It wasn't pretty, by any stretch, but A&M put a pretty sold beatdown on Ohio State. They're supposed to be an upper echelon B1G team and they never trailed in beating Texas, but the Aggies outclassed them.
Ohio State's coach was generous enough to come talk to us after the game, and he mentioned that the Aggies have "versatility." And they do. They can go big with Payne, Coleman, Washington and Garcia (probably not all four at once), or they can go fast with Phelps, Taylor and Obaseki. We saw the three fast guard look last night when Garcia got in foul trouble and it was very effective.
The Aggies finally have the athletes to push the action. Taylor has become a more effective trigger and Phelps brings an element A&M has been lacking -- a fast AND physical rim attacker. Boots was physical. Obaseki's fast. Phelps is both.
Phelps didn't have a great night by any stretch. He had one point at halftime, turned the ball over six times and only made one of five threes (which is about his lifetime average). But he ended up with 14 points and was a stabilizing factor when Taylor got into foul trouble.
This team is the most athletic that Buzz has had, and Pharrel Payne is a big part of that. He was only credited with two blocks, but I had him with more than that. He's not the tallest guy, but he can jump out of the gym. He was giving up three or four inches to Ohio State's Aaron Bradshaw, but denied him the paint.
That was, by far, the most tenacious defense I've seen a Buzz Williams team play. They've always played good defense, but last night was next level. They were in the face of Ohio State's shooters immediately, switched extremely fast and cut off passing lanes. Against UCF, they played the "shoot the 3, I dare you" defense and it helped kill them. Last night, they weren't giving Ohio State open looks from distance. Against Texas, they were 14-28 from 3. Last night? 8 of 30.
Henry Coleman has been great off the bench. He's always been a guy that you look at and think, "he should bully people with that physique," but it never really happened. It's starting to. He broke Ohio State's back last night, taking over late in the game. If you get the guards out there running and they wear you down, and they start dumping the ball in to a big man who's coming right at you in the post, that can do you in. They did it against Lamar and then again last night.
12 turnovers is way too much. That will bite them. I do like Phelps a lot, and he's going to be an even bigger difference maker as he rounds into form (he missed a lot of fall practice), but he's not a ball-handler. This team's biggest weakness is when Taylor goes to the bench -- not necessarily the loss of scoring, but that means Phelps or Obaseki will be playing the point. Phelps rushes things and Obaseki tends to just dribble out the clock and then try to make a shot on his own. You could see guys get frustrated with him last night because they were wide open on the perimeter and Manny never once looked at them.
Now, to praise Obaseki. A guy who has been largely out of control in his Aggie career has really gotten it together. He was Bad Manny against UCF, but since then he's been really good. If Phelps wasn't the difference in that game being close or a blowout, he was. When Taylor went to the bench with 9:12 left, he kind of took over. Ohio State made a mini-run, and he stopped it. Twice. And he's such a good guy, you want him to do well.
Obaseki had a comment that was pretty damning for Ohio State.
“Within the first five minutes of the game, we knew they couldn’t guard us,” he said, “So they started fouling us.”
When's the last time the Aggies flat out-athleted someone? And this is an Ohio State team, like I said, that's supposed to be upper echelon. They spent a lot on bringing these guys in.
Hayden Hefner is going to be part of the rotation. You can just get used to it. And you know what? He deserves to be. He has played really well so far.. He had 7 points last night and, really, it was the best he's looked. And he's been a pretty consistent 3-point shooter so far at 35%. But he's more under control in other parts of his game and the results show it.
A&M hit 32 of 40 free throws. They won't get 40 every game, but if they can hit 80% from the line, they are going to be incredibly tough to beat.
Ohio State's coach was generous enough to come talk to us after the game, and he mentioned that the Aggies have "versatility." And they do. They can go big with Payne, Coleman, Washington and Garcia (probably not all four at once), or they can go fast with Phelps, Taylor and Obaseki. We saw the three fast guard look last night when Garcia got in foul trouble and it was very effective.
The Aggies finally have the athletes to push the action. Taylor has become a more effective trigger and Phelps brings an element A&M has been lacking -- a fast AND physical rim attacker. Boots was physical. Obaseki's fast. Phelps is both.
Phelps didn't have a great night by any stretch. He had one point at halftime, turned the ball over six times and only made one of five threes (which is about his lifetime average). But he ended up with 14 points and was a stabilizing factor when Taylor got into foul trouble.
This team is the most athletic that Buzz has had, and Pharrel Payne is a big part of that. He was only credited with two blocks, but I had him with more than that. He's not the tallest guy, but he can jump out of the gym. He was giving up three or four inches to Ohio State's Aaron Bradshaw, but denied him the paint.
That was, by far, the most tenacious defense I've seen a Buzz Williams team play. They've always played good defense, but last night was next level. They were in the face of Ohio State's shooters immediately, switched extremely fast and cut off passing lanes. Against UCF, they played the "shoot the 3, I dare you" defense and it helped kill them. Last night, they weren't giving Ohio State open looks from distance. Against Texas, they were 14-28 from 3. Last night? 8 of 30.
Henry Coleman has been great off the bench. He's always been a guy that you look at and think, "he should bully people with that physique," but it never really happened. It's starting to. He broke Ohio State's back last night, taking over late in the game. If you get the guards out there running and they wear you down, and they start dumping the ball in to a big man who's coming right at you in the post, that can do you in. They did it against Lamar and then again last night.
12 turnovers is way too much. That will bite them. I do like Phelps a lot, and he's going to be an even bigger difference maker as he rounds into form (he missed a lot of fall practice), but he's not a ball-handler. This team's biggest weakness is when Taylor goes to the bench -- not necessarily the loss of scoring, but that means Phelps or Obaseki will be playing the point. Phelps rushes things and Obaseki tends to just dribble out the clock and then try to make a shot on his own. You could see guys get frustrated with him last night because they were wide open on the perimeter and Manny never once looked at them.
Now, to praise Obaseki. A guy who has been largely out of control in his Aggie career has really gotten it together. He was Bad Manny against UCF, but since then he's been really good. If Phelps wasn't the difference in that game being close or a blowout, he was. When Taylor went to the bench with 9:12 left, he kind of took over. Ohio State made a mini-run, and he stopped it. Twice. And he's such a good guy, you want him to do well.
Obaseki had a comment that was pretty damning for Ohio State.
“Within the first five minutes of the game, we knew they couldn’t guard us,” he said, “So they started fouling us.”
When's the last time the Aggies flat out-athleted someone? And this is an Ohio State team, like I said, that's supposed to be upper echelon. They spent a lot on bringing these guys in.
Hayden Hefner is going to be part of the rotation. You can just get used to it. And you know what? He deserves to be. He has played really well so far.. He had 7 points last night and, really, it was the best he's looked. And he's been a pretty consistent 3-point shooter so far at 35%. But he's more under control in other parts of his game and the results show it.
A&M hit 32 of 40 free throws. They won't get 40 every game, but if they can hit 80% from the line, they are going to be incredibly tough to beat.
