Reacting to Buzz Williams departure: Three thoughts on Texas A&M basketball change

Three thoughts on Texas A&M basketball's future after Buzz Williams officially departs for Maryland

We interrupt our regularly scheduled April Fools' Day programming with a sudden break-in of some actual Texas A&M-related news. The murmurs and rumors that have been flying around about Buzz Williams have now apparently come to fruition, as Williams is reportedly heading to Maryland on a six-year deal.

As I mentioned, for as much of a roller coaster as this has been, it's not exactly a major surprise. Buzz's name has been tossed around for quite some time now as a guy who may be on the way out in College Station, so fans have been considering this possibility for some time.

Where do the Aggies go from here? What does this mean for Texas A&M basketball? Let's break it down.

1. Texas A&M can do better

All the respect to Buzz in the world for what he built here. The emotional connection that this fanbase had with the group of graduating seniors is profound, and that's something that's been rarer and rarer to see in modern college basketball.

However, Buzz never even reached the Sweet 16 with the Aggies. All they have to show for his tenure is an NIT championship game appearance, a pair of SEC championship appearances, a round-of-64 exit, and two round-of-32 exits. That's simply not going to cut it.

I don't think the Aggies would have fired Buzz, but his postseason results weren't exactly dazzling. The Ags can do better.

2. The Aggies will be entirely revamped next year

However, if they are going to do better, they're going to have to do it with a different crew. The Aggies were already losing a massive number of seniors to graduation, and now they will most likely lose all of the rest of their returning talent.

Pharell Payne and Solomon Washington are great pieces to build around, but they will in all likelihood not be in College Station much longer. Buzz's relationships with his players are profound, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them follow him.

However, the other side of that coin is that whoever the Aggies hire has a chance to bring in some talent from his previous stop. The portal giveth and taketh away!

3. Trev Alberts has a massive opportunity

I think there are some A&M fans who are down on this result since they believe that the AD doesn't place a lot of importance on basketball. However, there's a huge opportunity here.

Basketball hasn't gotten a massive amount of support on campus compared to football (or even baseball), but with the right hire, that could shift. The Aggies need only pick the right man for the job.

This will be a telling cycle for the Aggie AD. If A&M settles, it will say a lot about what is coming up for Aggie basketball. If they go big, the excitement will be palpable. Here's hoping we see the latter.

Alright, time to get back to April Fools' stuff.