Instant Reaction: Texas A&M Hoops Scrimmage

The Fightin' Texas Aggie Basketball squad kicked off the 2015-2016 season tonight with a 83-45 win in a scrimmage against a not very good Texas A&M International University team. You always have to use a little caution when trying to analyze what you see in games like this, but it was a good early test for the young guys on the team.

1. Admon Gilder is the real deal

A lot of people were excited about Gilder coming into the season, and he definitely showed that he is ready tonight. He looked the most ready of the Fab Four. To be fair, fellow freshman Elijah Thomas did not suit up (neither did Alex Robinson). Gilder finished the game with 12 points in 22 minutes of playing time. He looked great shooting the ball in space and just as great creating for himself and attacking the rim. The future is bright in Aggieland with the young guard.

2. Post play has improved

Again, the competition was subpar tonight, but the big guys looked solid. There's still work to do, but there's no denying a significant improvement from Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Tavario Miller. Both young players showed an improved presence on the offensive side of the court and had a good showing on defense. True freshman Tyler Davis had a solid 12 point showing in his first game going 4-4 shooting. In fact, Jalen Jones, Tyler Davis, and Trocha-Morelos were 3 of the top 4 players in efficiency rating for the Aggies tonight. Gilder was the other player in that group of four.

3. The shot clock, or the scheme?

For those that weren't aware, the shot clock in college basketball was dropped to 30 seconds for this season rather than the 35 seconds from previous years. I'm saying the "in case you weren't aware" part jokingly because TV announcers will be saying that until your ears bleed this season. Moving along, the Aggies look like a completely different team on offense this season. We saw the tempo we've been hearing about from Billy Kennedy for the past  few seasons. Whether it's due to being forced to play 5 seconds faster every possession or just having more talent and depth on the roster, this team is a helluva a lot more fun to watch than anything we've seen in Reed Arena in the Kennedy era.

The Aggies' next game will be next Friday at 8:30PM in Reed Arena against USC Upstate.