Posted on Tue, Feb. 09, 2010

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Turgeon uses KU, WSU as template for fans

BY BLAIR KERKHOFF

Kansas City Star

Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon knows basketball excitement, and he wasn't feeling it in College Station. At least, not to the extent he believed the program deserved.

"We didn't know how to cheer at a basketball game; I guess it's called yell down here," Turgeon said. "We're getting there. It takes time."

Turgeon helped give it a push last summer when he encouraged the school to dump its student lottery process. Turgeon said the school held the lottery to determine which 18,000 ticket holders got 4,300 seats, but the process was confusing and he came across too many students who wanted to fill empty seats.

The school said it was concerned about turning away students, but Turgeon contended creating demand isn't always a bad thing.

"I've been at Kansas and Wichita State," Turgeon said. "That's how it should be."

Last week, a school-record 13,648 watched the Aggies beat Texas Tech, and another 13,000-plus crowd in Reed Arena saw A&M's triumph over Baylor, the Aggies' 15th straight home victory.

Fans are seeing a solid product. The Aggies have won five of six and are one of the hottest teams in the Big 12.

Senior guard Donald Sloan is at the top of his game, averaging 23 points per game over his last four outings. Senior center Bryan Davis has stepped up in league play, and the Aggies have developed a bench. All of this is happening without senior starting guard Derrick Roland, a defensive whiz who suffered a season-ending broken leg before Christmas.

"You just don't replace what Derrick Roland did," Turgeon said.

But the Aggies, who play at Texas Tech on Saturday, are getting enough from everybody else to climb the Big 12 ranks and feel good about reaching the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year.

Three Super Bowl connections

* Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel got to know Saints quarterback Drew Brees last June when Brees was in Tulsa to accept the Henry Iba Citizen Athlete award. Capel was the keynote speaker for the event.

"I had a chance to visit with him behind the scenes a little bit, and you could feel his confidence, feel he was a leader," Capel said. "He's very passionate about anything he's involved with."

* Staying with Oklahoma, watching all the postgame hoopla, did anybody else think the contributions of Saints place-kicker Garrett Hartley, formerly of the Sooners, were underappreciated? Hartley had one of the best days in Super Bowl history by a kicker. Also coming up big: Saints linebacker Scott Shanle, formerly of Nebraska.

* Plenty of broadcast face time for former Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, the Saints' No. 3 quarterback. He and Hartley attended Southlake Carroll High in Texas.

BIG 12 RANKINGS

(Last week's rankings in parenthesis)

Teamcomment

1. Kansas (1) Slate gets tougher

2. Kansas State (2) Top-10 resident

3. Texas A&M (7) Loving home games

4. Texas (5) Nobody to lead

5. Missouri (4) Rebounding the key

6. Baylor (3) Chance for move

7. Oklahoma (9) Texas victory huge

8. Oklahoma State (6) Three straight losses

9. Texas Tech (8) Rugged at home

10. Iowa State (10) Brackins warming up

11. Colorado (11) Mizzou: worst loss

12. Nebraska (12) Encouraging at KU