Texas A&M Basketball

Texas A&M is reportedly prepared to offer Virginia Tech head basketball coach Buzz Williams a multiyear contract worth $3.5 million annually after Duke eliminated the Hokies in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament Friday night.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported the update Saturday and noted the Aggies have "no secondary candidate" to replace Billy Kennedy, who was fired March 15.

That’s likely it for Buzz Williams at Va Tech. All signs point to him taking the Texas A&M job. pic.twitter.com/Rspl3sBdoA

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 30, 2019

Williams guided Va. Tech to a 26-9 record during the 2018-19 season, including wins over Saint Louis and Liberty during the first week of March Madness. All nine of the team's losses came against opponents ranked inside the KenPom Top 50.

The 46-year-old Texas native owns a 100-69 record across five years with the Hokies despite posting an 11-22 mark in his first season while rebuilding the program. He's led the team to three straight NCAA tournament appearances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXshkCZCeaY

He previously served as head coach of New Orleans (14-17 in one season) and Marquette (139-69 in six seasons). He led the Golden Eagles to five consecutive March Madness berths starting in 2009, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2013.

Last week, Williams declined to talk about a potential move to A&M and said he didn't talk about the situation with his players before the NCAA tournament.

"Nothing," he told reporters about what he's discussed with his players. "Those are my guys. I know you don't get it, but those are my guys, and that kind of stuff I can't control. And relative to my relationship with them and my family, I don't think it's appropriate to talk about that."

The $3.5 million salary would tie him with Wichita State's Gregg Marshall for the 12th-highest amount in college basketball, per USA Today. He makes $3 million at Virginia Tech.

Texas A&M is coming off a 14-18 season after going 22-13 and reaching the Sweet 16 last year.

The Texas A&M Aggies will reportedly have a new basketball coach next season.

Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle cited a source who said head coach Billy Kennedy will not return in 2019-20 for what would have been his ninth season with the program. The Aggies were just 13-17 overall and 6-12 in SEC play this season and earned a No. 11 seed in the conference tournament that starts Wednesday.

Kennedy sports a 150-115 record in eight seasons with Texas A&M.

According to Zwerneman, the Aggies will target Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams, who was an assistant coach for the school from 2004 to 2006.

This comes after Kennedy—who coached at Centenary, Southeastern Louisiana and Murray State prior to the Aggies job—said he expected to be back when asked about his job status Tuesday.

Billy Kennedy on what he expects his future to be at Texas A&M (he anticipates being back) and his thoughts on only a few thousand fans showing up at Reed Arena late in the season. The 11 seed Aggies play 14 seed Vanderbilt on Wednesday night in the SEC Tournament in Nashville: pic.twitter.com/OTeo3njon8

— Brent Zwerneman (@BrentZwerneman) March 12, 2019

The Aggies have been to just two NCAA tournaments under Kennedy after a run of six straight appearances before he was hired, but those Big Dance appearances each came in the last three years and saw the team advance to the Sweet 16 both times. They also won the SEC regular-season championship during the 2015-16 campaign.

What's more, Kennedy has the No. 25 recruiting class in the country for the 2019 cycle coming in, per 247Sports.

Still, Zwerneman pointed to low crowd numbers in addition to what has been a disappointing season for the SEC school.

As for Williams, he has coached at New Orleans, Marquette and Virginia Tech with a 250-153 overall record. The Hokies are well on their way to a third straight NCAA tournament appearance at 23-7 and No. 16 in the country.

LOS ANGELES — After finishing a press conference, Robert Williams walks back toward Texas A&M's locker room. In terms of seeding, the Aggies are the third-ranked team out of four who have advanced here to the West Regional. And accordingly, their accommodations are a little tight. Williams peers at the pack of reporters and staffers obstructing his path back to his seat and starts shimmying his 6'10", 240-pound frame through them before stopping and crying out, "Everybody get up!"

