Texas A&M Basketball: Top 10 Men's Players of All Time
Texas A&M Basketball: Top 10 Men's Players of All Time
Texas A&M basketball is coming off the best six-year stretch in the program's history.
There have been some good teams and players in the past, but for nearly 25 years in the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s, there was not much to be proud of as an Aggies basketball fan.
Looking back at those years, it is nice to see how far the team has come. The Aggies have been to six straight NCAA Tournaments after having only six in the program's history before this current streak.
In looking at this great run of success, here is a look at the top 10 Aggies basketball players of all time.
10. Donald Sloan (2006-10)
Playing in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments is just one of his many accomplishments as the Aggies point guard who had to replace Acie Law IV.
Sloan is the all-time leader in games played at A&M with 138, which is a testament to his success on the court and his durability. He is seventh all-time in assists and eighth all-time in points in Texas A&M history and was first team All-Big 12 in 2010.
Honorable Mention: Antoine Wright, Rynn Wright, Claude Riley and Joseph Jones
9. Bennie Lenox (1961-64)
Bennie Lenox led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history and to a Southwest Conference (SWC) Championship in 1964 with his 20.8 points per game.
This wasn't even his best season in college, though, as his 23.7 PPG in 1963 led the conference and earned him SWC Player of the Year honors.
He also holds the A&M single-game scoring record with 53 points against Wyoming in 1963.
8. Winston Crite (1983-87)
The 1987 A&M basketball squad was the last team to make an NCAA Tournament appearance until the the Billy Gillespie era.
The team was led by Crite, one of the top defensive players in school history. Crite still holds the career record with 200 blocked shots, is second in rebounds and fourth in games started.
He was a three-time All-SWC defender for the Shelby Metcalf-coached Aggies.
7. Carroll Broussard (1959-62)
Although not a part of a conference championship or NCAA appearance, Broussard is one of the top Aggies scorers of all time.
His career 19.2 points per game average is second only to John Beasley, and his 1961 SWC Player of the Year campaign saw Broussard score at a 22.4 PPG pace.
He was also chosen to the All-SWC team three times in all three of his years with the team.
6. Dominique Kirk (2004-08)
Kirk was one of the top defenders in the Big 12 every year that he played for the new-look Aggie teams of the mid-to-late 2000s.
He started all 132 games of his career (A&M record) and is Top 10 in the the record books in assists, steals and three-point percentage (.382).
His best contributions were always on the defensive side of the ball, where he was rewarded twice with selections to the All-Big 12 Defensive First Team.
5. Vernon Smith (1977-81)
Vernon Smith is the all-time leader in career field goals (796) and rebounds (978) for Texas A&M basketball.
He is also the second-leading scorer in team history, ending his career with an average of 14.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Smith was also a very impressive four-time All-SWC selection.
4. Josh Carter (2005-09)
Josh Carter is the winningest player in Texas A&M history and also has the highest winning percentage (98 wins to 37 losses) over the span of his career.
He was a three-time All-Big 12 selection and will be remembered most for his three-point shooting.
He also helped put the Top 10-ranked Aggies further in the national spotlight, leading the entire nation by shooting 50 percent from three-point range in 2007.
3. Bernard King (1999-03)
The best Aggies player on the worst Aggies teams by far, King left Texas A&M as not only the all-time leading scorer in school history, but also as the leading scorer in Big 12 history.
He is first in points and free throws made and second in assists and three-pointers made in the Aggie record books. He also received All-Big 12 honors all four years, including Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2000.
It would have been interesting to see him play with the talent on the teams three to four years after he left school.
2. John Beasley (1963-66)
If John Beasley would have had four years of eligibility, then he would own all of the records that Bernard King currently has.
In his three seasons in Aggieland, Beasley averaged a double-double with 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds. His best two seasons of 27.8 PPG in 1966 and 25.8 PPG in 1965 earned him SEC Player of the Year honors, as he led the conference in scoring both years.
He also has five of the nine highest-scoring single-game performances, going over 40 points in each of those games.
1. Acie Law IV (2003-07)
From being the only consensus All-American in Texas A&M history to "The Shot" to being drafted No. 11 in the 2007 NBA Draft, Acie Law stands above all former Aggies basketball players.
His late-game heroics became expected, as he routinely kept the Aggies in big games and finished off upsets with improbable game-winners.
He is the only player in school history to have his number retired, win the Bob Cousy award for the nation's best point guard and win the Chip Hilton Player of the Year award.
His leadership and work ethic helped take a Big 12-worst 0-16 team his freshman year to a Sweet 16 appearance as a senior.