By Homer Jacobs

The search for a new Texas A&M basketball coach could be compared to an Aggie Band performance.

It was deliberate.

It was precise.

It weaved in and out, coast to coast.

It didn't hit every note, but in the end, the performance was grade-A.

While the Texas Longhorns ran through their routine Ñ again Ñ to hire their new basketball coach, the Aggies did it their own way, like Aggies always do.

And when Melvin Watkins was introduced as A&M's 18th men's head basketball coach before a packed Rudder Tower press conference, it was clear A&M got the man it wanted.

Sure there were bigger coaching names out there, but for what Texas A&M needed at this point in its history, athletic director Wally Groff and the nine-member search committee should be commended for how they went about their business.

First of all, the committee caught some criticism (and I was skeptical as well) for not having enough "basketball people" putting the feelers out. To be honest, A&M didn't really have that many "basketball people" hanging out in the athletic department hallways.

Perhaps an outside basketball observer like Dick Vitale or Al McGuire would have been nice as an advisor, but could A&M really have afforded their services, especially when a $550,000 base salary was at stake?

Just exactly what went on behind closed door meetings will remain basically unknown to the A&M family.

But search committee chairman Mike Caruso did shed some light on just how A&M arrived at its new hire.

The committee met for the first time in early March and began putting together an early list of potential coaching candidates. The first list contained the names of about 50 coaches, mostly Division I head coaches with a few assistants (North Carolina's Phil Ford was one) sprinkled in as well.

The committee, which met four times in all, then began to make contact --either through coaching agents or athletic directors --with coaching prospects.

Caruso said A&M made some kind of contact with three coaches in the last Associated Press Top 10 poll, five coaches from rankings 10-20 and five from positions 20-30.

"There was nobody who wasn't on the list," Caruso said.

If there was a point man outside of the committee, it was the Big 12's chief basketball mind, former Duke coach Bill Foster.

Foster opened up his bag of contacts for A&M, and the school took full advantage of his networking.

Then the phone calls began. Caruso himself made at least 150 phone calls away from his desk and countless calls from his office in the athletic department.

And many of those phone calls dealt with the NCAA and compliance personnel at various schools. With A&M's history with the NCAA, A&M athletic director Wally Groff obviously was sure to investigate each candidate as thoroughly as possible.

The fine-tooth combing even turned over a problem with former Ole Miss coach Rob Evans, who had spent time with A&M president Ray Bowen at Oklahoma State.

A&M officials wouldn't disclose the problem, but it was enough to scare the Aggies away.

Talk about self-policing, something A&M does better than perhaps any school out there right now. Even the NCAA had cleared Evans' name in the process, but Bowen said no.

"Every coach we got serious about, we checked with the NCAA and compliance about," Caruso said. "I don't think the NCAA said anything negative about any of our candidates."

Once the search reached its second and third week, a short list of candidates had been formed, and Groff then took the reins to begin the interview process.

It began and ended rather quickly with the 43-year-old coach from North Carolina Charlotte. Melvin Watkins' name had surfaced with the success of his team in this year's NCAA Tournament and the fact that A&M was interested in hiring an African-American head coach.

But neither of those two factors were the overriding reasons why Groff handed Watkins the keys to the program. In fact, the personable Watkins made his biggest impression by just being himself, the man more than the coach.

"I spent an hour and a half with him in San Antonio one-on-one," said Groff, who was able to conveniently attend the Final Four in his former hometown. "And we just talked about life. He was genuine and for real, and that's what we need. I think he will fit right in with this university, with our alumni, students and faculty."

Groff and Caruso then flew Watkins and his wife to College Station the following day for a campus and community tour. They cruised by G. Rollie White Coliseum and straight to Reed Arena, followed by a better homes and garden trip from the tip of College Station to the top of Bryan.

Watkins liked what he saw, as did his wife Burrell, who gave Groff and Caruso one of those trip-ending hugs that says my husband is coming to Aggieland.

Contract negotiations with Watkins and his agent were then done over the phone all weekend long (March 27-29), culminating in Watkins telling Groff he was accepting the job that Sunday night.

Yet, speculation that Watkins would remain in Charlottte still kept the search committee on edge. Groff, however, had no doubt Watkins was coming and called an April 1 press conference to announce the hiring.

So Groff wasn't even slightly nervous that all of his courting could blow up in his face?

"No, because I believe the man is an honest man with integrity," Groff said. "I talked to people and they said, "How'd you know?' I said, ÔWell, because he told me he was coming.' I think his wife had a little bit to do with it. She was comfortable here and comfortable with me, and I thought that was important."

Caruso said he was relieved the search was over, but more importantly, that A&M was able to hire an up-and-coming star in the coaching ranks.

"This was a pretty exhaustive selection," he said. "I'm extremely happy with the results. The perception out there was that Texas A&M was a good job. Melvin Watkins didn't have to ask much about Texas A&M. He pretty much knew it all.

"Melvin exceeded our expectations. When Wally and I both met with him, we felt he was pretty strong."

Gauging by the reaction of A&M people at the press conference and from fans across the country, Watkins' popularity is increasing daily. Of course, he hasn't coached one game or signed one prospect.

But you get the sense that this guy has all the ingredients to succeed.

Committee member John Thornton, one of A&M's "basketball guys," talked to numerous sources about Watkins' coaching ability, demeanor on the practice court and ability to recruit. Watkins passed all the inquiries easily.

"All the sources I canvassed, it was nothing but positives about him," Thornton said. "I did not get one negative. He has a certain type of charisma, so you could see why he would be a heck of a recruiter."

And Watkins did not hesitate in divulging his expectations for the program to Groff and Caruso.

"He said his goal was to do what the teams in San Antonio were doing, and Texas A&M was a place that could do it," Caruso added. "He wants to win a national championship, so he has high expectations."

Perhaps more appropriate expectations would be to bring A&M from the depths of the Big 12 conference to the .500 mark, then set sights on building a Top 25 program that flirts with the Big Dance every year.

Can that be done at A&M? Well, the Aggies have not made an NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years and have not been a top 25 staple since 1979-81.

But A&M now has a state-of-the-art facility. It has a conference that breeds big-time basketball. It has the recruiting base, and perhaps one day, it will have the support of its fans.

And, most importantly, it has Melvin Watkins at the helm. Wally Groff"s tenure as athletic director may be ultimately judged on the facilities he helped bring to the campus. And the "frustrated architect," as he likes to call himself, would gladly take that label.

But the hiring of Watkins also could stamp his time in the AD chair.

Yes, A&M turned over every stone imaginable to hire its basketball coach, and Watkins' didn't have a marquee name flashing out of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

But A&M searched in its own way, landed its man and stood tall in the end.