coach Buzz Williams on Friday revealed when star guard Wade Taylor IV would return to the lineup without giving a date.
“When ‘Four’ (Taylor) is healthy, ‘Four’ will play,” Williams said. “But I’m going to do right by his life, by his body, by my relationship with his parents. Whether it impacts our team — and it does impact our team because he’s a potential All-American, I think.”
Taylor has been sidelined for the last three games with an undisclosed injury. The No. 11 Aggies (13-4, 2-2 in Southeastern Conference play) are 1-2 in those games. They have missed his production as the team’s No. 2 scorer, top 3-point threat and best free-throw shooter.
A&M, a solid contender for the SEC championship, hopes to end a two-game skid when the Aggies face LSU (12-5, 1-3) on Saturday night at 7:30 CT at Reed Arena.
Taylor certainly would help the Aggies’ cause. Still, Williams made it clear he would not rush Taylor back onto the court.
“Specific to me as a head coach, the young men that I’ve coached, their mother, their father, if they had both, their aunt, their grandmother — whoever it was that they were living with — they trusted me to do right by their son,” Williams said. “I have given my heart commitment I’m going to treat him the exact way I would my son.
“So like questionable, doubtful, limited … No, no, no. We don’t have that where I’m from. That’s my son. If he’s got a concussion, we’re going to make sure his brain’s right. If he’s got turf toe, we’re going to make sure his toe’s right.”
In Taylor’s absence A&M has relied more on guards Zhuric Phelps and Hayden Hefner and forward Pharrel Payne for scoring.
Phelps has averaged 26.3 points in A&M’s three SEC games without Taylor. Hefner has averaged 10.3 points.
Payne, a transfer from Minnesota, has averaged 16 points while converting 14 of 16 field goal attempts (87.5 percent). He’s scored in double figures in six of the last seven games.
“I knew it was going to come along,” A&M forward Solomon Washington said of Payne. “He just needed time to adjust to the SEC. … The physicality, how fast it is and just the difference it makes from the SEC to the Big Ten.”
Phelps, Hefner and Payne likely will be needed to produce in double figures again for the Aggies to defeat LSU.
Last Tuesday, LSU defeated Arkansas, 78-74, behind 27 points from guard Cam Carter and 17 off the bench from guard Jordan Sears.
They lead the Tigers, who have had to deal with injury issues of their own. Jalen Reed, a 6-foot-10 forward averaging 11.1 and 6.5 rebounds, sustained a season-ending knee injury in December.
Williams warned the Tigers cannot be overlooked, though.
“They have two really talented ball guards,” Williams said. “They draw fouls at a high rate. They’re really good in transition.
“They lost a very important piece to their team in December. I think the forwards and how they’ve changed who’s playing continue to get better with each passing week.”