SB Nation User Blog: miketag

Nice Season Summary By ESPN

miketag — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:54:18 -0000

Nice Season Summary By ESPN

After seeing the bowl description by Tim Griffin, I did not expect much but this was a fair take on our season.

Ags Headed To Independence Bowl

miketag — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 02:26:37 -0000

Texas A&M has accepted an invitation to play the Georgia Bulldogs on December 28th in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA. This was probably the toughest possible matchup that A&M could get, but I think in the long run it will be good for the program. If A&M is to return to the level of success that we all expect, we need to learn how to play with and beat the most talented teams in the nation. Playing a very talented UGA team will help get us to that level. Our freshmen need to see what kind of effort is needed to compete with and beat the Oklahomas and tu's of the world; beating Navy would do nothing to help in that area. Some may argue that a bowl win can do wonders for momentum in recruiting, but I would argue that developing the current players on our roster takes precedence. If we want to be a championship team, our defense needs to improve by leaps and bounds. Practicing for a month against the triple-option, as we would be if we were to play Navy, is not going to help develop our defense for next year.

As I previously stated, we have already won because we have an extra month of practice for our young team to get better. I expect some of our redshirting freshmen to make great gains during these December practices. Preparing for an offense with the athletes that UGA has will help our defense next season against Arkansas and the rest of the Big 12. Playing a defense with the size and speed that UGA has will help our offense perform at a higher level.

On a related note, three members of the UGA coaching staff have decided not to coach in the bowl game. This is suprising to me on many levels. I assumed the defensive coaches would use this game as an audition for future coaching positions. I was somewhat concerned because desperate coaches would likely use an aggressive gameplan in order to catch possible suitors attention. I have no idea how UGA will handle coaching the defense for the bowl game.

On offense, UGA definitely has the athletes to compete with any team in the country. They have a big RB in Caleb King who was nationally ranked coming out of HS. While he has failed to live up to his prep billing, he has had a solid season with 534 yds rushing and 5 TDs on 5.4 yds per carry. He is the type of big back that A&M has struggled to stop the past few seasons. Those of you who were there when we played Tennessee in the 2005 Cotton Bowl may have flashbacks to Gerald Riggs. Washaun Ealey leads UGA in rushing with 639 yds and 3 TDs (5.7 per tote) but has battled injuries. UGA's best offensive weapon and our defensive nightmare is WR A.J. Green. While Julio Jones was the number one rated player in the country in the '08 class, Green has been just as good or better since they both arrived in the SEC. Green had 47 receptions for 751 yds and 6 TDs. The triggerman for the UGA offense is journeyman QB Joe Cox. Cox completed 56 percent of his passes for 2426 yds and 22 TDs with 14 picks. Cox is a mediocre college QB. Unfortunately our defense can make even mediocre college QBs look like world beaters. If we can put consistent pressure on Cox, we can control their passing game and force some turnovers. We will need to win the turnover battle if we want to win this game.

The UGA defense allows 328 yds per game. They give up 200.6 passing and 127.8 rushing. Obviously they have not met expectations since half the defensive staff was fired. Statistically the player that stands out the most is sophomore DE Justin Houston who has had 15 TFLs on the year with 7.5 sacks. We need to contain him if we want to win the game. It should be interesting to see how our OL matches up with the athletes that UGA lines up after having faced Arkansas, OU, and tu this year. Our OL has improved as the season wore on. This game will be a great test and a great opportunity for A&M; hopefully we will be up to the task.

Ags 74 Zips 62

miketag — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:33:09 -0000

The Aggies improved to 7-1 on the season while Akron had their four game winning streeak stopped and dropped to 4-3. Donald Sloan led the way for the Ags with 17 points. Dash Harris played a very complete game with 7 points and 8 assists. Nathan Walkup was all over the court with a couple of nice dunks and a blocked shot. Bryan Davis had 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Davis and David Loubeau struggled against 7 foot fish Zeke Marshall for Akron. Marshall is one of the better young shot blockers I have seen in a while. He had 5 blocks on the game the last time they listed his stats. The Ags only led by four at half, but got Marshall into foul trouble early in the second and began to pull away. I give Davis and Loubeau credit for continually going at Marshall even after they were getting their shots thrown back in their face. It led to foul trouble for Marshall. Once Marshall got his 3rd foul, Donald Sloan started driving the middle of the lane and the Ags put the game out of reach.