The shout shocks the room momentarily, but then Williams bursts out laughing. Everyone should know by now that Williams is in no hurry. A year ago, he made the surprising decision to turn down a near-certain selection in the first round of the NBA draft and return for his sophomore season at Texas A&M. And as the Aggies prepare for a Sweet 16 showdown with Michigan, Williams is trying to savor every second—even when he's sardined into an overstuffed locker room.

Williams arrived at A&M as the No. 51 recruit in the country, according to the composite rankings at RSCIhoops.com. He had always hoped to be an NBA player, but the idea of going one-and-done hadn't ever seemed realistic to him. But as NBA scouts descended on College Station to check out fellow big men Tyler Davis and DJ Hogg, they quickly became captivated by Williams. He'd added about 25 pounds of muscle over his first summer in college, and that, combined with a 7'5.5" wingspan and a 40" vertical, had the scouts salivating. By the spring semester, Williams was in the lottery conversation.

"It's always been my dream to play in the NBA," Williams says, "but I didn't expect what happened at all. God really blessed me."

In part due to a lack of quality guard play, the Aggies—who were 320th in the country in turnover percentage and 265th in three-point percentage a season ago, per KenPom.com—finished with a disappointing 16-14 regular season record. After suffering a first-round loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament, Texas A&M coaches were expecting Williams to depart for the draft. But after the media left the locker room, Williams called assistant coach Isaac Chew into the hallway and told him he wanted to return. Chew was thrilled to hear the news, but he advised Williams to talk to his family over spring break before making a final decision.

In the offseason, Williams worked with strength coach Darby Rich to add more muscle to his legs and to improve his flexibility. But Rich's main focus was reducing Williams' risk for major injuries. (Williams says that he took out an insurance policy before returning.)

"He took a great risk in coming back," Rich says. "I want him to improve his NBA draft stock, but I wanted him to be healthy."

Despite the precautions, Williams' year hasn't been entirely smooth. He was suspended for the first two games of the season for an undisclosed violation of team rules, and he suffered some health setbacks as well. At a practice in December, he knocked heads with freshman forward Isiah Jasey, resulting in concussions for both big men. For the better part of a week, Williams was unable to practice—early on, even a few minutes on the stationary bike would leave him lightheaded. He also contracted the flu in January.

"It wasn't always easy," Chew says. "He's a 19-year-old kid, and he's going to make mistakes and have setbacks. But his heart is right, and he'll be right in the end."

Part of the problem for Williams this season has been Texas A&M's abundance of talent in the frontcourt. Williams primarily plays the 4, with Davis at center and Hogg at the 3. But he projects in the NBA as a rim-crashing 5 man.

"He's a center," says Ron Meikle, who coached him in high school and had previously spent more than two decades as an NBA scout. "And I think if he goes to a good team with great guards that throw the ball up the floor, people will really see how fast he is and how good of an athlete he is."

In Texas A&M's two NCAA tournament games, Williams has scored 21 points and snagged 27 rebounds. In one particularly memorable sequence against North Carolina, he blocked a three-point shot, streaked down the court for a windmill slam and then sprinted back to collect a defensive rebound.

Williams, for his part, is trying to make sure moments like that happen more regularly. "I just had a tendency to take plays off some times," he says. "But that's not happening anymore. We rolling."

WHOA. The windmill gets a 10/10 from Bill Raftery. pic.twitter.com/6Bou75cdIh

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 16, 2018

In the eyes of some draft analysts, his decision to return has been a boon. "When the process really gets underway in April or May," says ESPN's Fran Fraschilla, "he'll be where he was a year ago—if not higher. I think he compares favorably to some of the freshman big men. I think he's ahead of Mo Bamba. And I wouldn't be shocked if he goes in the top seven."

But others believe he didn't capitalize as much as he could have in his return. "He didn't cost himself anything—other than delaying his NBA money—but he didn't catapult himself into the top five or six like he could have," says one NBA front office executive. "He's mostly the same guy he was a year ago. He hasn't plummeted, but he's plateaued."

For now, the only plateau Williams is worried about is with his Aggies in this NCAA tournament. There's almost no doubt he'll enter the NBA draft after this season, but for now, he's thrilled to still be playing for Texas A&M.

