The Texas A&M men’s basketball team travelled to the Bahamas over Thanksgiving break, but despite their destination, the Aggies’ trip was all business. After knocking off rival Texas and then-No. 10 Gonzaga, A&M returned home with silver from the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
No. 18 A&M (6-1) head coach Billy Kennedy said he was pleased with how the team competed in the tournament, but also noted it has plenty to work on moving forward as Florida Gulf Coast (4-3) comes to Aggieland Wednesday.
“We got better as a team,” Kennedy said. “Our goal was to go there and compete to win a championship and win the championship, so we’re disappointed we didn’t finish our last game, but we got a lot of good things accomplished.”
One of many high points for the Aggies thus far is the play of the big men down low, especially that of sophomore Tonny Trocha-Morelos. The Columbian native averages 11 points and nearly 5 rebounds per game while shooting over 70 percent from three-point range. Trocha-Morelos said his experience with the Aggie squad has given him the confidence that fuels his efficient gameplay.
“The coaches are giving me a chance to shoot the ball — it’s just confidence I think,” Trocha-Morelos said. “Last year I didn’t have that confidence — the coaches have just said, ‘Tonny, just play your game, be you and know that we trust you.’”
Although the outside shooting from the 6-foot-10 center has drawn a lot of attention, the collective play from the Aggies has remained high-caliber, a feat reflected in the team’s movement up in national rankings. One trait that has contributed to the success is the depth from four key freshmen: Admon Gilder, Elijah Thomas, Tyler Davis and D.J. Hogg, as well as senior transfer An- thony Collins.
“We have a good feel for our rotation,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got eight guys for sure that I feel comfortable starting on any given night.”
Senior forward Jalen Jones made his first start of the year in the Bahamas after sitting out for the Aggies first four contests due to suspension. He said although the atmosphere was electric in the Bahamas, there’s nothing like lacing up and playing in front of the 12th Man.
“This will be my first home game [this year] at Reed, so I’m looking forward to it,” Jones said. “We’re a dangerous team and people need to take notice of that.”
Teams like Florida Gulf Coast — coming from a smaller conference such as the Atlantic Sun — have the tendency to sneak up on upper-echelon teams such as A&M. Kennedy said he has addressed this with the team and hopes the players do not adopt the mentality of taking a game to relax against the Eagles.
A&M will host the FGCU Eagles at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Reed Arena. The game will be televised on SEC Network Plus.