Jimcs50
03-03-2007, 09:34 AM
Saying goodbye
By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Staff Writer
Don't expect any speeches on Senior Day Saturday at Reed Arena
"Oh, heck no, man," said Texas A&M's Marlon Pompey, who rolled his head back just thinking about it.
Texas A&M senior Marlon Pompey has seen the Aggies come a long way in his time with the team. In his first season, the Aggies went 0-16 in Big 12 play. This season, A&M is 12-3 with one game to play.
Pompey will be one of six Aggie seniors honored before the start of the Texas A&M men's basketball game against Missouri at 3 p.m. And he's not the only one who says he'll keep quiet while accepting recognition for his four years in Aggieland.
"Uh-uh, nah, I'm not going to do anything like that," A&M's Acie Law IV said of an impromptu speech. "Whatever they ask me to do, I'll do, but I hope they don't ask me to speak, because I'm really shy."
Law's been speaking all season about how the Aggies have turned things around over his career, going from 0-16 in conference when he and Pompey were freshmen to having a chance at a Big 12 championship this season.
But speaking at a press conference of 20-30 people is a little different from what Law and the Aggie seniors will face Saturday before tip-off.
"I don't want to get out in front of anybody and have to do it like that," Law said. "That's like 13,000 [people], so that would be a lot different."
It will be an emotional day for the Aggies, who have caught Aggieland's attention over the last three seasons and gained national attention with their Top 10 ranking and victory at perennial power Kansas this season.
"I cry all the time just thinking about [Law] playing his last game at home," A&M coach Billy Gillispie said after the Texas game. "He's been special, and we hope to honor our seniors on Saturday and send them all out in style."
Whether it's selective memory or not, Pompey and Law, A&M's only seniors who have played for the Aggies all four seasons, had trouble recalling their first game at Reed Arena.
Pompey took a couple of guesses at the team the Aggies played and was wrong. Law knew he'd gotten in the game but wasn't sure if A&M had won, adding that he didn't remember much from that first season.
And who could blame them? The Aggies were 7-21 overall and didn't win a Big 12 game.
Law played 15 minutes and had four points, five rebounds and four assists while Pompey had a basket in 7 minutes in their first game as Aggies. A&M won 82-53 over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in front of an announced crowd of 5,002.
But that victory wasn't followed by many more that season, and things got so bad, Pompey says he remembers an emotional Antoine Wright - now with the New Jersey Nets - finally letting off some steam.
"One day my freshman year, Antoine came in the room crying and threw a couple of chairs around," Pompey said. "I saw him crying, and a couple of the other guys were laughing, and I'm like, why are you laughing? We are losing every game."
Law has started all but one game since his sophomore campaign and is averaging 18 points and 5.5 assists this season. Pompey was A&M's sixth man as a sophomore and again this season after starting all but one game as a junior.
Ironically, the man that recruited both Pompey and Law will be on the opposing team's bench Saturday.
Former A&M coach Melvin Watkins returns as the associate head coach of the Missouri Tigers. He has been at Missouri since resigning the week of the 2004 Big 12 Conference Tournament.
"I remember when the schedule first came out I saw [Senior Day] would be against Missouri," Law said. "The guy that recruited me and gave me the opportunity to play on this level is going to be on the opposing bench, and the guy that's done arguably the most for my career I'll be playing for. It's going to be kind of a mixed emotion because I'm really grateful for what coach Watkins did and at the same time he's on the opposing bench."
Watkins' son, Marcus, graduated from A&M Consolidated and played at A&M as a freshman but is also with Missouri and will be playing in his last regular season game after scoring a career-high 15 points and pulling down six rebounds in the Tigers' last game.
By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Staff Writer
Don't expect any speeches on Senior Day Saturday at Reed Arena
"Oh, heck no, man," said Texas A&M's Marlon Pompey, who rolled his head back just thinking about it.
Texas A&M senior Marlon Pompey has seen the Aggies come a long way in his time with the team. In his first season, the Aggies went 0-16 in Big 12 play. This season, A&M is 12-3 with one game to play.
Pompey will be one of six Aggie seniors honored before the start of the Texas A&M men's basketball game against Missouri at 3 p.m. And he's not the only one who says he'll keep quiet while accepting recognition for his four years in Aggieland.
"Uh-uh, nah, I'm not going to do anything like that," A&M's Acie Law IV said of an impromptu speech. "Whatever they ask me to do, I'll do, but I hope they don't ask me to speak, because I'm really shy."
Law's been speaking all season about how the Aggies have turned things around over his career, going from 0-16 in conference when he and Pompey were freshmen to having a chance at a Big 12 championship this season.
But speaking at a press conference of 20-30 people is a little different from what Law and the Aggie seniors will face Saturday before tip-off.
"I don't want to get out in front of anybody and have to do it like that," Law said. "That's like 13,000 [people], so that would be a lot different."
It will be an emotional day for the Aggies, who have caught Aggieland's attention over the last three seasons and gained national attention with their Top 10 ranking and victory at perennial power Kansas this season.
"I cry all the time just thinking about [Law] playing his last game at home," A&M coach Billy Gillispie said after the Texas game. "He's been special, and we hope to honor our seniors on Saturday and send them all out in style."
Whether it's selective memory or not, Pompey and Law, A&M's only seniors who have played for the Aggies all four seasons, had trouble recalling their first game at Reed Arena.
Pompey took a couple of guesses at the team the Aggies played and was wrong. Law knew he'd gotten in the game but wasn't sure if A&M had won, adding that he didn't remember much from that first season.
And who could blame them? The Aggies were 7-21 overall and didn't win a Big 12 game.
Law played 15 minutes and had four points, five rebounds and four assists while Pompey had a basket in 7 minutes in their first game as Aggies. A&M won 82-53 over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in front of an announced crowd of 5,002.
But that victory wasn't followed by many more that season, and things got so bad, Pompey says he remembers an emotional Antoine Wright - now with the New Jersey Nets - finally letting off some steam.
"One day my freshman year, Antoine came in the room crying and threw a couple of chairs around," Pompey said. "I saw him crying, and a couple of the other guys were laughing, and I'm like, why are you laughing? We are losing every game."
Law has started all but one game since his sophomore campaign and is averaging 18 points and 5.5 assists this season. Pompey was A&M's sixth man as a sophomore and again this season after starting all but one game as a junior.
Ironically, the man that recruited both Pompey and Law will be on the opposing team's bench Saturday.
Former A&M coach Melvin Watkins returns as the associate head coach of the Missouri Tigers. He has been at Missouri since resigning the week of the 2004 Big 12 Conference Tournament.
"I remember when the schedule first came out I saw [Senior Day] would be against Missouri," Law said. "The guy that recruited me and gave me the opportunity to play on this level is going to be on the opposing bench, and the guy that's done arguably the most for my career I'll be playing for. It's going to be kind of a mixed emotion because I'm really grateful for what coach Watkins did and at the same time he's on the opposing bench."
Watkins' son, Marcus, graduated from A&M Consolidated and played at A&M as a freshman but is also with Missouri and will be playing in his last regular season game after scoring a career-high 15 points and pulling down six rebounds in the Tigers' last game.