Aggie hoops rebuilding on the fly

After seeing the team's best player and a highly-touted freshman enter the transfer portal Friday, coach Buzz Williams quickly picked up a pair of shooters who could fit well into his guard-heavy offense.

With the departure of assistant Jamie McNeilly to join the staff of the Unviersity of Minnesota, the departure of freshman Cashius McNeilly was expected. In spite of being the centerpeice of Williams' first class at A&M, McNeilly never so much as stepped foot on the Reed Arena court during a game. He sat out 2019-20 with an injury, then opted out of the 2020-21 campaign over COVID-19 concerns.

The departure of Emanuel Miller, on the other hand, was a huge blow to the team. Miller was the team's star last season, leading the Aggies in both points (16.2) and rebounds (8.2) while averaging nearly 32 minutes a game. He was also part of Williams' first class at A&M, but is moving on after two seasons. The two join forward Savion Flagg (Sam Houston), guard Jay Jay Chandler (South Alabama) and center Jonathan Aku as players who have left the program since season's end.

Before Friday, the only addition A&M had made was that of forward Ethan Henderson, who averaged 1.2 PPG last year with Arkansas. The 6-foot-8 senior could replace Aku as a big man in A&M's rotation.

The scoring punch came Friday and Saturday. It started when A&M announced they had signed forward Aaron Cash from Grayson College. The 6-foot-7 Cash averaged 15.3 PPG during his freshman season at Grayson, adding 7.1 RPG. More impressively, he averaged 47.2% from the floor, including better than 45% from 3-point range.

"Aaron possesses the skill set, toughness and spirit that my staff and I were drawn to during the recruiting process," Williams said. "He has a great chance to impact our team immediately. Coach (Scott) Monarch (Grayson CC) has a track record of preparing guys for this level, and we are thrilled to add a player that has spent time with him. Aaron's ability to shoot with range, while possessing the toughness to rebound out of his area, is exactly what our team needs moving forward."

While Cash seems like a quality get for the Aggies, a bigger addition came Saturday evening. Wyoming's Marcus Williams, a native of Dickinson, announced on social media that he was heading back to Texas.

Williams had a stellar freshman campaign with the Cowboys, averaging 15 PPG, 4 RPG and 3 assists per game. The 6-foot-2 guard can play both shooting guard and point guard, and can help Andre Gordon and Hassan Diarra with ball-handling duties next season. Willams was not only a first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection, but was the MWC Rookie of the Year.

The addition of Cash and Williams continues was has become a massive overhaul of the Aggie roster. Forward Hayden Hefner, guard Jaxson Robinson, Gordon and Diarra on the only remaining scholarship players from the 2020-21 season. They have added Henderson, former UConn center Javonte Brown, Williams, Cash and a signing class made up of 5-star guard Manny Obaseki, 4-star guard Wade Taylor and 3-star forward Ashton Smith. The Aggies still have two scholarships available, so they will likely remain active in the transfer market.