The Texas A&M Aggies dismissed redshirt freshman guard JJ Caldwell and suspended freshman guard Jay Jay Chandler indefinitely, the Dallas Morning News' Ben Baby reported Sunday.

The school's decision comes after both players were arrested Sunday and charged with possessing less than two ounces of marijuana.

Colin Deaver of KAGS News in Bryan, Texas, noted the departure of Caldwell and suspension of Chandler come at an inopportune time for A&M:

JJ Caldwell’s dismissal and Jay Jay Chandler’s suspension comes in the midst of a 4-game Texas A&M win streak. Duane Wilson may have aggravated his partially-torn ACL last night, so A&M’s guard rotation could be desperately thin. #12thMan

— Colin Deaver (@ColinDeaver_) February 11, 2018

Sunday's arrest was Caldwell's second within the last year. Brazos County, Texas, authorities charged him with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated last May. The case was dismissed in September, and Texas A&M subsequently suspended him for the first five games of the 2017-18 season.

The school also suspended him for an unspecified reason for what proved to be an 89-73 win over the Buffalo Bulls on Dec. 21.

Caldwell appeared in 16 games for the Aggies, averaging 2.9 points and 2.6 assists.

Chandler has played in all but one of the Aggies' 25 games. He's averaging 4.0 points and scored a season-high 17 points in the team's 83-66 defeat to the Florida Gators on Jan. 2.

The Aggies have six more games in the regular season, which ends March 3 against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Texas A&M's Robert Williams burst onto the scene last year as a relative unknown in the NBA's eyes and was immediately viewed as a lottery pick.

His statistics were not eye-popping, but at 6'10" with a 7'5" wingspan and elite athleticism and shot-blocking ability, he had the attributes NBA teams covet in big men. He was raw but skilled enough that he got tagged with a high ceiling. He was a clear candidate to be one-and-done.

Then on March 21, Williams surprised many when he announced he would return for his sophomore season.

It's a path, however, that is not as risky as it was once viewed. There are very few injuries that ruin careers or draft stock. (See Harry Giles.) Marcus Smart was a trendsetter of sorts five years ago when he returned for his sophomore season as a projected lottery pick, and Kris Dunn, Buddy Hield and Jakob Poeltl have made similar decisions in recent years. Dunn, Hield and Poeltl all boosted their stock; Smart's probably stayed the same. Michigan State's Miles Bridges made a similar decision this past offseason, returning to a national title contender to try to grow his game.

But no one in that group has had a season that has played out like Williams'.

The A&M sophomore started the year suspended for the first two games, has missed an additional three games due to injury or illness, plays for one of the most disappointing teams in college basketball and has put up modest numbers considering his talent level.

It's the worst-case scenario for the stay-in-school crowd. This is why you strike when the iron is hot.

Right?

"He hasn't helped himself by coming back," an NBA scout told Bleacher Report. "Has he hurt himself? That's a great question."

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This is the logic most college coaches and NBA personnel believe in: If the feedback from NBA teams is that a prospect is a first-round pick, then it should be a real debate whether to stay or go. Any underclassman prospects who grade out as second-rounders or "not likely to get drafted" are taking a risk by leaving school because only first-round picks are guaranteed contracts.

Williams was clearly in the first camp. He was too talented to slip past the first round.

But similar to the aforementioned group that started with Smart, he made the decision to bet on himself, and there doesn't appear to be any outside pressure that led him down that route.

"We basically wanted him to do what was best for him," A&M coach Billy Kennedy told B/R. "The kid wanted to come back to go to school and be a college student and be part of this team and this program. We were just the benefit of his decision really."

Williams said he wanted to improve his basketball IQ, become a leader and improve his jump shot.

"My brothers and the staff, we keep a tight family around here, and I wanted to be back with them," he said. "I felt like I needed to grow more."

That's a decision with plenty of logic. Unfortunately, the results have not played out as expected.

The Aggies started the season ranked No. 25 and a trendy pick to win the SEC. They won their season opener against West Virginia without Williams and climbed to No. 5 after an 11-1 nonconference run, the one loss coming in Phoenix to Arizona, one of the most talented teams in the country.

