Clearly, two of A&M’s Big Three men’s sports are heavy hitters on the national scene.

Which brings us to the sport that clearly is not — basketball. But if you spend any time around first-year head coach Melvin Watkins, your thoughts begin to wander. Maybe this guy with the peerless wardrobe has just as much substance as he has style.

Maybe the Big Two sports in Aggieland can add their little brother to the club.

Why the feeling that Aggie basketball can return to what little glory its had over the last 30 years? Well, when Watkins finished a pre-conference tournament press conference in Kansas City, he casually greeted some writers who asked him if he could get the job done in College Station since no A&M team had been to the NCAA Tournament since 1987.

He was as focused and determined in his answers as anytime throughout this previous 12-15 season. Even though A&M had failed to win its first Big 12 Tournament game, the Big 12 hardly awed Watkins in his first tour of duty. He came so close as to say, "Mark it down: A&M will be NCAA Tournament bound in two years, if not next year."

And although Clifton Cook is the only true Division I prospect on the A&M ballclub, he may not be for long. Incoming recruits Bernard King of Gibsland Coleman (La.) averaged 30 points a game this past season, while guard Jamaal Gilchrist of Middleburg Notre Dame Academy (Va.) won the MVP Award at a prestigious East Coast tournament two weeks ago.

And judging by the talent North Carolina Charlotte has put on the floor the last few years when Watkins was the head man there, you get the feeling even this "football and baseball" school in Texas can get it done in hoops.

"We feel we’re going to be very competitive in this league," Watkins said. "In recruiting, it’s no secret, you have to go out and recruit some talent. I had a very talented team from where I came from, and my thing is to try and take that here and do even better. We need to hit the recruiting trails, that’s what we’ve got to do."

And although A&M has yet to field a postseason team in basketball in over a decade, this academic year has shown that schools who are traditional football powers can make the basketball thing work, as well.

Just looking at the final Associated Press football poll from last season, Tennessee won the national title, and finally, is proud of its basketball team, too. And Pat Summitt doesn’t even coach this group that made the NCAA field as a No. 4 seed.

No. 5 Florida has upgraded its basketball program over the years with former coach Lon Krueger and now current hotshot Billy Donovan, even landing a No. 6 seed in the NCAAs.

Arizona beat Nebraska in football and finished 11-1, and its hoops teams is just two years removed from a cutting down the nets in basketball.

Even former basketball cellar-dwellers Ohio State and Auburn made big strides this year in the indoor game, with the Tigers earning a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.

Yes, A&M also can join the resurrected in basketball.

"My eligibility is up, so I can pretty much say anything I want," senior forward Shanne Jones said. "I think (the program) is headed in the right direction. The coaches have some recruits in place, and with (Aaron Jack) and Joe White and the guys coming back, it can’t do anything but get better."

The holes in the program seem to be filling in, first with the new facility in place and some notable recruits headed to College Station.

Now the hard part. Are A&M fans so enamored with football and baseball that they can’t be swayed to support basketball.

As Watkins said in a question and answer session (pages 18-19), he understands the hesitancy of Aggie fans throwing themselves at an unproven commodity. It’s like going on a blind date your grandmother set up. You’ll do it, but....

So, Watkins does have the feel of the program right now. He has gone through Aggieland 101 and knows maroon is good and burnt orange is bad.

And after seeing the electric crowd of 9,424 at the Feb. 20 Texas game and the excitement the win over Oklahoma created for a few minutes, Watkins knows the thirst to see big-time basketball is there.

It’s his job to harness that support by assembling teams that are athletic, high-flying and, well, Auburn-like.

"If you see my speaking schedules, some of you know I was very aggressive in trying to get out and get in front of people and let them know a little bit more about me and my philosophy," Watkins said. "If the fans don’t like the product and think the coach is not approachable, that will hurt you as well. Those are the type of things you’ve got to do. I did them in Charlotte, and I’ve got to do them here."

Tony Barone’s plodding teams were rarely entertaining, and while Barone was engaging at times, his volatile nature on the court turned people off.

Watkins keeps to himself mostly, but he appears to have the down-home charm of an R.C. Slocum and the subtle fire of a Mark Johnson. The problem is his program doesn’t have the history of the programs those two coaches oversee.

He’s starting from scratch right now, while Slocum and Johnson at least took over programs who had tasted recent success.

"I’ve been pleased with the effort of the players most nights, and obviously we would have like to win more than we did," Watkins added. "But you have to have a starting point somewhere. We had 12 wins this year, and we plan on doing better as we go forward."

Texas A&M won five conference basketball games this year and could have won two or three more. That would have put the Aggies at .500 in Watkins’ first year.

An NIT bid next season and an NCAA Tournament appearance the following year don’t appear out of the question.