Nobody can accuse Flagg of flagging effort
Versatile sophomore turns into workhorse with solid production in 34 minutes a game
COLLEGE STATION — Two years ago this month, Savion Flagg wrapped up a standout couple of seasons at Alvin High. It was the same February he’d watched his cousin, the Atlanta Falcons’ Jonathan Babineaux, compete in the Super Bowl about 25 miles from Alvin at NRG Stadium.
“He showed us that you have to work for everything you get,” Flagg said of his cousin. “Work hard, and everything will pay off.”
Flagg has worked hard to become a key part of Texas A&M’s rotation as a sophomore forward and, ideally, a player to build around in what the Aggies hope are better seasons to come. He averages 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
“He’s playing so many different positions for us,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “The two, the three, the four — his versatility has gotten a lot better. And he’s getting more confident when he puts up his shots.”
The Aggies (10-14, 3-9 SEC) play host to Alabama (15-10, 6-6) at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and Flagg is coming off one of his best games in his two seasons at A&M. He scored 24 points and made a career-high six 3-pointers (finishing 6-of-10) in the Aggies’ 84-77 loss at South Carolina on Saturday.
“They’re relying on me to hit big shots,” Flagg said of a program in search of some offense.
He’s doing it all while becoming the program’s workhorse. He has averaged 34 minutes, four more than any other Aggie, while playing all 24 games so far this season.
Just as Kennedy hoped two years ago, A&M is getting the most out of the former four-star prospect, who chose the Aggies over old rival Texas, which under then-new coach Shaka Smart had made Flagg an early target.
It’s a much different recruitment than that of his cousin Babineaux, a former NFL defensive lineman, out of Port Arthur Lincoln nearly two decades ago.
“A lot of schools in Texas backed off of me after I was injured my senior year,” Babineaux recalled during the week leading to Super Bowl LI in Houston in February 2017. “The only (instate) school that stayed recruiting me was North Texas.”
So Babineaux packed his bags for Iowa, where former Lincoln coach Carl Jackson was an assistant at the time to Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz. Seventeen years after signing with Iowa, Babineaux played in his first Super Bowl — a heartbreaking 34-28 overtime Falcons loss to the New England Patriots — 90 miles west of where he excelled for Lincoln High.
“He set a standard for us,” Flagg said of Babineaux’s being such a solid example of perseverance for younger athletes in the family.
Alvin failed to make the playoffs in Flagg’s senior season, but he enjoyed plenty of team success in his first year with the Aggies, who reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season. Flagg was a role player on a squad featuring forward and eventual first-round NBA draft selection Robert Williams, veteran guard Admon Gilder and center Tyler Davis. While Williams and Davis turned pro early (only Williams was drafted), Gilder was expected to lead the team his senior season.
Instead, a blood clot in his right arm requiring surgery has sidelined Gilder all season, although he’s eligible for a redshirt year should he choose to return. Gilder’s unexpected absence left an underclassman like Flagg trying to lead the way in what’s become a rebuilding season in Kennedy’s eighth year.
While the 6-7 Flagg, who has led the Aggies in rebounding in more than half their games this season (13 of 24), carried the load offensively last weekend against the Gamecocks, that’s not his ideal result. He said he was more than happy to pass the ball to guard Wendell “Chuck” Mitchell when Mitchell heated up early.
“Chuck had (the first) eight points,” Flagg said. “I had an open 3, and I was just looking for him to come get it. I wanted him to shoot the ball — I wanted to feed the hot hand. That’s just how I play.”
A&M defeated Alabama on a buzzer-beating banked 3-pointer by guard TJ Starks at Tuscaloosa on Jan. 12 for the first of its three SEC victories. Following the midweek home game, the Aggies play their next two at Arkansas and LSU, two teams they lost to earlier this season at Reed Arena.