#69 Texas A&M Men's Basketball 2020-2021 Preview

Jacob Young
Fri, 09/04/2020
 
 
Texas A&M Aggies
 
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #69
Conference Rank: #10 SEC
Texas A&M Logo
 
Year one expectations were essentially nonexistent for Buzz Williams at Texas A&M, so finishing the year over .500 and notching double-digit SEC wins could be seen as a major success. The Aggies’ stats weren’t as kind as they finished 131st on KenPom and their scoring offense was 334th in the nation. Regardless, Buzz Williams brought wins back to Texas A&M, and this season should be even better. Several rotation players return while a top graduate transfer and a top-20 recruiting class help make the Aggies a dark horse SEC contender.

2019-20 Record: 16-14, 10-8
Coach: Buzz Williams
Coach Record: 16-14 at Texas A&M, 269-169 overall
 
Key Departed Players:
Josh Nebo, Forward, 12.5 ppg
Wendell Mitchell, Guard, 10.2 ppg
Yavuz Gultekin, Forward, 1.9 ppg
Mark French, Guard, 1.5 ppg
 
Key Returning Players:
Savion Flagg, Senior, Forward, 10.4 ppg
Quenton Jackson, Senior, Guard, 8.8 ppg
Emanuel Miller, Sophomore, Forward, 6.4 ppg
Andre Gordon, Sophomore, Guard, 6.3 ppg
Jay Jay Chandler, Senior, Guard, 6.1 ppg
Jonathan Aku, Sophomore, Forward, 1.0 ppg
Zach Walker, Junior, Guard, 0.3 ppg
 
Key New Players:
LaDamien Bradford, Freshman, Guard
Hassan Diarra, Freshman, Guard
Hayden Hefner, Freshman, Forward
Kevin Marfo, Senior, Forward, Grad Transfer from Quinnipiac
Cashius McNeilly, RS Freshman, Guard
Jaxson Robinson, Freshman, Forward
 
Projection:
Six full-time rotation players are back for Texas A&M though Savion Flagg is the lone double-digit scorer returning. Flagg’s numbers actually regressed a bit as he averaged 10.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists after averaging 13.9 points and 7.7 rebounds as a sophomore. Now a senior, Flagg should be the alpha scorer on the Aggies and should see his numbers rise again. Quenton Jackson had a strong debut season at A&M as the sixth man. Jackson averaged 8.8 points in 23.6 minutes per game and should find himself in a starting role as a senior. Emanuel Miller and Andre Gordon were both full-time starters as freshmen. Both players averaged just a bit over six points per game and should have bigger impacts as sophomores. Jay Jay Chandler saw his production decline under Buzz Williams as well. Chandler averaged just 6.1 points in 20.4 minutes after averaging 8.3 points in 23.7 minutes as a sophomore. Jonathan Aku saw limited minutes in all 30 games as a raw freshman but he should be more polished this season. Texas A&M will bring in one of the top graduate transfers on the market in Kevin Marfo. Marfo led the entire NCAA in rebounding last season with 13.3 boards per game. He also averaged 10.2 points, 1.9 assists and 1.2 blocks on his way to All-MAAC honors. The Aggies also have a strong recruiting class ranked in the top-20 on 247sports. Jaxson Robinson and Hassan Diarra lead the way as both are four-star, top-100 prospects. Cashius McNeilly will also see his first action as an Aggie after the top-150 recruit redshirted last season. It typically takes coaches a few seasons at a new school to have it where they want it, but Buzz Williams appears to have Texas A&M capable of competing in the SEC in his second season there.
 
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
 
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 63.1 (334th in nation, 14th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.2 (60, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 40.4 (328, 14)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.9 (67, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.3 (266, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 29.4 (334, 14)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.8 (273, 12)
Rebound Margin: -0.4 (195, 10)
Assists Per Game: 11.1 (315, 14)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.1 (263, 11)
 
Madness 2020 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#69 Hassan Diarra
#73 Jaxson Robinson