Buzz Williams addresses next step for Texas A&M program after outflux of seniors

The Texas A&M Aggies season has come to an end. For head coach Buzz Williams, that means he immediately is looking to rebuild the roster. That’s going to be a particular challenge this season with an outflux of seniors leaving the program.

For Williams, roster building in the modern era has become part of the game. At the same time, it’s not a unique issue facing Texas A&M.

“That’s just what this has become,” Buzz Williams said. “I mean, pick a team. I think they had four graduate transfers. Any team. I think what we’ve tried to do is just because everything is happening at such a fast rate, is how can I be present in that moment and how can I help everyone within the organization to be present in that moment? That’s so hard to do. Sometimes it’s emotionally hard to do, like now. Mentally, ‘Hey, I just missed that shot,’ or physically, ‘I just messed up that ball screen coverage.’ We call it the red folder. How can we be present in real time in the red folder?”

Texas A&M has eight seniors and graduate students leaving the program. That includes Andersson Garcia, Manny Obaseki, Wade Taylor, Henery Coleman, Hayden Hefner, Jace Carter, Zhuric Phelps, and CJ Wilcher. Five of those players started Texas A&M’s final NCAA Tournament game.

“I’m incredibly proud of everyone, not just the players, the staff,” Williams said. “I’m proud of our accomplishments throughout their tenure, including this year. I know you’re familiar with all of the numbers. That would be egotistical for me to talk about it. But just as proud as I am of the accomplishments, I’m proud of the life change.”

The Transfer Portal opened up ahead of the Sweet Sixteen. That’s going to allow additional players to leave the program if they choose to do so. It also allows for Buzz Williams to quickly bring in experienced college players to replace those outgoing players.

“Every coach knows the portal starts officially Monday, and so I’m assuming we’ll travel tomorrow. I would think that our staff is way ahead in regards to where I need to go and who I need to call and what I need to do. That’s just prevalent, regardless of program. Like any coach, you want to put together the best roster with the right people that you can per year and build for the future sort of thing. I don’t know how much that applies,” Williams said. “But I think our staff has been good, and each year I think we’ve been a little better in how we’ve assimilated our roster.”

Buzz Williams reflects on locker room message following NCAA Tournament exit

The Texas A&M Aggies have eight players moving on as seniors or graduate students. Because of that, Buzz Williams took some extra time in the locker room following the Aggies’ NCAA Tournament loss to spend with them.

“Sorry it took so long. We’ve done the same thing all 18 years that I’ve coached, and I’m not saying it’s right, nor am I saying it’s wrong. It’s just how we go about things. Anybody who just played their last game, everybody in the organization puts their right hand on that person, and I pray over that person,” Williams said.

“So, if I violated the timing of all of it, it’s just because we had eight of them in there. That’s all. We don’t address the game. I pray over them. Everybody in the organization knows that that’s what’s coming. When I say ‘Amen,’ I head this direction.”