CHARLOTTE — In late January, as coaching agents and search firms who constantly monitor the coaching landscape began to zero in on jobs that might open, speculation began to swirl that something might be afoot at Texas A&M.
At 2-6 in the SEC and beset by injuries, suspensions and chemistry problems, time was running out for the Aggies to reach their significant potential, and of more immediate concern, the NCAA tournament.
Regardless of how realistic it was for Texas A&M athletics director Scott Woodward to do what he did with the football program last year — firing Kevin Sumlin and spending massive money to lure a proven winner in Jimbo Fisher — the industry-wide perception was that Billy Kennedy had reached a critical juncture in his career.
“We always worry when you lose as a coach,” Kennedy said Sunday night. “And you always know your job is in jeopardy when you lose games.”
But whatever trouble Kennedy may have been in a month ago no longer seems like a concern. With a stunningly efficient 86-65 victory against reigning national champion North Carolina on Sunday, Kennedy’s resumé now takes on a different light.
Instead of one NCAA tournament appearance in his first six years, the kind of statistic that can get a coach fired, he’s now onto his second Sweet 16 in the last three with a chance to go even further against No. 3 seed Michigan in the West Regional semifinals. And it happened because Texas A&M was able to unlock its ability under the glare of being talked about as one of the country’s biggest underachievers.
“It’s hard when you lose three in a row, four in a row, five in a row because you have guys who want to start solving the problem on their own,” said big man Tyler Davis, who turned in one of the best performances of the tournament against North Carolina with a dominant 18-point, nine-rebound effort. “I think Coach Kennedy and everybody else did a great job of staying together, staying poised and staying connected.”
If that comment sounds like an admission Texas A&M operated under a significant degree of dysfunction this season, give Davis credit for an honest assessment of the situation.
Though the Aggies team that America saw dismantle North Carolina wasn’t unfamiliar to close followers of college basketball, it had been a long time since anyone had seen it.
After starting 11-1 with wins against West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Southern California, Texas A&M’s issues began in late December when point guard T.J. Starks, sharpshooter D.J. Hogg and reserve JJ Caldwell were suspended for a violation of team rules. Caldwell, who had also been suspended last fall, was later dismissed after a marijuana possession arrest.
Guard Admon Gilder, the No. 2 scorer, missed the first four games of SEC play with a knee injury.
Sophomore Robert Williams, the projected lottery pick who plays alongside Davis in the frontcourt, was sick and had to sit out of a one-point loss at LSU in January. And Duane Wilson, a Marquette graduate transfer who began the season as the team’s starting point guard, had knee issues beginning in January and was shut down for the season in mid-February.
That left T.J. Starks, a freshman point guard, with starting responsibilities. And Starks isn’t exactly shy as a shooter, which caused some rocky chemistry on a team that was supposed to be built from the inside-out.
“It was a mess,” Starks said. “But we all told each other if we are going to win, we have to stay connected. we’ve got to bond that I think is unbreakable. At home, on the court, off the court, regardless, we share a bond that can’t be broken. We just had to pull together and realize it’s all us.”
It’s one thing to talk about sticking together; it’s another to actually do it when the injuries and suspensions leave you 0-5 in the SEC, then again in late February with consecutive losses to Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi State. At that point, Texas A&M was a 17-11 team with a very small margin for error and not a lot of reason to believe things were going to get better.
“It was a lot of hanging heads, a lot of people down, but the coaches told us we had our backs against the wall and we had haters,” Williams said. “We just had to trust each other, believe and buy in, I guess you can say. Knowing if I kick it out to (Hogg) that he’s hitting a three, not being one-on-one players, not being selfish. Just doing your part for the team.”
But that’s how quickly things can change when you have the greatest resource in college basketball: Talent. And because they had plenty of that, Kennedy never gave up on the thought of making a run or the possibility that he could prove that he deserved at least another year and beyond.
“We came to a point in our season where our backs were against the wall, where we knew we had to win games,” Kennedy said. “And I really think it changed, our whole attitude changed, and we played with more of a sense of urgency in practice, practice habits got better, and we just got better — we grew up, you know, like the light came on. We beat Vandy at Vandy, which is a tough task in our league. And from then on our guys have been different. And when we prepare well and we're locked in and we play together, we're as good as advertised.”
And suddenly a real threat for the Final Four.
