NFL
By: Kevin Lucas
In a league that’s as loaded as the SEC, it’s almost mandatory that you have depth and more importantly players willing to battle. Luckily for Buzz Williams and his Texas A&M Aggies, they have both this season. We all know the main man down in College Station is none other than Wade Taylor IV. Taylor the last 3 years has been one of the best guards in the country and an absolute staple to coach Williams’ tenure down in the Lone Star state. The difference with Texas A&M in this 2024-25 season, however, is the depth of this team via both roster retention and the transfer portal. The Aggies returned 7 players from a season ago when they scrapped to get into the NCAA Tournament.
Even with 15 losses, as an opposing team, you knew you had to throw on your hard hats before you took the floor to play against them. Guys like Jace Carter, Anderson Garcia, Henry Coleman, and Manny Obaseki, know exactly what is required of them every time they suit up in the maroon and white. To have players that trust in their coaching staff, know their roles, and where they can improve upon is priceless. In this transfer portal-heavy era you must believe that roster continuity is as invaluable as ever.
Nevertheless, coach Williams and his staff had one of the sneakiest good transfer classes in the entire country by bringing in Zhuric Phelps, Pharrel Payne, and CJ Wilcher. After starring at SMU the previous 2 seasons Zhuric Phelps decided to transfer up and play in the SEC. Even though they’re only 11 games into the season, Phelps has proven that his scoring ability translates to any level of basketball. Phelps and Taylor IV have formed one of the top backcourt duos in the SEC already and we haven’t even reached 2025 yet. Pharrel Payne boosts the Aggies’ interior defense which desperately needed life after last season where they simply just did not have enough bodies. Payne is a 6’9 big man who left Minnesota to play more meaningful basketball in his final 2 years of college athletics.
Just his presence on the defensive end alone makes opposing players think twice when trying to attack the rim with him down there. His activity in their 70-66 win over 16th-ranked Purdue in Indy this past weekend was immeasurable. He posted 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in their biggest win of the season to date versus the Boilermakers. Payne is a great culture fit for what Buzz has been building with this program. That leaves us with the deadeye shooter, CJ Wilcher. Wilcher spent his last 3 years cashing in shots for Fred Hoiberg and the Cornhuskers of Nebraska.
Having a knockdown shooter like that next to Wade Taylor and Zhuric Phelps only makes this Aggies’ offense even more dynamic. CJ is shooting 34% from 3 on just under 4 attempts per game so far and if you ask Buzz Williams, he’d probably like to see those attempts go up even more. With wins now over Rutgers, Texas Tech, and most recently Purdue, the Texas A&M Aggies have stacked a bunch of quality wins before they enter the gauntlet that is the SEC. A&M is as big a threat as anybody to win the conference. Wade Taylor knows what it takes and also be aware of Solomon Washington taking a crucial leap in his junior season as well. College Station in 2025 will be a thriller for Buzz Williams’ program.
