Scouting Report: Texas A&M Aggies

This week has always been about nothing more than holding serve at home. Tuesday’s 85-71 win over Georgia wasn’t always pretty, but the Kentucky Wildcats moved to 12-6, 3-3 on the season. The comeback victory included trailing by as many as 11 points. On Saturday, the objective is the exact same. Just win, baby. This one will be a little tougher as the 13-5, 5-0 Texas A&M Aggies bring their perfect Southeastern Conference record to Rupp Arena for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off on ESPN. However, it is still all about stacking up another win and moving on to the next challenge.

Coach Buzz Williams is fresh off a 27-win season that saw his Aggies advance to the NIT championship game after a potential snub from the NCAA Tournament. They have responded with a perfect start to the SEC schedule and a seven game winning streak overall heading into Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon. During that seven game winning streak the Aggies have been getting it done on the defensive end of the floor having not allowed more than 66 points in a game. They’ve allowed just 53 and 52 points respectively in their last two victories over South Carolina and Florida. We will talk more about Texas A&M’s unique defense later and how Kentucky must attack it. For now just know this is a team playing as well as anyone in the Southeastern Conference.

Another game, another scouting report. As always we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room to help prepare you for this contest. We will take a deep dive into their personnel, breakdown their offensive and defensive schemes, and highlight the keys to the game. Let’s dive on in and get to know more about the Texas A&M Aggies.

Texas A&M Aggies Personnel

Starters

#4 Wade Taylor IV: 6’0″ 185 lbs, Sophomore Guard

15.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.7 apg

Primary ball handler. Most aggressive offensive player. Shooter! No 3’s! 109 of 189 shots have been 3’s. 36.7% from 3. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. He will shoot it behind if you go under. Can’t give him any of those 3’s. Chase off of downscreens and get over the flares. Be tight to him at all times to take away the 3’s. When he drives it he is primarily looking to drive it right. No right hand drives! Dynamic playmaker off of the ballscreen. Have to get the ball stopped. Drives right to lay it up, will look for the floater when driving left. Get your hands up and make him score over you. Don’t over help when he is driving it left. Need to help get the ball stopped when he brings it in transition. Make him score contested 2’s. No 3’s!

#23 Tyrece Radford: 6’2″ 195 lbs, Senior Guard

12.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.1 apg

Lefty. Capable shooter, but more aggressive as a driver. 30.4% from 3 on one make per game. Be there to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot, but closeout short and be prepared to guard the left hand drive. No left hand drives! You are closing out to stay between him and the basket. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. More dangerous from catch-and-shoot than off the dribble. Help off of him some when he doesn’t have it, but be aware of him cutting to the basket. Looking to drive it hard to his left hand. Get over and cut him off. You can come try to take it off of him when he is driving left. Do not help when he is driving right. Always coming back left to finish. Make him score over you. Excellent offensive rebounder. Averaging 2 per game. Box out! No layups for him.

#0 Dexter Dennis: 6’5″ 210 lbs, Graduate Student Guard

8.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.2 apg

Bigger wing. Very athletic. Very willing shooter, but just 28.4% from 3. 74 of 128 shots have been 3’s. Be there to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot, but closeout short and be prepared to guard the right hand drive. No right hand drives! You are closing out to stay between him and the basket. Help off of him when he doesn’t have it and then closeout short. He wants to attack your closeouts going right. Driving to the rim going right and looking for the jump shot going left. Be ready to contest the jumper. Bring some help when he is driving it right. Not really thinking about passing. 22 assists, 20 turnovers. Will crash the offensive glass from the perimeter. Box out! Stay between him and the basket. No dunks on right hand drives for him.

