Texas A&M junior Bryan Davis is averaging 15.5 points a game through two games.

Turgeon likes challenge of tournament

By: Brad Cox

Posted: 11/21/08

In his first season, Texas A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon led the Aggies to a preseason National Invitational Tournament title. Friday, Turgeon will have the chance to win another preseason tournament, the South Padre Island Invitational.

A&M tips off the tournament at Reed Arena against Jackson State on Friday and will face North Carolina-Wilmington at home on Nov. 25. The Aggies will start the tournament on Nov. 28 against Tulsa at the South Padre Island Convention Centre, and will face either Illinois or Kent State at the same place on Nov. 29.

"I like playing in preseason tournaments," Turgeon told AggieAthletics.com. "I think it's a great bonding experience for the team."

Turgeon said the format of the tournament prepares teams for playing in the postseason, when it will have to play multiple games in rapid succession. In the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the Aggies defeated Brigham Young in the first round and the lost to UCLA two days later in the second round.

Two-day turnarounds were rare on A&M's schedule in 2007-2008. In the NIT, they defeated Oral Roberts and Texas-El Paso with a one-day turnaround and defeated Washington and Ohio State with a two-day turnaround.

"We obviously had a great experience last year in the NIT and hopefully we'll have a great experience with this tournament also," Turgeon said.

Jackson State, A&M's first opponent in the SPI, is coming off a 79-65 loss to Louisiana State. Though the Tigers finished the 2007-2008 season with a 14-20 record, they are the preseason favorite to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference after returning four starters and 12 lettermen.

In 2008, the Aggies are 2-0 for the sixth consecutive season. Though the Aggies rolled in a 76-47 victory against the Arkansas-Pine Bluff, they escaped veteran Stephen F. Austin 55-48.

Turgeon said the guys who needed to step up this season, senior Josh Carter, juniors Donald Sloan Bryan Davis and Derrick Roland, have. While Carter, Sloan and Davis have paced the Aggies offensively with a combined 88 points, Turgeon said Roland has stepped up his game defensively.

"Those four guys are the reason we're 2-0 and we're waiting on the rest of the guys to start playing a little better," Turgeon said.