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Turkeys, Socks, and "Andy's Coming": Your annual reminder that Texas A&M is weird

On3 imageby:Tyler Thompson•about 20 hours•

MrsTylerKSR

Jan 11, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Buzz Williams talks with his players on the court during a timeout against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first half at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Jan 11, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Buzz Williams talks with his players on the court during a timeout against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first half at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Everyone who follows college sports knows that Texas A&M is a little…different. From the yell leaders to the chants and swaying thing they do at games and even their reverence for class rings, the Aggies are a unique bunch, with some going as far as to call them a cult. We most often associate that with football but the basketball program has its own special blend of quirkiness thanks to Buzz Williams.

Each year when Kentucky plays Texas A&M, I write a post reminding readers about what an interesting character Buzz Williams is. Well, with the Aggies coming to Rupp Arena on Tuesday night, that time is now. Texas A&M’s game notes for the matchup even provided some new nuggets. Before we get into those, let’s run through the “Buzz Williams is quirky” greatest hits.

Turkeys and Socks

Turkeys aren’t just for eating and bowling in College Station. Buzz Williams’ team earns a “turkey” when they make three defensive stops in a row. This season, the Aggies are 12-1 in games in which they have at least five turkeys. Against Alabama on Saturday, a 94-88 loss, they only had two.

Every time an Aggie draws a charge, they get a pair of socks. So far this season, senior forward Andersson Garcia and junior forward Solomon Washington have earned the most socks, three pairs each. Wade Taylor IV, who has missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury, has two pairs of socks.

Quote Shirts

Buzz is famous for wearing suit vests during games, but under that vest and button-down is another sartorial quirk: inspirational t-shirts. He wears 12 of them throughout the season and also gives them to his players.

This is the one he wore when Texas A&M beat Kentucky in the SEC Tournament this past March:

That was not a fun night.

“The Juice” and The Commodores

Before every practice, the team gathers into a huddle at midcourt, where Williams distributes “The Juice,” aka hand sanitizer. That’s not just a post-pandemic habit; Williams has been doing it since his days at Marquette in hopes of keeping his team healthy during the winter months.

After getting their “juice,” the Aggies listen to The Commodores station on Pandora during every gameday shootaround. If you’re not familiar, The Commodores is an American funk and soul band that reached the height of its fame in the 1970s-80s when Lionel Richie was the lead singer. Their biggest hits are “Easy,” Three Times a Lady,” “Nightshift,” and, everyone’s favorite song to boogie to at weddings, “Brick House.”

Thank-you letters on the road

When the Aggies break bread in Lexington tonight, they’ll have to write a thank-you letter to someone. That honestly sounds like something out of Mark Pope’s playbook.

“A staple of every road trip are the Aggies’ Thank You letters. Each coach/player/staff member on the trip writes a Thank You letter to someone in their life at the first team meal of the roadie.”

Another road game tradition: after each shootaround on the road, the team takes a silly group picture. If the Aggies win, Williams posts it on his social media accounts, and the photo is added to the Aggies’ “Culture Wall.” Hopefully, that wall will not feature photographic evidence of the trip to Lexington.

Emoji birthday tweets, weird memes after wins

Buzz also puts his stamp on modern forms of communication, sending out unique birthday tweets for his players and staff.

“On the occasion of a player or staff member’s birthday, Williams honors the occasion with an emoji-filled tweet that always includes a wrong number of birthdays for the celebration.”

It’s unknown if Buzz is also behind the memes the Texas A&M social media staff posts after wins:

Someone’s been watching too much TikTok.

Nicknames

Buzz Williams’ real name is Brent. He earned the nickname Buzz for his boundless energy while a student assistant at Navarro Junior College in the early ’90s. He continues the practice today, bestowing these nicknames on his players:

  • Henry Coleman = ‘Hank’ or ‘Hen’
  • Hayden Hefner = ‘H’
  • Andersson Garcia = ‘Andy’
  • Jaelyn Lee = ‘J-Lee’
  • Chris McDermott = ‘C-Mac’
  • Andre Mills = ‘Dre’
  • Manny Obaseki = ‘Mo’
  • Pharrel Payne = ‘Gochi’ (middle name)
  • Zhuric Phelps = ‘Zoo’
  • Janusz Ratowski = ‘Rato’ or ‘JR’
  • Wade Taylor = ‘4’
  • Solomon Washington = ‘Solo’ or ‘So’

Andersson Garcia draws charges like Andy from “Toy Story”

It’s not just Buzz that’s unique. Senior forward Andersson Garcia, who hails from the Dominican Republic, earned the nickname the “Dominican Rodman” for his defensive and rebounding skills (5.6 RPG), which ESPN’s Mike O’Donnell compared to former NBA great Dennis Rodman’s. Garcia transferred to Texas A&M from Mississippi State in 2022 and has become a fan favorite. Williams nicknamed him “Andy,” which seems pretty normal until you read the explanation in the game notes.

“Nicknamed “Andy” by Buzz Williams, Texas A&M’s student section makes “Andy’s Coming” posters in honor of the Dominican Republic native. Garcia has embraced the famous phrase from the Disney/Pixar movie Toy Story by dropping to the ground like a lifeless toy when he draws a charge in the lane.”

They even made t-shirts with the saying on it, which Garcia modeled while riding a very small bicycle.

That’s not all! Garcia apparently has freakishly large hands, which he uses to mimic playing the trumpet with the Texas A&M Hullabaloo Band after home wins (if you look closely, his lips don’t touch the instrument).

One more fun fact about Williams and the Aggies: even though own the last two wins in the series vs. Kentucky, they have not won at Rupp Arena since 2013. Let’s end the former streak and keep the latter going tomorrow night.

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2025-01-14