By Steve Giles

Online Exclusive

Experience cannot be taught.  It cannot be learned.  It comes with time.  It comes after days, months and years of doing the same thing day in and day out.  Ultimately, It comes with triumphs as well as suffering. In the college basketball world, these triumphs and sufferings are seen every game. Every game is a new learning experience. 

By the time players become seniors they have seen it all.  They have blown a 20-point lead and lost by one. They have played on the road with fans screaming obscenities at them while they take an off-balance jumper to win the game at the buzzer.

Nobody can teach that kind of stuff. It comes with time. It comes with experience.  

Some of the best teams in the country are led by seniors who possess such a quality. Whether it is a point guard directing traffic or the dominant inside presence of a post player, experienced players will guide their teams to victory.

One team that has found the winning formula is Texas A&M.

The Aggies, picked to finish second in the Big 12 behind Kansas, finished the regular season 25-6 overall and 13-3 in the conference. They lost by one point in the second round of the Big 12 tournament to Oklahoma State, but still managed to grab a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament.

But let's face it: Teams like Kansas and Texas are usually the most talked about coming out of the Big 12.  The consensus is that there is no room for non-basketball schools, such as A&M, to be a major contender when March rolls around. 

The Aggies took down both the Jayhawks and the Longhorns within a 48-hour span back in early February. A&M’s 69-66 win over Kansas was their first victory over the Jayhawks in school history, and it came at the vaunted Allen Fieldhouse.  Two nights later, A&M hosted the Kevin Durant-led Texas Longhorns and pummeled them, 100-82.

The Aggies’ run started with the brilliant play of their catalyst, senior guard Acie Law IV.  He is averaging 17.9 points per game, and most of his scoring come when it matters most--crunch time. 

Law wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. That was evident in the win over Kansas.  He took the inbounds pass and nailed a game-winning three-pointer over the outstretched arm of Brandon Rush. 

Law can’t do it all by himself, however, and is accompanied by a great supporting cast.  Senior center Antanas Kavaliauskas, junior forward Joseph Jones and senior forward Marlon Pompey have been big contributors. A&M’s seniors have gelled over the past four years, propelling them to the top of college basketball.

In Law’s freshman season in 2003, the Aggies were 7-21 overall and 0-16 in the Big 12. The next year, the Aggies improved to 16-15 overall and earned a birth in the NIT. 

Last year, A&M finished 22-9 overall (10-6 in the conference) and was invited to the NCAA tournament. As a No. 12 seed, the Aggies upset Gerry McNamara and Syracuse in the first round and then lost by one in the second round on a three-pointer in the waning moments to eventual Final Four finalist LSU. 

With that loss still fresh in their minds, they will be sure to bring their best game to the Big Dance. 

The Aggies are not the only team reaping the benefits of experience.  The Wisconsin Badgers also have senior leadership on their side. Three of the Badgers’ five starters are seniors, including their brilliant point guard, Alando Tucker who is now Wisconsin’s all-time leading scorer.  Tucker was named Big 10 Player of the Year and led his team to the conference championship game against Ohio State.  The Badgers lost to Greg Oden and the Buckeyes, but still managed to get a No. 2 seed in the Big Dance.

Despite losing to NC State in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament, Virginia Tech could still be a very dangerous team this March as long as they can avoid the trendy “5-12” upset when they play Illinois in the first round. The Hokies have three starting seniors in Zabian Dowdell, Jamon Gordon and Coleman Collins. They have led the team to big wins this season including a two-game sweep of North Carolina, a win over Duke at Cameron Indoor and blowout wins against Boston College and Virginia. 

Dowdell, who was named to the ACC All-Conference team and averaged 18 points a game, is the leader.  Collins gives them a great inside presence and Gordon provides takeaway ability on defense after recording an ACC-best 86 steals this season.  If junior Deron Washington can stay out of foul trouble, his knack for explosive plays could give the Hokies an added dimension.

Florida probably has the most experience of any team in the nation, but it doesn’t come from their seniors. It comes from the four juniors who all started on the 2006 national championship team.  Leading the way for the SEC tournament champion Gators is the chest-pounding Joakim Noah who gets it done on both ends of the court.  Fellow juniors Corey Brewer, Al Horford, Taurean Green and senior three-point specialist Lee Humphrey complete the Gators’ starting lineup.

The Gators, who earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, will look to do something that hasn’t been accomplished in 15 years -- repeat as national champions.
The NCAA tournament is here, as is the end of the road for seniors.  So, you can bet they will want the ball in their hands when it really matters.  Not all of their careers will end the way the want them to.  Some will triumph and so will fall short.  Either way it will be an experience they will be sure never to forget.

Posted March 16, 2007