Williams started his sophomore campaign strong with a double-double in his first game out of the suspension and followed that with 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds in his second game, a win over Penn State. But he was a ghost the rest of the nonconference on the offensive end, averaging 4.3 points.

His numbers have returned to the mean since, but he's still slightly behind his freshman averages.

	MPG	PPG	RPG	BPG
2016-17 (freshman)	25.8	11.9	8.2	2.5
2017-18 (sophomore)	25.9	10.4	9.8	2.4

The Aggies, meanwhile, have slipped into the SEC basement. They are tied for last place at 2-6 with arguably the most talented roster in the league outside of Kentucky—and it's an actual argument who has the better talent.

"They have a ton of talent," a second NBA scout said. "They ought to be an elite team in the country, and I don't know anyone would say he's having a great year relative to expectations."

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What About His Draft Stock?

This is the question that hangs over Williams' season and his situation. It seems he could become the cautionary tale for bet-on-yourself prospects.

Then you talk to scouts.

"I don't think he's a candidate to be a top-five pick. I think there are other players who are better in this draft, but I'd be very surprised if he fell out of the top 10," the second scout said. "His talent is just so high."

The first scout: "He's still this really athletic guy with really good wingspan who just doesn't always try."

And a third scout: "I don't know that he's necessarily hurt himself. I think the team has hurt itself through suspensions and all that stuff. I think they should be much better than they are."

This is where context matters. The Aggies had talent last season too, and they missed the NCAA tournament. The problem last year was the absence of guard play, and it appeared the team addressed it with the additions of freshman J.J. Caldwell (who had to redshirt last year when he was ruled ineligible by the NCAA); freshman T.J. Starks, a 4-star recruit; and graduate transfer Duane Wilson. But injuries and suspensions have forced that trio to miss a combined 12 games, and their presence hasn't made as much difference as expected.

The Aggies, similar to Kentucky, have a roster that isn't ideal for the current college game. Both Williams and leading scorer Tyler Davis are college centers. The Aggies play through Davis a lot in the post—as they should, considering his ability—but it leaves few post-ups for Williams, and that's part of the reason he disappears.

Against Kansas this past weekend, for instance, Williams was typically matched up with one of KU's perimeter players because the Jayhawks play with a space-and-pace small-ball attack. Yet the Aggies rarely gave him post touches. He put up decent numbers—11 points on 5-of-8 shooting and nine rebounds—but you'd think his matchup would have been one A&M would try to exploit.

It's not easy to play two centers together, especially when you don't surround them with shooters and playmakers on the perimeter. The Aggies have one great shooter on the wing in DJ Hogg, but at 6'9" and slow-footed, he would probably be best served at the college level to play a stretch 4.

Ideally, Williams would be used as a screener in a lot of pick-and-roll action, but the Aggies don't have a perimeter weapon to pair him with or enough shooters to space the floor and make him effective diving to the rim. (Hogg is the only Aggie who has made more than 25 three-pointers.) Williams also has the potential to be a pick-and-pop guy, but he's 0-of-7 from beyond the arc, and his jumper isn't consistent enough yet for a struggling offense to lean on.

"I don't know that he's progressed a lot," the second scout said. "He's made slight improvement on his body, slight improvement in his skill set. He's a freak athlete and he plays way above the rim, and that's more or less what he's going to be."

That is telling in the stats as well. Williams is shooting an impressive 82.6 percent at the rim, according to Hoop-Math.com, but he hasn't been an efficient scorer because of his struggles at the free-throw line, where he's just 19-of-40 (47.5 percent).

The Aggies are finally healthy, and there is some hope for that reason, along with what Williams has done lately. He's averaging 15.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over his last four games.

"We're starting to see him be more aggressive offensively, which we've been wanting him to do throughout the year," Kennedy said. "I think he's getting more comfortable playing. His conditioning is better, and I think he's starting to grow up more. The experience of playing in more games is really helping."

