Wright shines for Texas A&M
College Station, Texas ? Has anyone ever earned Big 12 Conference player-of-the-week honors in a losing effort?
Texas A&M’s Antoine Wright might have a shot after collecting 25 points and a dozen boards in the Aggies’ 71-65 loss Saturday to Kansas University.
If not, Wright probably would have to blame KU freshman J.R. Giddens, whose three straight three-point goals midway through the second half helped the Jayhawks open a double-digit lead.
“Giddens did a great job of carrying them,” Wright said. “He kept their team alive.”
A&M coach Melvin Watkins noticed, too.
“Giddens … we didn’t expect that,” Watkins said about the 6-foot-5 freshman’s 4-for-5 shooting from three-point range. “We knew he was capable, but I wish he’d have waited until next week sometime.”
Kansas went into Saturday’s game at Reed Arena with the league’s worst three-point shooting percentage (28 percent), yet made six of 10 treys against the Aggies.
“We wanted to collapse and take away easy baskets inside,” Watkins said, “but their outside players hit shots. That’s the sign of a good team. You take one part of their game, and they make shots.”
While the Jayhawks made outside shots, the Aggies battered the rim from long range, missing 22 of 28 shots from beyond the arc.
Kansas University's Michael Lee, center, hits the deck as he fights for a loose ball with Texas A&M's Antoine Wright, left, and LaKeith Blanks, right, as KU's Bryant Nash closes in on the play. The Jayhawks held off the Aggies, 71-65, Saturday in College Station, Texas.
“Our guards need to pick it up,” Wright said. “We make some shots and it’s a different game. It’s really frustrating. Our team is right there. We’re that close, and we don’t get the bounces we need.”
In truth, Wright was one of the three-point offenders. He launched nine and missed seven. He is a forward, though. Starting guards Leandro Garcia-Morales and Bobby Leach were a combined 2-for-9 — just like Wright — from long range.
“We tell them those are shots we want you to take,” Watkins said. “You just have to knock them down.”
With Wright grabbing a career-high 12 boards and 7-footer Andy Slocum contributing a game-high 14 rebounds, the Aggies outrebounded the Jayhawks, 40-35.
Slocum and Wright outboarded KU’s two big men — Wayne Simien and Jeff Graves — by a count of 26 to 8, and all eight of those boards were by Simien.
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Hear Bill: Texas A&M postgame comments“Slocum stepped up and did a great job on their big guys,” Wright said. “I’ve seen four KU games on TV, and Simien and Graves kill people inside.”
A&M was expected to struggle inside Saturday because Jesse King, the Aggies’ second-leading scorer (13.0) and rebounder (5.8), sat out because of a toe injury.
“We needed Jesse out there,” Watkins said. “We’re not a team that can take away the second-leading scorer. We need to get him healthy and get him back out there.”
A&M (7-6 overall, 0-2 in the Big 12) will travel Wednesday to Kansas State.