Chinemelu Elonu News

With the season set to start in two days, I thought it was necessary to fill the eight month void left since the last Texas A&M Basketball article.

The conversation with All-America point guard Acie Law came three years ago, but it remains vivid to Sloan, who then was a brash freshman.

Players come and go every season. What will separate Big 12 men's basketball in 2009-10 are those who came and didn't go.

" The four players who signed with Texas A&M on Wednesday hand the Aggies and Head Coach Mark Turgeon one the of the nation's best recruiting classes, according to ESPN analyst Bob Gibbons.

Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon strolled into Reed Arena's interview room Thursday, a bounce in his step, looking ready to roll for a third season.

In her final seven seasons at Duke, coach Gail Goestenkors won 30 games every year, advanced to three Final Fours and won six ACC titles.

Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes mused this week about team chemistry. It could be one of the intangibles that will determine how far the Longhorns, widely considered a preseason top-five team nationally, go in the 2009-2010 season.

The last, nay only, hope for a 2009 Lakers draftee to land on the Lakers roster has officially crossed the Atlantic.

The biggest surprise among Big 12 underclassmen who made themselves available for the NBA Draft was Texas A&M center Chinemelu Elonu .

Clemson will face Texas A&M in the first round of the tournament. The two teams are scheduled to square off on ESPN2 at 4:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Adam Morrsion, who leads the Lakers in scoring, did not play and the Los Angeles Lakers summer league team lost 77-92 to the Houston Rockets Thursday in Las Vegas.

The Los Angeles Lakers had two goals in the NBA Summer League: One was to get Adam Morrison comfortable with the triangle offense, and the second was to see if rookie Chinemelu Elonu could play.

Former Aggie center Chinemelu Elonu drives to the basket against Tarleton State.

While all of those around them were wheeling and dealing, the Clippers stood firm and took Oklahoma power forward Blake Griffin with the first overall pick in the NBA draft Thursday.

Texas A&M junior forward/center Chinemelu Elonu became the fourth Aggie in the past five years to be drafted in the NBA Draft when he was picked with the 59th overall selection by the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers Thursday evening.

Hoping to better position themselves financially to re-sign unrestricted free agents Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom, the Lakers did whatever they could during Thursday's NBA draft to avoid taking on unneeded salary and deadweight.

On their plans for Elonu: "Our next step is summer league. Guys that are drafted in the 50s, they're not going to sign long term guaranteed contracts.

NBA Draft 2009 Happy Draft Day. I think the NBA has something really good in store for all of us.

While former Aggie graduate Chinemelu Elonu decided to begin his professional career yesterday by declaring for the NBA draft, he was not the only Aggie with a tough decision to make.

It's hard to argue the Big 12 Conference came out ahead after the annual dance underclassmen make with the NBA draft.