SEC Basketball: 2024 offseason grades for each team

Texas A&M Aggies - Grade: B+

Few teams this offseason were afforded the luxury of keeping nearly all of its pieces from last season. Luckily for Texas A&M, it was one of them. Other than Tyrese Radford, the Aggies didn’t lose any major contributors from last year, which should only benefit the team this offseason. Texas A&M did lose five players to the portal, but only one of those players made it on the court this past season.

Buzz Williams wasn’t super busy this offseason, as he added just three players from the transfer portal. The Aggies added Zhuric Phelps from SMU, Pharrell Payne from Minnesota, and C.J. Wilcher from Nebraska. Phelps averaged nearly 15 points per game last season and should fit in as the second option offensively playing off Wade Taylor who is returning to College Station. Payne isn’t afraid to get physical in the post and is a good rebounder and shot blocker. He averaged 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks last year at Minnesota. And Wilcher, who played for Nebraska, is a solid three-point shooter making 39 percent from deep, and should provide depth at the guard position. 

If Texas A&M had added a little more on the defensive end of the court it would have been a little easier to assign a higher grade, but the Aggies saw plenty of success last year with a high-paced offense and an average defense. If possible with the addition of Pharrell Payne and Andersson Garcia returning, the Aggies might actually be a better rebounding team than last year. But, at any rate, the Aggies are once again set up to dominate the boards while playing at a quick pace. Time will tell if this is a recipe for success moving forward.