I think people just haven't woken up to the fact that, believe it or not, this A&M club is pretty damn good this year. I do not think that they are going to be just a flash in the pan this year.....you will continue to see them battle the best teams in the Big 12 every night that they take the court. In fact, I'd wager dollars to donuts that they make the post-season this year. Whether it's NIT or NCAA remains to be seen.
Coach Gillespie is obviously one helluva coach. Reports I have heard is that these kids are really believing in themselves, have bought into his system, and are giving max effort even during practice. It's a type of discipline, confidence, and enthusiasm that Melvin Watkins could just never bring out of his Aggie players.
Personally, I think Gillespie stepped into a great situation that has enabled him to have this early success. While the A&M program was certainly downtrodden in terms of wins and losses, it was certainly not a program devoid of talent. Gillespie inherited some very talented kids from Coach Watkins. The one thing that 'ol Melvin could do well was recruit. Now, whether or not it was "clean" recruiting that is another matter, but regardless the man had brought in some good basketball talent into College Station over the years. In steps a good coach who can get the most out of his players and wollah.....
I'm really not a fan of Texas basketball and as much as I like to see them get beat, I think that they are taking an unfair beating for this loss last night. In no way does this mean that the Longhorns suck. IMHO, people are looking at this loss the wrong way. Wait until the end of the Big 12 season and this loss is not going to look all that bad as the Aggies will continue to surprise. I'm telling you now that Texas WILL NOT be the only upper-tier Big 12 team to leave College Station with an L, this year.
-JC