It appears to me that Turgeon is very comfortable with this team. He rotates the guards well. We are a better transition team right now than at any time I have seen us under Turgeon. Our inability to handle Marshall does not bode well for our future games against tu and Dexter Pittman (have you heard he lost weight). However, this guard-centric team seems much more to Turge's liking. It was the first game I can remember in a long time (and maybe the only time) where I did not get upset at Turge during a game. I think this is finally his team. I am comfortable with that because he has them playing good basketball. We have quick hands and caused a lot of turnovers tonight. We get out on the break and finish. We still need to get our freshmen to stop playing like freshmen, but so far I am pleasantly surprised with where we are at. Our upcoming games against UNM and at Washington will tell us just how good we are. Right now we are looking pretty damn good.

Nice Article On Joeckel Twins

miketag — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:48:57 -0000

Nice Article On Joeckel Twins

DMN does a piece on two of the higher ranked members of our 2010 recruiting class.

Ags Earn All-Conference Awards

miketag — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:17:39 -0000

Ags Earn All-Conference Awards

Christine Michael was named the Offensive freshman of the year. Von Miller was voted to the first team DL. JJ, Trent Hunter, Lee Grimes, and Jamie McCoy all made the second team. Interestingly McCoy made the second team as a FB. The most glaring selection I saw was Lamarr Houston to the 2nd team DL. I realize that it does not get much better than Suh and McCoy at DT but they simply should have added another spot. These are the coaches selections which are always interesting.

Ags Outscored By tu, 49-39: Postgame Reaction Thread

miketag — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:47:41 -0000

We were a couple of plays away of making that a hell of a game. Really, if our defense could tackle that could have been a hell of a win. I give credit to Colt McCoy for that long TD run because I did not know he had that kind of speed. The rest of the numbers do not impress me too much because I think Tyler Hansen put up similar numbers. Does anyone think he is a hypesman candidate? Best football player I have seen this year is still Suh from NU. Have to give credit to our WRs for making some great catches and Jerrod Johnson for playing a great game. Offense matched them score for score. An interception in the endzone and a missed chipshot FG did us in. I am excited for our future because we had a lot of sophomores and freshmen out there making big plays. We just need to shore up our OL and DL.

It will be interesting to see if NU gives tu a game. I think the NU defense will prevent tu from running the ball. The question is will Helu be able to run against the tu defense. As long as NU does not turn the ball over and sticks with the run like we did, they have a good shot. tu's defense obviously tired late in the game and we were able to run on them more. I am disappointed that we let a golden opportunity get away from us. We need to regroup and go out and win our bowl game.

Men's Basketball Sign Four

miketag — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:27:26 -0000

Men's Basketball Sign Four

We could really use some of these kids right now. Good job by Turge on recruiting bigs to correct a glaring weakness on our team. Three post players in one class is impressive.

Fulmer Is Gone, But Tennessee Will Not Give The Fulmer Cup Title Away

miketag — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:23:19 -0000

Safety Janzen Jackson and receiver Nu'Keese Richardson, two of coach Lane Kiffin's most prized signees from his first recruiting class, were among three Tennessee football players arrested early Thursday morning in Knoxville on charges of attempted armed robbery.

Wonder if these kids will get a similar sentence to Yemi?

Note: Technically, the Fulmer Cup only takes place during the off-season, but Tennessee is apparently getting an early start on the next off-season.

Women Open Preseason Basketball Schedule Tonight

miketag — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:22:07 -0000

Women Open Preseason Basketball Schedule Tonight

Also mentions our two recruiting signees.

2009-2010 Men's Basketball Prospectus

miketag — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:43:23 -0000

The '09-'10 Aggies will struggle to live up to the standard set at A&M over the past four years. Over these last four years we have consistently had a dominant inside game with plenty of depth off the bench. We were an inside-outside team that was most successful when going down low, and kicking out to Josh Carter for open 3-pointers. A quick glance at our roster will tell you that this years team is going to be different. We do not have the height that we have had in the past. We return one proven low post scorer in Bryan Davis. We have a potential star in David Loubeau who will start at power forward this season while Davis will move to the five. If Loubeau does not progress, we are really going to struggle on the inside. As it is, with out limited depth if Davis gets into foul trouble we could be in real trouble. We are going to be a guard dominated team with Donald Sloan, Dash Harris, and B.J. Holmes determining the success of our season.

The irony of our predicament, is that this is the kind of team Mark Turgeon has wanted to run his motion offense since he arrived three years ago. Turgeon openly complained about how we had too many post players two years ago in a year when the league was dominated by guard play. The past two seasons were spent attempting to run the motion offense early in the year, then begrudgingly moving back to a hi-lo game in order to take advantage of our size and win conference games. This year we should be a running team that presses people on defense and scores a lot in transition. We really should be Turgeon's type of team. Whether he can win with a guard dominated lineup remains to be seen.

