HEALTH CONSCIOUS Men's basketball team finally tips off practice with full complement of players By Rusty Burson

Perhaps the best indication Texas A&M’s basketball program may be finally coming of age is the perceived role of talented true freshman Daryl Mason.

The 6-foot-6, highly touted guard looked quite impressive in preseason individual workouts earlier this fall, earning the praise of A&M’s coaching staff. And as the Aggies began practices on Oct. 13, fourth-year head coach Melvin Watkins said the Bryan High product should fight for playing time this year.

The noteworthy word here is "should." In other words, he won’t immediately be thrown to the wolves or be counted upon to carry the entire team on his shoulders.

Keith Bean and the Aggies open the season Nov. 19 at home against George Washington.

That’s a major change from the last two years, when talented true freshmen went immediately from the high school graduation line to the Big 12 firing line. The rebuilding Aggies really had no other choice.

Until now. Mason may prove to be good enough to eventually crack

A&M’s starting lineup this season. But it won’t be out of necessity. The Aggies now have some legitimate experience and depth.

Most of the roster is even shaving nowadays. Those 5 o’clock shadows may be a hint that A&M is capable of leaving the shadows of the Big 12 cellar far behind.

"You look at the good programs around the country, and if you’ve got to depend on freshmen or the young kids, you’re probably in a rebuilding situation and you’re probably going to struggle," Watkins said. "I think we’ve been going through that, and hopefully now as freshmen come into our program, they will have opportunities to play, but it will not necessarily be a case of, ‘Hey, we have to have you as a starter right now.’

"That is definitely a change for the better."

Outsiders and prognosticators are not yet convinced. At least one national preseason publication ranks the Aggies 12th in the Big 12, while several others have projected A&M at No. 11.

Watkins isn’t fazed by the rankings. In fact, he believes it should serve as incentive to his maturing team.

"I think we’ve got some young men now that will get offended by that," he said. "I hope that’s the case. We talk to them about some of those things and what some of the realistic goals for this team are. I think we’ve got some players who are going to say, ‘We’ve got to go out and prove on the court that we’re not a bottom-feeder in this conference anymore. That’s our challenge. It’s up to us to go out there and do something about it if we don’t like what they’re saying about us."

So far, Watkins likes what he sees from the Aggies. Bernard King, Jesse King, Nick Anderson, Keith Bean, Nolan Butterfras and Andy Leatherman are all back from last year and have shown signs of progress.

Meanwhile, center Andy Slocum and forward Tomas Ress are healthy again after missing all of last season. Slocum was lost in the preseason last year with tendinitis in his right shoulder that required arthroscopic surgery. Ress had an appendectomy and a staff infection last October, causing serious physical concerns.

But Ress, who has now put back all the weight he lost last year, appears to be strong once again. And "strong" doesn’t even begin to describe the 7-foot Slocum, who is now about 285 pounds of pure muscle.

"He’s huge, but it’s no fat," Watkins said of Slocum. "He wants to play (at that weight). I think he’s probably a little too heavy, but he seems to have a lot of confidence in that, so we’re going to see how it goes. He’s had a little problem with shin splints in his legs, but we’ll see how it goes.

"Tomas looks close to being 100 percent. His weight is back, and he looks good that way. He’s been putting the ball in the hole, so I know he’s excited, as are we, to get back on the court."

With Ress and Slocum back, the Aggies should have more punch in the paint. And if a couple of newcomers pan out, the point could be a plus, as well.

Transfers Michael Gardener and Bradley Jackson are as different as night and day in terms of their style of play, Watkins says. But the combination of the two point guards should upgrade the position for the Aggies, who have struggled at that spot since the departure of Clifton Cook.

Gardener is a lightning-quick slasher who averaged 13.4 points and 7.7 assists last season as a redshirt freshman at Garden City (Kan.) Community College. Jackson averaged 4.5 points and 4.6 assists per game last year and posted a 3-to-1 assists-to-turnovers ratio as a sophomore at the College of Southern Idaho.

"We’re excited about both of those guys," Watkins said. "They complement each other. Michael is high energy, kind of all over the floor, whereas Bradley is more steady and low key. Bradley is a little more like, ‘This is the way we do it and I’m just going to do it.’ It’s not going to be as fancy with Bradley as it is with Michael, but I think we’re going to like that contrast."

Most of all, though, Watkins says he likes the feeling he has about this team as it prepares for its Nov. 19 season-opener at home against George Washington. Bad breaks, bad luck and bad injuries have seemingly cursed the Aggies in recent years.

But, as he knocks on the wood of his office desk, Watkins says he senses the law of averages are about due to turn his way.

"I think it would be a fair statement to say I’m as excited about this season as any since I’ve been here," Watkins said "Last year going into the season, in our early practices, I got real excited then. But then, of course, ‘Injury Armageddon,’ or whatever you want to call it, kind of took that team and made it a shell of what we thought it could be. But I was excited about last year’s possibilities. And once again, if everybody’s there and healthy, I think we have a right to be excited about this year, and I hope our fans get excited about it.

"I think every one of our players, if you go down the list, has added some bulk and strength to their bodies. That was something we wanted to see happening. As we’ve always said, you get better in the offseason. Well, we got better in the offseason, and now we’re really excited about getting the season under way."