#15 Henry Coleman III: 6’8″ 245 lbs, Junior Forward

9.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 apg

Physical back to the basket 4-man. He is a non-shooter. 0-1 from 3. Exclusively looking to score around the basket. Will ballscreen and roll to the rim. Need to give ground and stay lower than him so he can’t dunk it on the roll. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Need to be physical on his left shoulder. No drop steps. He will face-up some in the post and drive it right. No right hand drives! Will look to duck you in some as the ball moves around the perimeter. Need to be ready at all times for him to duck you in. Excellent offensive rebounder. Need to make contact with him when the shot goes up. Averages over 2 offensive rebounds per game. 22 assists, 24 turnovers. Look for opportunities to come take it off of him. Box out!

#34 Julius Marble: 6’9″ 245 lbs, Junior Forward

9.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.4 apg

Skilled 5-man. Capable shooter from the high post and mid-range area. 0-7 from 3, but good face-up shooter. Need to have a hand up to contest his face-up jumpers. Good scoring it over either shoulder in the post. Have to play him straight up and make him score with you between him and the basket. Take away the quick drop steps. Need to be ready at all times for him to duck you in. Have to be physical and push him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Will face-up in the post and drive it right some. No right hand drives. Make him score over you. Very good offensive rebounder. Be physical when the shot goes up. Box out! Don’t let him turn the corner in the post. Make him score over you!

Bench

#2 Hayden Hefner: 6’6″ 185 lbs, Junior Guard

5.3 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.7 apg

SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 38 of 56 shots have been 3’s. 36.8% from 3. He is really hunting catch-and-shoot 3’s. Be tight to him at all times. Absolutely no help off of him. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Chase off of downscreens and get over the flares. Will drive it right once you take away the catch-and-shoot 3, but not that concerned about him driving it. Would rather make him score 2’s than 3’s. Get up and make him uncomfortable when he has the ball. See if you can take it off of him. 10 assists, 14 turnovers. If he isn’t dribble then you aren’t close enough. No help. No 3’s!

#13 Solomon Washington: 6’7″ 225 lbs, Freshman Forward

3.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.5 apg

Athletic backup forward. Face-up 4-man. Capable shooter, especially from the mid-range. 4-11 from 3. Need to get a hand up to contest the face-up jumpers. More aggressive looking to drive it right when he faces up. No right hand drives! Make him score with you between him and the basket. Will spin and shot fake a lot around the basket. Stay down on the fakes! Always coming back right to finish. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. Very good offensive rebounder. Box out!

#11 Andersson Garcia: 6’7″ 210 lbs, Junior Forward

2.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 apg

Long and athletic backup forward. Non-shooter. 0-3 from 3. He is looking to attack closeouts to his right hand. No right hand drives! Closeout short to stay between him and the basket. He shouldn’t be able to attack your closeout. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Always coming back to his right hand to finish. Uses his length and athleticism to crash the offensive glass hard. Have to make contact with him when the shot goes up. Box out! Make him score over you. No right hand drives.

#20 Andre Gordon: 6’2″ 185 lbs, Senior Guard

2.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.6 apg

Backup point guard. Shooter! No 3’s! 28 of 44 shots have been 3’s. Shooting a better percentage from 3 than 2. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off of downscreens and get over the flares. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. No help. Do not over help as he drives it. He is a very low percentage finisher from 2. Just get your hands up and make him finish over you. No catch-and-shoot 3’s!

Texas A&M Aggies Offense

The Texas A&M Aggies feature an efficient offense due primarily to getting to the foul line at such a high rate. On the season they have scored 24.7% of their points from the free throw line which is the second most in all of college basketball. They are getting to the foul line 25 times per game and converting at a 74% clip. Kentucky must play without fouling as it will be hard for them to score enough without supplementing at the line. It shouldn’t be too hard to play without fouling as the Aggies are not a great three-point shooting team which allows you to pack it in and protect the paint more.

Coach Buzz Williams runs a lot of half court set plays. You will have to guard a lot of staggered doubles and Horns action. Additionally, a big portion of their offense has come from offensive rebounding. Texas A&M is 8th nationally with a 37.4% offensive rebounding percentage. Kentucky was excellent defensive rebounding against elite rebounding teams in Tennessee and Georgia. We will need that same effort on Saturday afternoon.

