2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team

2008-09 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball
NCAA Second Round vs. UConn, L 92–66
Conference	Big 12 Conference
2008-09 record	24–10 (9–7 Big 12)
Head coach	Mark Turgeon
Assistant coach	Scott Spinelli
Assistant coach	Pooh Williamson
Assistant coach	Bill Walker
Home arena	Reed Arena

2008–09 Big 12 men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
#14 Kansas	14	–	2		.875			27	–	8		.771
#7 Oklahoma	13	–	3		.813			30	–	6		.833
#9 Missouri†	12	–	4		.750			31	–	7		.816
Kansas State	9	–	7		.563			22	–	12		.647
Texas	9	–	7		.563			23	–	12		.657
Texas A&M	9	–	7		.563			24	–	10		.706
Oklahoma State	9	–	7		.563			23	–	12		.657
Nebraska	8	–	8		.500			18	–	13		.581
Baylor	5	–	11		.313			24	–	15		.615
Iowa State	4	–	12		.250			15	–	17		.469
Texas Tech	3	–	13		.188			14	–	19		.424
Colorado	1	–	15		.063			9	–	22		.290
† 2009 Big 12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team represents Texas A&M University in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by second-year head coach Mark Turgeon, who coached the team to a 25–11 record and an NCAA tournament appearance in his first season.

The Aggies went 14–1 in nonconference play, with wins over Alabama, Arizona, and LSU; the one loss was handed by Tulsa.^[1]

Leading into the season

Josh Carter and Bryan Davis received preseason Big 12 honorable mention.^[2] The team did not make the top 25 of the preseason AP or Coaches polls, though received votes.^[3]

During the 2009 signing period, the Aggies signed Naji Hibbert, Khris Middleton, Kourtney Roberson,^[4] and Ray Turner,^[5] who are all listed in the Rivals.com Top 150 prospects for the class of 2009. Hibbert, a Rivals four-star, is the highest-ranked recruit at No. 88.^[6] The recruiting class placed 23rd in the Rivals' early signing period national rankings compiled on 12 November 2008.^[7] ESPN's recruiting services ranked the class 25th in November as well.^[8]

2008 recruiting class

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
James Blasczyk PF	Friendswood, TX	Friendswood HS	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 23, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 71
Dashan Harris PG	Montverde, FL	Montverde Academy	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Aug 17, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 93
David Loubeau PF	Davie, FL	Westlake Preparatory School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sep 10, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  ESPN: NR
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Texas A&M 2008 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 3 December 2008. "2008 Texas A&M Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved 3 December 2008. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 3 December 2008. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 3 December 2008. "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 3 December 2008.

Roster

2009–10 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown C 12 Blasczyk, JamesJames Blasczyk 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Fr Houston, Texas F 50 Carrell, MarshallMarshall Carrell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Paris, Texas G 23 Carter, JoshJosh Carter 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Dallas, Texas G 31 Chapman, ChrisChris Chapman 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Houston, Texas G 14 Darko, AndrewAndrew Darko 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Conroe, Texas F 0 Davis, BryanBryan Davis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Dallas, Texas F 41 Elonu, ChinemeluChinemelu Elonu 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Houston, Texas G 40 Graham, BrysonBryson Graham 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr San Antonio, Texas G 5 Harris, DashDash Harris 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Los Angeles, California G 11 Holmes, B.J.B.J. Holmes 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Houston, Texas G 2 Lewis, DerrekDerrek Lewis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Tulsa, Oklahoma F 10 Loubeau, DavidDavid Loubeau 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Miami, Florida G 3 Roland, DerrickDerrick Roland 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Dallas, Texas G 24 Schepel, ShawnShawn Schepel 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Dallas, Texas G 15 Sloan, DonaldDonald Sloan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Dallas, Texas F 45 Walkup, NathanNathan Walkup 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Houston, Texas	Head coach Mark Turgeon (Kansas) Assistant coach(es) Scott Spinelli (Boston University) Pooh Williamson (Tulsa) Bill Walker (UAB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 31 July 2011

Season accomplishments

• In the Florida A&M game, the team set a Big 12 game record after shooting all 20 of its free throws. Chinemelu Elonu recorded six blocked shots, the third most in school history. Donald Sloan also scored a season-high of 21 points.^[9]
• Three players—Chinemelu Elonu, Bryson Graham, and Nathan Walkup—made the season's Academic All-Big 12 team. Elonu made the first team (GPA of 3.20+) while Graham and Walkup made the second team (GPA of 3.00–3.19).^[10]
• Josh Carter became an All-Big 12 Third Team selection, while Derrick Roland was selected to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.^[11]