At this point, the only way for Williams to truly change the perception of his sophomore season is to start putting up monster numbers or for the Aggies to resurrect their season and pile up wins. Neither appears likely. But Williams can continue doing what he's doing, and he'll likely get a pass when (and if) he declares following this season.

"He's still a good prospect," the third scout said. "He's still athletic and big and strong, and we were able to see him at the shoe camps this summer where he was still pretty impressive. There's still a lot of things to like about him."

You cannot teach big, strong and athletic. Statistics matter to NBA evaluators, but not as much as measurables. And if you have the measurables, the risk in returning to school is minimal.

That's the lesson to pull from the Robert Williams story.

             

C.J. Moore covers college basketball at the national level for Bleacher Report. You can find him on Twitter @CJMooreHoops.

Antwann Jones has given the Texas A&M Aggies a huge recruiting win after pledging to play basketball for the school starting in 2018.

Jones' high school head coach at Orlando (Florida) Oak Ridge, Steve Reece, told Scout.com's Evan Daniels Tuesday that Jones has verbally committed to TAMU.

With regard to Jones' decision, Reece said, "He just liked the fit. He felt like he knew the players. He had played at camp with some of the players there. He really liked the coaching staff too. ... He loved the environment and the culture they have down there."

Jones is one of the nation's best wing-scoring recruits. Per 247Sports, he's a 4-star prospect who is ranked as the No. 18 shooting guard in the nation and No. 80 overall prospect, per Scout.com. 

At 6'6" and 210 pounds, Jones has the size and projection to become a dominant scorer at the college level. 

ESPN.com offered this analysis of Jones' shooting ability:

"[Jones] is a big strong wing player that can put the ball in the basket. He has a good feel for the game and can do a little of everything as a player. Good athlete that is probably best attacking the rim off the dribble. Capable shooter from three and shows flashes of being consistent off the catch-and-shoot. Does a great job getting to the boards with his size and body."

Reece also chimed in on Jones' skill set, which he believes to be highly versatile: "Twan is an all-around player. He's a really good passer. He has great size, can handle the ball and can score. Watching those guys play the other night, I can see him fitting in really well there."

Jones decommitted from Oklahoma State in September and made the jump from the Big 12 to the SEC by settling on Texas A&M.

The Aggies struggled to a 16-15 record last season, but they set a school record with 28 wins in the previous campaign. 

Texas A&M, in its sixth season under Billy Kennedy, already has an upset win against West Virginia this season, and landing an elite prospect in the 2018 class like Jones is a significant step toward remaining in the mix as a potential NCAA tournament team moving forward.

Robert Williams is headed back to the Texas A&M Aggies following a standout freshman season.   

Evan Daniels of Scout first reported Williams was returning to College Station, Texas, after he was one of the Aggies' few bright spots during the 2016-17 campaign. Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle confirmed the news and passed along a statement from the forward:

First of all, I would like to thank God for blessing me with the awesome opportunity to play at a great university like Texas A&M. I would also like to thank my parents, family, coaches, teammates and fans for supporting me through my freshman year. I love A&M and it was a great experience which helped me grow and get better as a player and a person. Although I've grown, I still feel like I would benefit from another year of college. This will give me more time to mature and develop my game before moving on to the NBA. With that being said I've decided I owe it to myself to stay another year at Texas A&M.

Williams flew under the radar on an unheralded Aggies team, but his numbers don't lie. In 25.8 minutes per game as a freshman, the 6'9", 237-pound forward averaged 11.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game during the regular season. 

According to Sports-Reference.com, Williams was one of just 10 players during the 2016-17 campaign to maintain those averages in advance of the NCAA tournament. 

Helping matters is that Williams has a gaudy 7'5" wingspan that should allow him to operate as an intimidating rebounder, rim protector and lob finisher once he makes the jump to the next level. 

However, Williams isn't limited strictly to emphatic finishes in the paint.

Williams knocked down a solid 41.1 percent of his two-point jumpers last season, per Hoop-Math.com, and he flashed glimpses of a reliable jump shot that could one day extend beyond the arc if he continues to refine his mechanics. 

