Gilder back in College Station with Zags
Starks suspended indefinitely from team after arrest
COLLEGE STATION — In 2018, guards Admon Gilder and TJ Starks led Texas A&M into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
The duo is making headlines again, for different reasons. Following the firing of then-coach Billy Kennedy last spring, Gilder transferred to Gonzaga (3-0) and will play against the Aggies (2-0) on Friday night in Reed Arena.
Starks stuck around for the new coach, but the junior is off to a shaky start under Buzz Williams. A&M indefinitely suspended Starks on Thursday after he was arrested by College Station police and charged with possession of less than two ounces of marijuana.
The arrest occurred after Starks was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation, according to a probable cause statement. He was released from Brazos County Jail after posting $2,000 bond, according to the jail website.
Starks already was out at least the first couple of weeks of the season with an ankle sprain. He has 33 starts in the past two seasons, averaging 11 points per game. The volatile playmaker spent a chunk of his first two years in Kennedy’s doghouse, but was one of the Aggies’ top players when times were good.
Gilder, who redshirted last season following the discovery of a blood clot in his arm and subsequent surgery, chose to exit the program following Kennedy’s dismissal and after meeting with Williams last summer.
“I think he had already made his decision,” Williams said. “I talked to Admon after I took the job, but it was already a foregone conclusion. He was very honest, and I went and visited with his parents, and they were very honest. They’re great people.
“They were very transparent in the process, so transparent that I had Admon tell our team in front of the team. Great kid, and he’s on fire.”
Gilder, a senior, is fourth for No. 8 Gonzaga with 12 points per game. Meanwhile, Williams was transparent in explaining his early approach to coaching the Aggies and why he believes fans will attend games in time. A&M has had two of its smallest crowds in the two-decade history of Reed Arena in the first two games under the native Texan.
The idea, Williams said, is that he builds A&M basketball into a consistent winner, and fans treat Reed Arena like a popular baseball movie from 1989.
“It’s kind of like ‘Field of Dreams,’ if you build it, they will come,” said Williams, in citing the most memorable line from the film.
Williams, born in Greenville and raised in Van Alstyne 50 miles north of Dallas, led Virginia Tech to a school record three consecutive NCAA tournaments before heading to College Station. This week, he explained why he avoids “begging” fans to attend games.
“I don’t like to owe anybody anything,” Williams said. “And that’s not because I’m the head coach at Texas A&M. That’s how I was raised. I don’t like to beg players to play hard, and I don’t like to beg players to attend Texas A&M. When you’re having to do that, there’s some level of fraud to it, and over time, it never works.
“If you have to beg (fans) to come, eventually maybe they put up the white flag and they attend. Or beg a recruit — those are the ones who typically leave. … When there’s some level of, ‘Let me twist your arm,’ eventually it doesn’t work.”
Williams then recounted a recent recruiting story as an example of not trying to force a prospect into a decision he doesn’t really want.
“I told a kid the other day, ‘Look, I’m not recruiting you anymore,’” he said. “I can’t recruit you anymore because I feel in my soul that I’m having to twist your arm. And I’m beginning inside to become angry because I think you should have enough wisdom to realize you should have already made a decision to come here, because of the opportunity.
“… The best gift I can give you is my belief in you. And if I have to twist your arm, then I feel like as the adult, then I’ve kind of skipped a step. And when you get here and I’m coaching you really hard, you will realize that I twisted your arm, and you’re going to quit.”