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Texas A&M doesn’t play very fast at all, but they will get into some secondary actions. Similar to what Tennessee does offensively, the Aggies will set a staggered double away after playing through the trail spot out of secondary. On the ball reversal, the post will follow the ball and they will look to go inside. #34 Marble is right handed but is a very good finisher over either shoulder. Get him off of the block and make him score over you.

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#34 Marble is a skilled post player that can score in a variety of ways around the basket. Coach Williams will dial up this diagonal screen-the-screener action some in the half court. You need to try and beat him to the spot so you can start pushing him off of the block. His percentages go down the further out you make him catch it. This is another look at him finishing with his left hand inside as well. Have to play him straight up as he can score with either hand.

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This is the Texas A&M Aggies most commonly used half court set play. They will dribble enter to the wing with a staggered double on the weak side. That first staggered double is usually either to get a catch or they will curl and cut through like they do in this clip. Then, another staggered double is set for the guy cutting along the baseline. This will be who they are really looking for. On this possession it was #2 Hefner. You have to CHASE Hefner to take away the 3.

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As a bit of a counter to the circle staggered double set play shown in the previous clip, the Texas A&M Aggies will also mix in stepping up into a ballscreen after the initial double. #4 Taylor IV is extremely quick with the ball in his hands and gets downhill in a hurry. You have to give ground and stay between him and the basket. This is really pretty good defense here, just a better shot over Castleton. Make him score contested 2’s with us between him and the basket.

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#4 Taylor IV is one of the most dynamic guards in the Southeastern Conference this season. He is excellent at playing off of the ballscreen and we have to do our best at containing him. The plan for doing that is going OVER all of the ballscreens and then staying between him and the basket as you give ground with the roll man to hopefully force a contested 2-pointer. You can always just switch the ballscreen as well. This clip above showcases what we cannot have. It is going to be hard to pick Taylor IV up all the way beyond half court. He is just too quick. If you get stuck out there though just stay on his hip. Taking the long route around the ballscreen gives him way too easy of a look from 3.

Texas A&M Aggies Defense

During their recent seven game winning streak the Texas A&M Aggies defense has really stepped up. They have allowed an average of just 58 points per game during that stretch. Part of their recent success has come on the heels of some shifts in the rotation including going bigger with the insertion of Henry Coleman into the starting lineup. With the increased size and athleticism the Aggies have started forcing more turnovers, protecting the rim better, and still force teams into a lot of three-point jumpers.

Texas A&M is primarily a man-to-man team defensively. Under Coach Buzz Williams some of their principles include keeping the ball on a side (which includes icing ballscreens), aggressively helping as the ball is driven, and looking for opportunities to deny the passing lanes one pass away. There will be times when you are looking at the back of a defender when trying to reverse the ball on the perimeter. However, that means if you can beat your man that will force the help to come with two hands and two feet. The Aggies aggressive style of defense, which will often extended to a token 1-2-2 full court press, forces opponents to take 45.7% of their shots from three-point range. That is the 15th highest percentage in the country. We must focus on taking care of the ball and kicking out to open shooters as opposed to over penetrating.

Keys to the Game

• Contain #4 Wade Taylor IV. No 3’s behind the ballscreen. No more than two 3’s on the game period. Have to stay between him and the basket on the ballscreen. Make him finish contested 2’s. More shots than points for him.
• Dominate the glass. We’ve been excellent the last two games against elite offensive rebounding teams. The Texas A&M Aggies are yet another one ranking 8th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage at 37.4%. We must be 77% on the defensive glass.
• Take care of the ball. Value the basketball on every possession. Play off of two feet at the end of your drives and be ready to make the next pass. Do not jump to pass. They are going to apply some full court pressure and help aggressively in the half court. Must limit turnovers to 12 or fewer.
• Shoot 75% or better from the free throw line.