I expect us to start a three guard lineup in most games with Donald Sloan, Derrick Roland, and Dash Harris to get the starting nods. Davis will start at the five and Loubeau will be the four. B.J. Holmes will be the first player off the bench and will likely see more minutes than Roland because he is our best outside shooter and can play either guard spot.

Bryan Davis averaged 10.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last year. We are going to need him to increase those rebounding numbers this year. Davis has a wide array of low post moves and is a good defender on the inside. He needs to learn to move his feet more so he can stay out of foul trouble. He led the team last year by fouling out of four games. We are going to need him to be on the floor 30 minutes per game in conference play. He is probably the most important player on our team.

David Loubeau enters his sophomore season after showing flashes of brilliance as a freshman. He ended the year averaging 4.6 and 3.2. He is going to have to double those numbers this season if we are going to go dancing this year. Loubeau has a great baseline jumper and should be one of the better inside scorers in the conference. He just has to get it done on the court.

Donald Sloan in the uncontested leader of this team. He averaged 11.8 and 3.6 and led the team with 108 assists last season. Sloan's slashing style has given opponents fits for the past three years. Sloan is the best dribble penetrator on the team, although Dash Harris should give him a run for his money this year. Sloan is really a two guard, but has been playing the PG spot on the floor for the past couple of years. With the emergence of Harris, Sloan should be able to concentrate more on scoring this season. Sloan and Roland terrorized opposing teams in HS while running the press. Hopefully we will see much of the same on the court for A&M this year. I expect Sloan to up his point total closer to 15 per game this year. He and Holmes are the two who will have the ball in their hand with the game on the line.

Derrick Roland is the best defender in the Big 12. He should excel even more this season as Turgeon utilizes the press more. Roland is good for a three pointer or two during a game. He is a great athlete and slashes to the basket well, he is just not a consistent finisher. Roland averaged 6.3 and 2.5 last season. The switch to a guard dominated transition offense and defense should really benefit Roland.

Dash Harris is a bigtime dribble penetrator who will be counted on to direct our offense this year. Harris is very effective and being a true point guard and getting everyone else involved. His biggest struggles last year occurred when he was asked to actually shoot the ball. He spent the off season working on his jump shot. We do not need Harris to be a bigtime scorer for us. He needs to hit the open jump shot, and direct the offense. I expect Harris to average 5-6 assists per game and to improve his scoring average to 5-7 points per game. The most important this is that he get his teammates involved in transition and hit his free throws. Harris' play this season will probably determine more than any player on the team, whether we are a competitive team in the conference, or an also ran who scrapes by to a winning season and a NIT bid.

B.J. Holmes is one of the best 3-pt shooters in the conference and should make teams pay when they double Davis and Loubeau down low. Holmes can play the point, the two, and is a very good defender. Now that Josh Carter has graduated, Holmes assumes the role of our outside threat. He just needs to play solidly like he did last year. He averaged 8.8 and 2.1 last year. I expect his scoring average to creep up to around 10 since he will see more shots in the offense this year.

Of the incoming freshmen, I expect Kris Middleton and Naji Hibbert to see the most playing time. Middleton is a 6'7" small forward from South Carolina. He is a slasher and a shooter. He should help Holmes, Sloan, and Nathan Walkup keep teams from playing zone against us. Hibbert is a slashing shooting guard from Dematha High School, one of the top high school programs in the country. I expect to see both of these freshmen have the typical first year struggles on the court. Hopefully, with their height they will be able to contribute some rebounding from the guard/small forward spot.

I expect to see Nathan Walkup hit at least one game winning shot this year. He just has a knack for it. Wal;kup will provide us with a little height off the bench and will provide depth at the small forward spot,. I think Walkup is ideally a two and would create bigger mismatch problems as a guard, but that is an area where Turgeon and I just disagree.

The bottom line on this season is that Dash Harris and David Loubeau are going to have to step up or we are going to be in some real trouble. It is disappointing that Turgeon did not have a contingency in case Kourtney Robertson did not gain admission. The silver lining in this whole deal is that a guard based, transition type offense and pressing defense may fit the personnel on this team better anyways. After a glance at the schedule, barring any major injuries I expect us to go 19-11 or 20-9. Turgeon proved last season that he could beat the odds and win the games he had to win in order to get us into the tourney. I am cautiously optimistic that with the team playing his style of basketball, with as many guards as we have that we will go dancing for the 5th year in a row.