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Texas A&M guard Donald Sloan goes for the ball in a game against McNeese State University on Nov. 9, 2007, at Reed Arena.

Hog hunting

Aggies tip off season with exhibition against Javelinas

By: T.D. Durham

Posted: 11/5/08

For Texas A&M junior guard Donald Sloan, the Aggies' season opening exhibition game against Texas A&M-Kingsville is a chance to meet an old opponent.

"They have a player, Rob Williams, who is a good player," Sloan said. "I've played with him before and he's a very athletic player."

Sloan played high school ball at 4A Dallas-Seagoville High School. Williams, a junior forward with the Javelinas, played high school ball at district opponent Dallas-Kimball High School.

Williams is in his first season with Kingsville after transferring from Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas, following the 2007-2008 season. At the small oil-town college, Williams averaged 16.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 56 percent

The Division II Javelinas have played in the NCAA tournament four times in the team's history. In its previous three seasons, Kingsville has won 63 percent of its games.

The two teams met in 2001 when the Aggies won 91-70 at home.

A&M finished the 2007-2008 season with a 25-11 overall record and 8-8 conference record. Before the 2008-2009 season, A&M was unranked in the pre-season Associated Press poll and was picked to finished fifth in the Big 12 by the coaches.

The Aggies lost three seniors and freshman DeAndre Jordan from the 2007-2008 squad and have incorporated three freshmen into the 2008-2009 team. A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon has high expectations for freshman guard Dash Harris and freshman forward David Loubeau.

"[Loubeau] gives us a threat offensively, he can score the basketball," Turgeon said. "He has a lot of work on defense, but he'll be a threat. Dash is a leader offensively and defensively. He's a great defender and most of the time he's just been thinking about making the team better."

Three Big 12 teams were ranked in the pre-season national Top 25, including No. 7 Texas, No. 12 Oklahoma and No. 24 Kansas. Turgeon said his team is ready for the big competition in the conference.

However, Big 12 play is two months away and the Aggies will face 16 opponents before tipping off at Oklahoma State on Jan. 10. Sloan said the team is taking the season one game at a time and focusing on each game individually.

"For me, this exhibition is the first game of the season," Sloan said. "We can't allow ourselves to take teams for granted, we have to use this game as fuel for the rest of the season."

In preparation for their season opener against the Javelinas, the Aggies played two split-squad scrimmages on Nov. 1 at Reed Arena. The Maroon team won the first 15-minute scrimmage 37-26 behind senior Josh Carter. The White squad won the second scrimmage 34-28 behind sophomore Nathan Walkup.

Junior forward Bryan Davis scored nine points for the White team in the first scrimmage.

"It was an excellent way for us to work on our defense," Davis said. "We've been working really vigorously on both sides of the ball, but focusing predominantly on defense."

First game
Texas A&M plays Texas A&M Kingsville in an exhibition game at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, at Reed Arena.

Aggie hoops by the numbers
2007-2008 stats
70.8 : Points a game
5.9 : 3-pointer field goals per game
38.9: Rebounds per game
.359 : 3-point field goal percentage
.467 : Field goal percentage
.633 : Free throw percentage
17.0 : Fouls per game
10,343: Average home attendance