Texas A&M Aggies

2023-24 Result: 21-15 (9-9 SEC), NCAA Tournament Appearance

Key Additions

Zhuric Phelps (SMU)

Pharrel Payne (Minnesota)

CJ Wilcher (Nebraska)

Losing Tyrece “Boots” Radford will be a big loss for the Aggies this season. Fortunately for them, leading scorer Wade Taylor IV decided to return for his final season of eligibility. Buzz Williams went out and got solid players in Zhuric Phelps from SMU, Pharrel Payne from Minnesota, and C.J. Wilcher from Nebraska. Phelps and Payne both averaged 10+ points at their previous schools, so they should help to fill the void of Radford.

Defensively, the Aggies will likely play a hectic style again and turn the game into a foul fest. They were 290th in fouls committed and drew fouls at one of the highest clips in the country, at 357th in the country. One thing this team will do well is rebound. They led the country last year in rebounds per game and added Pharrel Payne to the picture to help guys like Andersson Garcia, the team spark plug, and Henry Coleman. Wade Taylor IV and Zhuric Phelps will compete and wreak havoc, but they will need to stay disciplined because they need to stay on the court. Taylor led the team in fouls per game last year, so he cannot afford to be off the court, especially if Phelps does not fill the role of Radford well enough. This team has always played an aggressive, physical style under Buzz Williams and I do not expect that to change this season. It will just be a matter of whether they can do that while remaining disciplined so that their best players can stay on the floor.

Efficiency. That is the story of the Texas A&M offense. Wade Taylor is a great scorer, but one of the most inefficient scorers in the country. Last season, he shot it at under 37%. Bringing in Phelps is a good pickup, but he is another inefficient guy. He shot the ball at under 39% last year at SMU. A lot of Taylor’s inefficiency comes down to shot selection. He takes a lot of hero shots and contested jumpers instead of utilizing his unique ability to get him to his spots for higher percentage shots. The Aggies led the country last season in offensive rebounding, which is another result of the toughness and effort that Buzz Williams coaches with. I expect more of the same this year, especially after adding Payne. That is the one positive of Taylor and Phelps being inefficient. More than likely, they will rely on a hectic style of offense where they get a lot of shot attempts on the glass and just go get it. By default, this will lead to more points, as they were 12th in the country in shots attempted last year. It might be smart for them to play through Pharrel Payne a bit though, since he averaged 10 points on 60% shooting last season for the Golden Gophers.

This will likely be another middle of the pack season for Buzz Williams’ squad where they are on the NCAA Tournament bubble for the majority of the season and never in contention for the SEC title. They will win some games against really good teams due to their rebounding and big games from Wade Taylor IV, but it likely won’t produce better than an 8 or 9 seed and a first or second round exit in March.