And with another year to hone his skills in the SEC, Williams has the potential to solidify his status as a lottery lock if he can make a developmental leap when he suits up for the Aggies during the 2017-18 season.

Texas A&M's 2017 recruiting class got a major boost Wednesday when 4-star forward Savion Flagg announced his commitment to the Aggies.

"I just felt like it was a great fit for me, and it’s close to home," Flagg told Evan Daniels of Scout.com. "The hardworking players that they have, I feel like every day I will get better. The relationship that I’ve built with coach [Billy] Kennedy is great and the whole coaching staff. With what they are building, I feel like I can be a big part of that."

Flagg, who stars at Alvin (Texas) High School, is the No. 67 overall prospect in the 2017 class. He's ranked 14th among small forwards and fifth in the state of Texas, per 247Sports.

Texas A&M was one of eight finalists alongside Florida, LSU, Miami, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Oregon and Texas. Flagg visited the Texas A&M campus earlier this month, which he said put the Aggies over the other schools.

"It was clicking that that was the place for me in the summer," Flagg said. "When I went on the official visit, it clicked that this was my home and where I want to be."

Flagg joins a class that already includes 4-star point guard TJ Starks and 3-star power forward Isiah Jasey. His commitment launches Texas A&M up to No. 6 on the class of 2017 rankings, second behind top-ranked Auburn in the SEC. Given only five of the nation's top 25 recruits have given their verbal pledges, it goes without saying some of these rankings will change.

Flagg said Kennedy plans on playing him as a combo guard.

"What they’ve told me is they’d play me as a combo guard and someone that can do everything," he said. "We can put pressure on the defense by having four guards on the court and having a big wing that can rebound. I’ll be able to get the ball off the glass and push it rather than finding a guard."

Kennedy has landed a top-20 class each of the last two seasons.

    

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.

Rankings courtesy of 247Sports.

The Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball program reportedly lost an important piece of its 2017 recruiting class Sunday.

According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Mitchell Robinson decommitted from the Aggies. The 6’9” and 200-pound 4-star prospect is the No. 33 recruit, No. 4 center and No. 3 player from the state of Louisiana in the 2017 class, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

This is a difficult loss for the Aggies since Texas A&M now has zero 2017 commits, according to 247Sports.

Fortunately for the program, it did add two important pieces in the 2016 class in the form of point guard J.J. Caldwell and power forward Robert Williams. Both Caldwell and Williams are 4-star prospects, per 247Sports’ composite rankings, and can help set the foundation for Texas A&M moving forward.

Brian Snow of Scout.com provided a taste of what the Aggies could have enjoyed with Robinson and Williams after the former originally joined their 2017 class: “Robinson gives Texas A&M an athletic center who should pair nicely with class of 2016 prospect [Williams]. Both of them can provide the athleticism and toughness on the low block to be a problem for opposing teams trying to score at the rim.”

The question now becomes where Robinson will go instead of Texas A&M. The "crystal ball" predictions on 247Sports were evenly split Sunday, with 33 percent going to the Florida Gators, 33 percent going to the North Carolina Tar Heels and 33 percent going to the LSU Tigers.

The Tigers have the advantage as an in-state team, but North Carolina is fresh off an appearance in the national title game and one of the most storied programs in college basketball history. What’s more, the Gators boast two national titles in the last 11 seasons.

Evan Daniels of Scout.com noted Robinson was a breakout performer as part of the Nike Peach Jam's U16 division.

Despite his size, Robinson can run up and down the floor and finish at the rim in transition. He is also a solid rebounder on both ends and has the length to be an impact defender at the next level. In fact, Daniels said: “Defensively, Robinson has the potential to be a force. ... He has good instincts and because of his length and athleticism is able to get his hands on shots.”

Although he is no longer a part of Texas A&M’s class, Robinson has the talent to develop into a difference-maker for whichever program is fortunate enough to land him.

Fact: Texas A&M went on a 14-2 run in the final 31 seconds of regulation to tie Northern Iowa and eventually win in double overtime.

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

Source: ESPN Stats & Info