The Jayme Hollingsworth scout: Texas A&M

Publisher’s Note: Today, Jayme Hollingsworth joins GoCoogs as Basketball Scouting Editor. Jayme has become the go-to guy for fans looking to dive into the details of a game match-up. Jayme and GoCoogs decided to join forces to give fans an even more in-depth look at big games.

During the Rice game, former UH great Reid Gettys said of Jayme’s work: “He puts out one of the best scouting reports…such good insight and comments and keys to the game.” But don’t take my word for it:

And Reid’s right – Jayme’s work is excellent and thorough. I showed his work to coaches, but they told me they already read Jayme’s scouts every time they are published. That’s a hell of an endorsement. His first GoCoogs scouting report is so in-depth, we had to break it into two parts. -ryan

the daily #137 | 12/15/2023 | Archives

Deep Dive. This is my in-depth scouting breakdown for the Texas A&M Aggies. I watched and studied their last three games vs. Virginia, DePaul, and Memphis.

Texas A&M is the best team Houston has faced this year. They are a potential Final 4 team, and Kelvin Sampson said this week that they are a better offensive-rebounding team than his Cougars. They have lost to three programs (Florida Atlantic, Virginia, and Memphis) in the top 40 of the NCAA NET.
I expect Coach Buzz Williams to have his team laser-focused following a home loss and six days to prepare for the #2 team in the NET.

Several Aggies can make plays at the rim and knock down shots. For UH, communication on defense will be imperative, and they must keep the glass clean on both ends. Both teams are top-10 nationally in rebounding, with the Ags currently having a slight edge on offensive rebounding (Aggies: #2 nationally with 17.5 per game / Coogs: #7 nationally with 16.1 per game).

The Head Of The Snake. Wade Taylor IV is the head of the snake. He can make shots from anywhere. UH must cut him off and force him to pass as much as possible. They run a lot of pick and rolls for Taylor.

Tyrece “Boots” Radford is a dynamic player for the Aggies but was not fully healthy in any of those games. Sampson says he expects him at 100% for Saturday’s game. Radford started to find his groove Sunday against Memphis, and the Ags are a different team when he is healthy.

Taylor and Radford make them go on offense. They are both elite three-level scorers. They go through Henry Coleman III in the high post a good bit. He is an excellent passer when the defense sinks into the lane and attacks the rim if they stay home on shooters. They have solid outside shooters in Hayden Hefner and Jace Carter, and Andersson Garcia does a great job of hiding at the bottom of the lane and ducking in to be a solid low post threat.

“I absolutely love Andy Garcia,” Kelvin Sampson said Wednesday. “The closest guy we’ve had to him is probably Justin Gorham. And Garcia is probably more athletic than Justin was.”

Offensive Particulars. A&M is an excellent offensive-rebounding team, and like UH, they are a second-shot team. If they can’t secure the offensive rebound, they will swat the ball out to their guards to give them a second opportunity. They rebound over 45% of their misses.

They have several guys that can make the three. It will be imperative that UH communicates on rotations to prevent wide-open looks. They are constantly setting off-ball screens to open up shooting opportunities.

They like to shoot the three in transition – threes account for almost 50% of their shots in transition. The UH guards will have to find their shooters quickly.

They run some very nice “Horns” (Two men at the elbows). Those are middle screens in the half-court to open a curl in the paint or a flare screen for the open three.

UH can drive on the Aggie guards // Photo © 2023 by Mario Puente

Defensive Particulars. They like to run a 3/4 court, 1-2-2 zone trap after made baskets and dead balls on the other end to slow down the offense and work the shot clock. UH can attack this! Houston saw some of this against Jackson State, but A&M will do it with better athletes. The Aggie defense struggles to recover and find their man quickly in scramble mode. They may also run some full-court man-to-man (M2M).

They prefer to run M2M and possibly some 2-3 zone in the halfcourt. Like UH, they like to double-team (monster) the post.

They do a phenomenal job rebounding as a unit. They crash the boards hard!

UH can drive on their guards. Look to get a foot in the paint to score or to kick for the open three.

The Aggies are a top five offensive rebounding team and a top 10 defensive rebounding team in the country. Everyone on the floor crashes the boards hard for them! Houston must always put a body on Coleman III, Garcia, and Leveque.