Nate Walkup has taken to his big role in the Texas A&M basketball team's starting lineup.
At 6-foot-7, 210 pounds, Walkup is usually having to battle with players either taller or bigger than him, and in many cases both. That's especially true when the No. 19 Aggies (5-1) are going up against Top 25 teams, as was the case over Thanksgiving weekend at the 76 Classic.
"It's just 'do your job,'" said Walkup, whose team faces Prairie View A&M at 8:05 p.m. Wednesday at Reed Arena. "Of course they were all bigger than me, but at the same time they had to guard me on the other end. It's a big team effort and my job is to keep the big guys away from the basket as much as I can."
Walkup did his job for the most part when then-unranked A&M went 2-1 and finished third in the eight-team tournament in Anaheim, Calif.
Walkup, a junior forward from Houston, established a new high in rebounds with six and came a point away from equaling his best scoring outing with 11 in the finale, a 66-65 victory against then-No. 22 Minnesota, which had the biggest lineup of the eight teams at the tourney.
A&M coach Mark Turgeon has other starting options in the bigger David Loubeau and freshman Khris Middleton. With Walkup starting, though, Turgeon has found a rotation he's comfortable with for the moment.
"The main reason I'm doing it is we don't have a lot of bigs and I don't want to start David and Bryan [Davis] together [in case] both of them pick up one foul early or two fouls, so it kind of gets me through the first half," Turgeon said. "Nate responded well, played well, hit big shots, [got] big rebounds for us, got us going in the Minnesota game with the tip-ins and hit a 3 against the zone."
Walkup recognizes the challenge of guarding the opponent's second-biggest player, having to keep him off the boards and from posting him up. He also knows it can work to his advantage, similar to what teams such as Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Missouri have done in the past.
"It feels really good to know we are using size to our advantage on the other end," Walkup said. "[Our opponents] went big and had to go zone and we made them pay for it."
Walkup has made 6 of 14 3-point attempts this season, two of which came against the Gophers. Free-throw shooting is another issue. He is only 4 of 8 and missed an opportunity to close out the Gophers late when he missed two.
Walkup wasn't alone in having troubles at the line. The Aggies were only 53 of 86 (62 percent) for the tournament and missed all six free throws they attempted in the final minute against Minnesota.
"You can't have excuses on free throws," Walkup said. "You can say the ball, you can say the gym, whatever, but the other team was making free throws and we weren't."
Walkup has doubled his career starts already this season with four. He only averaged 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore, but did have two of the more important 3s of the season. The first won the game at home against Arizona, and the second was against Alabama with 14 seconds remaining in regulation, which helped A&M force overtime and eventually pick up a big win on the road.
He's enjoying his new role, averaging 20 minutes a game.
"[Starter is] a pretty good title to have, but at the same time it's a lot of responsibility," Walkup said. "Obviously, coach trusts me and the guys trust me. Everybody is confident and its a good feeling and I just have to keep playing well."
*
NOTES -- Turgeon was pleased his team made it into the Associated Press Top 25 poll, if for no other reason than they earned it. "There was no one talking about Texas A&M and I thought we were pretty good," Turgeon said. "So the guys had a chance to earn it or fall on their face, and they went out and played three pretty good games so I think they earned it." ... Prairie View A&M is 3-2, with losses to Oklahoma State and at Cincinnati. Prairie View led by eight at halftime against Cincinnati. ... A&M keeps getting optimistic information about the eligibility of freshman Ray Turner, but Turgeon admitted it's getting late in the season for him to make a big contribution. If he would return soon, however, he would get plenty of practice time before Big 12 play begins.
A&M MEN'S BASKETBALL
* Wednesday's game: Prairie View A&M (3-2) at No. 19 Texas A&M (5-1), 8:05 p.m.
* TV/radio: None/WTAW, 1620 AM
TEXAS A&M 5-1
NO.PLAYERPOS.HT.WT.CL.PPGRPG
5Dash HarrisG6-1175So5.5*3.2
15Donald SloanG6-3205Sr16.04.5
3Derrick RolandG6-4190Sr13.02.8
45Nathan WalkupF6-7210Jr6.03.3
0Bryan DavisF6-9250Sr8.7 7.0
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M (3-2)
NO.PLAYERPOS.HT.WT.CL.PPGRPG
10Michael GriffinG5-8150So10.8*3.2
11Christopher JonesG6-0190Sr7.7*8.3
41Tim MeadowsF6-2185So3.23.8
33Darnell HugeeF6-7205Sr15.27.4
44Dorian McDanielC6-6210Sr8.44.4
*assists per game
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