Texas holds off Iowa State to advance to quarterfinals of Big 12 tournament.
Texas A& M junior guard Ad mon Gilder chuckled at the memory of the first time he sized up T.J. Starks back in their hometown of Dallas.
“Remember Will Smith in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with the high top fade?” Gilder recalled of Starks’ haircut of choice a few years ago. “T.J. was really skinny, but really fast. He didn’t have all of that weight he has now.”
Starks is all grown up with his hair downsized, and the dynamic freshman point guard is leading the Aggies’ charge into the SEC tournament. A&M (20-11) faces Alabama (17-14) at noon Thursday after each program received a first-round bye in St. Louis.
“T.J. is bringing that ‘Dallas fever’ to the team,” Gilder said.
Whatever Starks is doing, it’s working, as the Aggies are 7-3 in Southeastern Conference play since he teamed up to start with Gilder in the Aggies’ backcourt. Senior Duane Wilson was finally sidelined for good with a nagging knee injury a month ago, and freshman J.J. Caldwell was dismissed from the team around the same time following his arrest on a charge of marijuana possession.
“He brings some scoring we missed early on,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said of Starks, who has scored at least 14 points in seven of the Aggies’ 11 games since easing into the starting lineup. “And when (Starks and Gilder) are both making shots, that’s when we’re playing our best.”
Gilder can occasionally run the point to spell Starks, and Starks said there’s plenty to learn from his fellow Dallasite who’s two years his senior.
“Admon is very efficient in his game and takes it very seriously,” Starks said. “That’s what has made me get on my grind and get in the gym more — I’ve learned a lot from him.”
He’s also taken Gilder’s advice in the past few days about trying to keep a cooler heading rinding situations.
“Everybody has been in his ear, and we’re still with him regardless of that issue,” Gilder said of Starks shoving Alabama guard Collin Sexton on the head Saturday during the Aggies’ 68-66 win at Reed Arena in the regular-season finale. “Take it out on the court. Steal the ball next time, or block his shot when he drives to the hole. Don’t retaliate (physically).”
Starks said Sexton was “just talking noise —– trying to get in somebody’s head” at the time.
Starks said Sexton’s ploy worked — which is why he wound up shoving Sexton late in the Aggies’ narrow win. Starks added that he regretted the instant that got him ejected, while Sexton also drew a technical for what officials dubbed provoking Starks.
“That’s not who I am — that’s not in my character,” Starks said of the spontaneous shove. “I just let my emotions get the best of me. I won’ t let something like that happen again .”
Starks said he’s passionate about playing basketball — and about leading the Aggies into the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m trying to do whatever I can for this team,” Starks said. “I love this team, and I just want to get a win every time we step on the floor from this point out.”
Kennedy, who will lead the Aggies to their second NCAA Tournament in the last three seasons, said he expects referees to watch Thursday’s Starks-Sexton reunion with hawk eyes.
“I think the officials will get control of it right away,” he said.
A&M is comfortably in the NCAA Tournament, and it is simply playing for better seeding while competing in St. Louis. The Crimson Tide are fighting for their NCAA postseason lives, which is why they might have a sharper edge Thursday in the third meeting between the two.
Alabama whipped A&M 7957 on Dec. 30 in the teams’ SEC opener, which started a five-game slide the Aggies needed a 9-4 finish in league play to recover from. Starks played a big role in that recovery, which is why junior center Tyler Davis spoke so highly of his playmaking point guard.
“He’s grown so fast and has really taken it upon himself to learn the game of basketball,” Davis said.