Schedule

Date Time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (Attendance) City, State
Exhibition
11/05/08* 7:30 p.m.		Texas A&M–Kingsville	W 72–59	0–0[12]	Reed Arena (7,963) College Station, TX
Regular season
11/16/08* 5:00 p.m.		Arkansas-Pine Bluff	W 76–47	1–0[13]	Reed Arena (7,354) College Station, TX
11/18/08* 7:00 p.m.		Stephen F. Austin	W 55–48	2–0[14]	Reed Arena (7,595) College Station, TX
11/21/08* 7:00 p.m.		Jackson State South Padre Invitational	W 96–78	3–0[15]	Reed Arena (7,866) College Station, TX
11/25/08* 7:00 p.m.		UNCW South Padre Invitational	W 84–65	4–0[16]	Reed Arena (6,881) College Station, TX
11/28/08* 7:30 p.m., FCS		vs. Tulsa South Padre Invitational	L 67–56	4–1[17]	South Padre Convention Centre (N/A) South Padre
11/29/08* TBA		vs. Kent State South Padre Invitational	W 77–71	5–1[18]	South Padre Convention Centre (1632) South Padre
12/05/08* 8:30 p.m., ESPNU		Arizona	W 67–66	6–1[19]	Reed Arena (10,393) College Station, TX
12/13/08* 7:00 p.m., ESPN Full Court		at Alabama	W 86–78^OT	7–1[9]	Coleman Coliseum (9,316) Tuscaloosa, AL
12/15/08* 7:00 p.m., FSN		Florida A&M	W 67–57	8–1[20]	Reed Arena (7,334) College Station, TX
12/17/08* 7:00 p.m., FSN		SMU	W 66–56	9–1[21]	Reed Arena (7,888) College Station, TX
12/20/08* 4:00 p.m.		vs. LSU	W 72–61	10–1[22]	Toyota Center (N/A) Houston, TX
12/28/08* 7:00 p.m., FSN		Sam Houston State	W 60–50	11–1[23]	Reed Arena (9,371) College Station, TX
12/31/08* 3:00 p.m.		at Rice	W 72–60	12–1[24]	Tudor Fieldhouse (5,208) Houston, TX
01/03/09* 8:00 p.m.		McNeese State	W 57–52	13–1[25]	Reed Arena (11,029) College Station, TX
01/05/09* 7:00 p.m., FSN		North Dakota	W 76–62	14–1[26]	Reed Arena (6,066) College Station, TX
01/10/09 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Oklahoma State	L 72–61	14–2[27] (0–1)	Gallagher-Iba Arena (10,264) Stillwater, OK
01/14/09 8:30 p.m., ESPN2		#21 Baylor	W 84–73	15–2[28] (1–1)	Reed Arena (9,537) College Station, TX
01/17/09 1:00 p.m., ESPN		#5 Oklahoma	L 69–63	15–3[29] (1–2)	Reed Arena (12,720) College Station, TX
01/19/09 1:00 p.m., ESPN		at Kansas	L 73–53	15–4[30] (1–3)	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS
01/24/09 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		at #15 Texas	L 67–58	15–5[31] (1–4)	Frank Erwin Center (16,755) Austin, TX
01/28/09 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		Texas Tech	W 79–70	16–5[32] (2–4)	Reed Arena (10,273) College Station, TX
01/31/09 1:00 p.m., ESPN		Oklahoma State	W 76–64	17–5[33] (3–4)	Reed Arena (11,178) College Station, TX
02/04/09 8:00 p.m., Big 12		at #2 Oklahoma	L 77–71	17–6[34] (3–5)	Lloyd Noble Center (11,494) Norman, OK
02/07/09 3:00 p.m., Big 12		Kansas State	L 65–60	17–7[35] (3–6)	Reed Arena (10,367) College Station, TX
02/14/09 5:00 p.m., FSN		at Baylor	L 72–68	17–8[36] (3–7)	Ferrell Center (10,407) Waco, TX
02/16/09 8:00 p.m., ESPN		Texas	W 81–66	18–8[37] (4–7)	Reed Arena (11,321) College Station, TX
02/21/09 5:00 p.m., ESPN Full Court		at Texas Tech	W 79–73	19–8[38] (5–7)	United Spirit Arena (10,551) Lubbock, TX
02/24/09 8:30 p.m., ESPN2		at Nebraska	W 57–55	20–8[39] (6–7)	Bob Devaney Sports Center (9,009) Lincoln, NE
02/28/09 12:30 p.m., Big 12		Iowa State	W 87–69	21–8[40] (7–7)	Reed Arena (9,701) College Station, TX
03/04/09 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Colorado	W 72–66	22–8[41] (8–7)	Coors Events Center (4,973) Boulder, CO
03/07/09 1:00 p.m., ESPN2		#12 Missouri	W 96–86	23–8[42] (9–7)	Reed Arena (13,007) College Station, TX
Big 12 Tournament
03/11/09 8:30 p.m., Big 12		vs. Texas Tech Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament	L 88–83	23–9[43]	Ford Center Oklahoma City, OK
NCAA Tournament
03/19/09 11:30 a.m., CBS Sports		vs. BYU 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament	W 79–66	24–9[44]	Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA
03/21/09 2:35 p.m., CBS Sports		vs. UConn 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament	L 92–66	24–10[45]	Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from Coaches Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time.

References

1. "Turgeon's Aggies off to another good start". Retrieved 9 January 2009.
2. "OU’s Griffin Leads Preseason All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Individual Honors" (Press release). Retrieved 18 November 2008.
3. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings (Nov. 10)". Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
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5. "Turgeon Adds Turner to Stellar Recruiting Class". Retrieved 18 November 2008.
6. "Rivals150 for class of 2009". Retrieved 18 November 2008.
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8. "Class of 2009 Team Basketball Recruiting Rankings". Retrieved 21 November 2008.
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