If both stars align, look out for Aggies
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Texas A&M considers Jalen Jones and Danuel House the ideal one-two senior scoring punch, with the punches typically thrown from one or the other’s hot hand.
“If it’s not my night, it might be his night,” Jones said. “And if it’s not his night, it might be my night.”
The Aggies (24-7) punched their ticket as the SEC tournament’s top seed despite Jones and House rarely putting their hot hands together in the same 40 minutes. Jones, a transfer from SMU, leads A&M with 15.8 points per game. House, a transfer from the University of Houston, follows with 15.3 ppg.
Despite averaging more than 30 points together, however, House and Jones have both scored at least 20 points in the same game only twice this year, in con-
secutive victories over Tennessee and Florida in the middle of the season. Now would be a good time for a third, fourth or fifth along those lines, A&M coach Billy Kennedy said.
“We’re going to need both of them to be big for us if we’re going to win the SEC tournament,” Kennedy said Wednesday. “Or if we’re going to win in the NCAA Tournament.”
The Aggies, who shared the regular-season league title with Kentucky but earned the top seed by virtue of defeating the Wildcats, will play No. 8 seed Florida at noon Friday at Bridgestone Arena. The Gators defeated No. 9 seed Arkansas 68-61 on Thursday for the right to take on A&M, which received a double bye.
House (6-7, 212) and Jones (6-7, 220) are similarly built and each likely will earn a shot in the NBA next season, and House described the duo as possessing “alpha dog” personalities.
“People always assume that Jalen and I have had problems with each other in our time together,” House said, shaking his head. “Some people have even tried to make me look like the villain, or make him look like the villain. But we’ve never had any problems with each other. We’re just two dudes trying to fit in and work in the system together.”
Alternating All-SEC
House earned first team All-SEC honors last season, while Jones was on the second team. Jones was named to the coaches’ All-SEC first team this season, while House landed on the second squad. A&M’s 24 victories were secondmost in a regular season in school history, behind the 25 of the 2006-07 team that made the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, all without House and Jones dominating multiple games at the same time offensively.
“If it’s both of our nights, it will be tough for any team to beat us,” Jones said. “Hopefully we can get that connection going again in the SEC tournament.”
Kennedy said the duo’s potency runs deeper, though, than simply points combined on a given night. Take the Aggies’ 79-77 overtime victory against Kentucky in Reed Arena on Feb. 20.
Jones led all scorers with 24 points, and House was fifth on the Aggies that evening with nine points. But House made four pressure-filled free throws in the last two minutes to help lift A&M to the win.
“They both bring confidence and swagger, and neither one is going to pass up a shot,” Kennedy said, smiling. “But they’ve also been unselfish, and they’ve been really good in the last three weeks in the intangibles. They might not have always shot the ball well, but they’ve figured out ways to help us win.”
Much deeper roster
A year ago, with House and Jones again leading the way, the Aggies narrowly missed out on the NCAA Tournament. This year’s talented, young supporting cast has lessened the need for both players to prop up the team offensively, Kennedy added.
“We have so many other guys now it’s a little bit different,” Kennedy said of the likes of freshmen Tyler Davis, D.J. Hogg and Admon Gilder, all capable scorers. “Scoring-wise, there has only been a couple of times when Jalen and Danuel have both had big numbers. But our team is more balanced offensively because we have a lot more weapons.”
As for that whole “alpha dog” mentality for A&M’s top two scorers?
“People need to take a deeper look inside of things, and understand that we’re not competing against each other,” House said. “We talk on the court — and we talk off the court.”