Five players for Texas A&M to target in the 2023 college basketball portal
While fans may still be recovering from Texas A&M‘s NCAA Tournament opening-round loss to Penn State, the wheels are already turning toward what will be a pivotal offseason for the Aggies.
A&M made a tremendous turnaround in the latter half of the season that illustrates a promising foundation built by Buzz Williams. Still, the manner in which the season ended revealed there is plenty of room for growth; a reality that is underscored by some key roster vacancies next year.
Three of the Aggies’ starting five are slated to return for the 2023-24 season, which means that they’ll have the advantage of continuity in their back pocket. The returnees include Wade Taylor IV, Henry Coleman III, and Julius Marble. Guard Dexter Dennis will not return next season after wrapping up his final year of eligibility.
Manny Obaseki, Andersson Garcia, and Solomon Washington are among those expected to shoulder more responsibility after playing key roles off the bench this year.
The initial belief was that Tyrece “Boots” Radford would be among the departures following this season. However, he recently hinted that with an extra year of eligibility remaining, the door for returning to College Station may still be open as he’s yet to make a decision on his future.
Even with a relatively small volume of departures, there is always room for growth and that means it’s time to bolster the foundation that is brewing in College Station.
Enter the 2023 college basketball portal, where A&M should start by keying in on these five players:
Nicolas Timberlake, Guard, Towson
Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The graduate transfer has five seasons of college basketball experience and would bring in a relatively “veteran” presence to an Aggies team hoping to make the next leap. Timberlake is a certified walking bucket, having increased his scoring average every season to a career-high 17.7 PPG last year.
He’s one of the best marksmen in the transfer portal after shooting 41% from three last year, so he would immediately upgrade what was a weakness for the Aggies this past season.
B.J. Mack, Forward, Wofford
Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
A&M would be getting an absolute beast if they could convince Mack to come to College Station, as it is well-known the four-year big man has been sought out by multiple programs. He averaged 16.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 49.2% from the field.
Mack has also proven capable of stretching the floor, as he shot 33.5% from downtown last season. Imagine him keeping defenses honest on the wing, which would allow the likes of Taylor to slash and attack the rim with open lanes.
Kamari Lands, Forward, Louisville
Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Lands is a former top-100 prospect but never reached his potential over at Louisville, which struggled to a 4-28 record last season. He averaged 5.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and shot 32.1% from 3-point range in 21 minutes per game, with his ability to find the basket from deep being a welcome addition to the Aggies roster.
At 6-foot-8, his size and length would give A&M added depth on the perimeter in defending the SEC’s more athletic wing players.
Khalif Battle, Guard, Temple
Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
The four-year guard out of Temple averaged 17.9 PPG last season on 41% shooting from the field and 35% from three, which would give the Aggies another versatile scorer at all levels on the court. At 6-foot-5 he averaged a steal per game for the Owls last year, so his ability to force turnovers could be a nice add in light of Dennis’ departure.
In regards to that comparison, he’s a bit lighter (175 lbs) versus Dennis (210 lbs) but his height should still serve him well in giving opposing the opposing backcourt fits.
Myles Stute, Forward, Vanderbilt
Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
Back in a January 28 meeting versus the Aggies, Stute finished shooting 46.7% from the floor while going 7-for-14 from beyond the arc in a 72-66 loss. The effort by the third-year big man was admirable, but as the saying goes, “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”
Adding Stute would give the Aggies some nice frontcourt depth behind Coleman and Marble, while once again addressing their clear lack of shooting from beyond the arc. The Maroon and White would surely welcome his 4.6 rebounds per game as well.
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