Texas A&M Aggies
Overall Rank: #11
Conference Rank: #3 SEC
Texas A&M Team Page
It was a strong opening campaign for Texas A&M in their initial voyage through the Southeastern Conference. The Aggies won 11 games, including wins over Tennessee and South Carolina in the conference tournament. Two starters return this season to lead Texas A&M back to the NCAA Tournament as the Aggies will try to atone for the disappointing loss at home in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year to former Big 12 team Nebraska.
2012-13 Record: 25-10, 11-5
2012-13 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Gary Blair, 10th season
Coach Record: 237-100, at Texas A&M, 645-263 overall
Strengths:
The Aggies are one of the top offensive programs in the nation on pretty much an annual basis. Last season was no exception as Texas A&M scored nearly 70 points per games and were one of the best shooting teams in all of women’s college basketball with a 45.7 percentage from the field. The keys to the Aggie offense this season will be sophomore guard Courtney Walker. Walker averaged just over ten points per game and did a great job of taking care of the basketball en route to making the All-SEC Freshman team. Rebounding was a huge strength last season as Texas A&M controlled the rebounding margin by 4.5 rebounds per game. Senior Karla Gilbert is going to be heavily relied upon to be a force down low hitting the boards and replacing the efforts of Kelsey Bone. In addition, look for Jordan Jones to build off of her 12 point scoring performance in the NCAA tournament against Nebraska and provide more scoring depth for the offense, along with Courtney Williams.
Weaknesses:
The overall inability to be really dangerous from outside of the three point arc will be a big point of emphasis for the Aggies to improve upon in 2013-14. They made 3.3 shots per game from three point range. That is not enough over the course of a long difficult schedule in the Southeastern Conference. Texas A&M will have to be able to get teams to avoid packing the paint and daring them to beat them from the perimeter. The other potential concern is depth with the departures of Adrienne Pratcher and Kristi Bellock. The Aggies will be challenged to stay healthy throughout the duration of the season with the SEC being such a grind as a conference.
Final Projection:
The Aggies have a good balanced non-conference schedule. It is highlighted by a trip to the Paradise Jam Down in the Virgin Islands in late November. Washington comes to Reed Arena on December 7th. That will be a great contrast in style as the Huskies were one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation and the Aggies are very tough on the inside both offensively and defensively. A road trip to Penn State will be a strong litmus test to prepare this team for the SEC conference slate on the road. The conference schedule is a bit favorable in that the two expected top teams in the SEC East travel to College Station. Tennessee comes to town January 26th and Kentucky visits in late February. If Texas A&M can develop more balance offensively between inside and outside scoring and take care of business at home in conference play, they should be in an excellent position to be right there in the mix for the SEC title. Also, they should be in the conversation all season for being one of the top sixteen seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting Five:
Courtney Walker, Sophomore, Guard, 10.4 points per game
Tori Scott, Junior, Guard, 2.6 points per game
Jordan Jones, Sophomore, Guard, 3.1 points per game
Courtney Williams, Sophomore, Forward, 6.0 points per game
Karla Gilbert, Senior, Center, 5.0 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 69.9 (34th in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 57.7 (80, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.7(4, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 37.8 (129, 8)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 3.3 (304, 13)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.3 (NR)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.1 (202, 8)
Rebound Margin: 4.5 (45, 4)
Assists Per Game: 17.0 (8, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.7 (56, 3)
Madness 2013 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#44 Jada Terry
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