College Station, Texas — Losing, and lots of it, hasn't caused Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins to lose his sense of humor.
"We've tried to keep some of the stuff behind the scenes, like the size of the check," Watkins joked about payments to a high school prospect his own son Marcus Watkins.
Marcus, a 6-foot-4 guard, who recently verbally committed to attend Texas A&M, is averaging 33.1 points and 8.3 rebounds as a senior at A&M Consolidated High in College Station.
"There was a point I was not sure he could play at this level," said Watkins, who has a 38-66 record in his fourth year at A&M. "I told him it's something he had to want, the price he was willing to pay. He's worked himself into a fine Div. 1 basketball prospect.
"He wants to play for A&M. He's confident and I am confident he can play at this level, so I said to him, 'If you can help other coaches win at this level, you sure can help Pops."
Marcus Watkins is still in high school, so he can't help immediately like today when Pops' Aggies (8-11, 2-3 Big 12) meet No. 2-rated Kansas (16-2, 5-0) at 3:05 p.m. at Reed Arena.
The Aggies have been in need of reinforcements with several players hobbling and two others suspended the past several weeks.
l Sophomore center Andy Slocum broke a bone in his hand against Texas Tech on Jan. 9 and is out four to six weeks.
l Senior guard Andy Leatherman had arthroscopic surgery on his knee in the preseason and remains hobbled.
l Sophomore forward Jesse King has knee inflammation.
l Junior guard Bernard King has been slowed by a strained groin, back problems and the flu.
l Sophomore center Tommy Ress still has stamina problems related to an offseason illness.
l Aggie guards Daryl Mason and Michael Gardener were suspended on Jan. 7 for disciplinary reasons. Mason is back with the team. Gardener, who was the team's starting point guard, has been dismissed.
"Game to game, we never know who we are going to be able to suit up, who we're going to be able to play. Every day I wait for the medical report," Watkins said.
His team has been thriving on adversity of late.
The Aggies, who had lost six games in a row, bounced back to beat Baylor, 63-60, on Jan. 19 at Reed Arena, then stunned Texas, 80-74, Wednesday in Austin.
Bernard King erupted for 30 points in the victory over UT.
"For a while we were skating on thin ice, not being a team," Watkins said. "This group in place seems to be enjoying each other. It's an easy team to coach, maybe not as deep as we need to be, but the kids are giving the effort. If we can get Slocum back, I like our chances of making a little headway in this conference."
KU coach Roy Williams said the Aggies are already making headway.
"They went in and beat Texas at Texas. They shot 60 percent on Texas' homecourt and won that game, so it shouldn't be difficult for our players to get concerned and ready for them because that's impressive," Williams said.
The win over Texas should cure KU (16-2, 5-0) of any possible case of overconfidence.
"I think every coach says that it will help them get ready kind of thing," Williams said, "and I think there's something to that. I like to think this team is pretty level headed and intelligent and will get ready anyway. If they're alive and kicking that should get their attention."
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