After losing head coach Buzz Williams last offseason Texas A&M sprung into action by bringing Bucky McMillan to town. His early work with the Aggies has certainly been acceptable, taking this program to 22 wins and the second round of this past NCAA Tournament after tying for 4th in a talented SEC. Building on that great start is where things might get tricky.
The losses add up
The Aggies are shedding a lot of talent from last season’s team, seeing Rashaun Agee, Rylan Griffen, and Marcus Hill all gone after their senior years. The other double-digit scorer was Ruben Dominguez and he transferred to Xavier, leaving this staff with plenty of holes to fill. After missing time last season, Mackenzie Mgbako is back and will play a major role this season and he’s far from the only notable face for McMillan’s second season.
Texas A&M has brought in a transfer class filled with talent alongside a pair of 4-star freshman recruits. The frontcourt gets a boost with Cade Phillips from Tennessee and Jalen Shelley out of Loyola Marymount, though it was clearly the guard play that needed the most reinforcements. The Aggies added a veteran piece in Tyshawn Archie from McNeese and also get rising sophomore Jalen Reece after showing signs at LSU, but there’s one name that clearly floats to the top.
Big time scorer
PJ Haggerty is a 6-3 guard from Texas who has had an insanely eventful collegiate career. He played just six games at CU before transferring to Tulsa, becoming AAC Rookie of the Year while averaging 21.2 points with the Golden Hurricane. The next season saw him move on to Memphis, becoming a national figure as a Second Team All-American and the AAC Player of the Year. Last season featured another transfer, as he’d average 23.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while at Kansas State.
With 2,158 career points already, Haggerty is one of the most prominent scorers in the country and his landing at Texas A&M is quite the boost for the Aggies. He didn’t show any signs of slowing down when transitioning from the AAC to the Big 12 and remains a high-level offensive player. With the departures that the Aggies had this offseason, Haggerty gets plugged into a major scoring role and can really succeed, though we can’t ignore the rest of the roster.
Kansas State finished just 12-20 and nearly bottomed out in the Big 12 last season even with Haggerty’s brilliant play. He’s the most important new piece in town but the Aggies clearly need everyone stepping up. Mgbako and these new faces in the frontcourt alone create a stronger roster than Haggerty had with the Wildcats. If this team can come together and get back to the Big Dance, it’s fair to wonder just what kinds of numbers Haggerty can put up in his collegiate finale.
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