A&M follows Taylor on downward trajectory
COLLEGE STATION — Point Blank isn’t only a leisurely town near the west banks of Lake Livingston. It’s also part of Texas A&M guard Manny Obaseki’s descriptor for his predicted resurgence of Aggies playmaker Wade Taylor IV.
“He’s the best guard in the country, point blank, period,” Obaseki said of Taylor, the Southeastern Conference’s preseason player of the year.
Preseason expectations have not matched Taylor’s season’s output, however, and in that manner his play of late is representative of the Aggies’ production with two regular season games remaining.
“(There’s been) a lot of unexpectedness, a lot of things out of our control,” A&M fifth-year coach Buzz Williams said of the Aggies’ losing record to date in league play. “The ability to overcome that, fight through that and hang in there to keep trying … I know everybody else is through supporting us, but we will support one another, so hopefully we can play for a little bit
longer.”
The Aggies (16-13, 7-9) host Mississippi State (19-10, 8-8) at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Reed Arena, as A&M continues clinging to the hope of making a second consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Aggies are considered on the outside looking in in early March after they were picked to finish second in the SEC in the preseason.
“Every game is a mustwin — you want to win every game,” A&M guard Jace Carter said.
“… At the end of the day, we’ve got to go win. You’ve got to have that mindset whether we’re playing Mississippi State or College Station Middle School. … It’s a must win. We all know the situation we’re in, and we’ve just got to fight out of it.”
The Aggies have played the entire season without expected starter Julius Marble, a senior forward who was key to their success last season when they finished 15-3 in league play. Williams
was asked Tuesday how much impact Marble’s absence has had on the program.
“Ginormous,” Williams said, in not expanding on his sentiment.
Williams said just before the start of the season that Marble was undergoing a “university process” to determine whether he’d be eligible for his senior season. With it safe to assume Marble won’t be back this year, Williams added that he didn’t know whether Marble might be eligible for another final year next season through a redshirt.
“Honestly, since I addressed it the first time, I’ve never heard another word about it,” Williams said Tuesday. “So I don’t know, and that’s the truth.”
The Aggies also are without fellow forward Henry Coleman III, who will miss his second consecutive game for an undisclosed reason. Williams said before the season started he would not discuss injuries this year.
A&M at least can take heart it won by 14 points (70-56) at Georgia on Saturday despite missing Coleman and with Taylor tallying a season-low four points following 13 consecutive games of scoring double digits.
“We did it the right way — our way,” said Obaseki, a role player who has scored 12 and 11 points in his past two games after not reaching double digits in his previous 16 contests. “We’re still trying to find the right recipe and formula, and just our togetherness is a reason we’re kind of rejuvenated.”
As for Taylor missing 23 of his last 26 3-point attempts over his last four games, including 0-for-16 in three of those games?
“It’s not a big concern at all,” Obaseki said. “… You know what he’s capable of and what he’s done over his past three years here. Great players always go on a bad run, that’s part of the game. … He has a positive attitude — that’s just who he is, he doesn’t let anything faze him, and I’m really confident for his performance coming up (Wednesday).”
The Aggies likely will need to win at home against Mississippi State, at Mississippi on Saturday and grab at least a couple of victories in the SEC tournament that cranks up next week in Nashville, Tenn., to have any chance at making the NCAA Tournament.
“Just keep fighting, just keep fighting,” Obaseki said of the Aggies’ intentions dead ahead. “There’s nothing really complicated or special about (it). Game planning is important and … we have to follow through with that, but we’ve just got to continue to fight the way we’ve fought, and I think we’ll be all right.”