AggieYell.com's preview of the 2024-25 Texas A&M basketball team begins with a look at the big men at center and power forward.
Returning players
Henry Coleman III (8.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG in 2023-24)
Solomon Washington (7.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG)
Andersson Garcia (6 PPG, 9.1 RPG)
New additions
Pharrel Payne (10 PPG, 6.1 RPG for Minnesota)
Chris McDermott (20.3 points, 18.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.9 blocks at Houston Booker T. Washington; 3-star recruit according to Rivals.com)
Januz Ratowski (9.6 points and 9.4 rebounds for SMS PZKosz Wladyssalwowo in Poland)
The Aggies struggled to get much out of the center position last season, after Julius Marble was suspended for the season and Wildens Leveque just didn't have an offensive game. That left Coleman to do most of the scoring work at center, and he had big games and games where he was an afterthought. He returns for his final season likely carrying less of a burden this season.
A&M went looking for an athletic big man who could score in the transfer portal and found one in Payne, who made 60% of his shots last season for the Golden Gophers. He started the exhibition game against Houston and will likely split time at center with Coleman this season.
The Aggies have two very different power forwards returning. Solomon Washington's offensive game began to emerge in the second half of last season, allowing him to play small forward if Buzz Williams wants to go big. He's an explosive athlete who can throw down highlight reel dunks while also being able to cover players at all five positions.
Andersson Garcia has become an Aggie fan favorite and made sure he'll always be remembered with his game-tying, last-second three-pointer against Houston in the NCAA Tournament. But Garcia's forte is rebounding, and nobody in America does it better.
McDermott is has the size and skill set similar to Washington's, but he's still raw and a work and progress. But he may get some minutes at power forward, especially early in the year.
Ratowski is a real wild card. He's 6-foot-11 but, in the style of the classic European big man, can shoot from outside. On a team that struggled to shoot from long range last year, that could be invaluable. And it's not like he's some inexperienced guy who fell off the potato truck from Warsaw; he's been playing professional and international basketball for years.
