Nebo's Leadership Role Crucial for Aggies in SEC Play

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Veteran leadership will always be crucial to a team's success. For Texas A&M, look no further than Josh Nebo to become the leader of the Aggies on both sides of the court.

The senior forward was late to the party, but since has made up for lack of play. Over the past two games, Nebo has scored at least 13 points while finding ways to win in rebounds, blocks or even a few steals.

Tuesday night's victory over Ole Miss was crucial for the Aggies (7-6, 0-1 SEC) to grab heading into the start of Southeastern Conference play. Although the Rebels' loss of Breein Tyree in the second-half helped, Nebo's presence played a more prominent role.

"It's a product of all the stuff we've been doing in practice all week," Nebo said. "We've been really getting after it in practice and really working hard. We all knew it was going to eventually translate."

Nebo led the charge once again for A&M's offensive play. Finishing with a team-high 17 points, it was his first-half dunk that set the tone heading into the second quarter.

Off of a missed shot, the senior would rebound and drill back a slam dunk that shook Reed Arena. The Aggies were down by double-digits before the play, leading to a surge from their offense moving forward.

"...we had to remind ourselves of how hard we've been working this past week..."

Nebo talks about digging deep to finish off the second half comeback.@Joshnebo | #GigEm pic.twitter.com/Gn0OEpeDu3
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) January 8, 2020

But Tyree's sharpshooting skills continued to be a problem for A&M heading into halftime. The junior scored 21 points alone against the Aggies' 19. Heading into the locker room, Nebo said the same spirit throughout the season was still found in the faces of his teammates.

"Most of the team is kind of quiet and then coach kind of came in and told us to pick our heads up and not to sulk or be down that we just kind of had to find our rhythm and kind of start playing harder and fighting more," Nebo said.

Nebo's early success in the second would lead to a spark from the Aggies offense. Following a layup and pair of free throws, the team would go one a 15-2 run, surpassing the Rebels' powerful offensive attack.

Highlights from @SEC W1 📼#GigEm pic.twitter.com/43AJk5vBX0
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) January 8, 2020

With the help of Wendall Mitchell's nine points, including his game-leading jumper, A&M would rally to a 57-47 victory at home. Nebo's start and Mitchell's finish proved to be the difference-maker for A&M in a crucial win for A&M's future.

"It was really impressive I'm so happy for him just to kind of see him get his rhythm back," Nebo said of Mitchell's performance. "The past couple of games seeing him kind of find himself again has been huge and I'm happy to see it and hopefully he can keep it going."

The first win is always the hardest. After a 10-point loss on the road to Arkansas, A&M returned to the favor to Ole Miss and former coach Kermit Davis. With the team improving on a game-by-game basis, perhaps this victory could be the turning point moving forward.

Much like Nebo's dunk, all it takes is one moment to change the narrative long-term.

“As a team, we’re not worried about turning a corner,” Nebo said. “We’re just worried about the everyday process. We know everything else is going to fall into place. We just have to keep working hard every day. And it was big for us to get (Williams) his first SEC win here at home.”

For the season. Nebo currently is leading the team in points (11.8), rebounds (7.8) and blocks (2.8) per game. The Aggies will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to face Vanderbilt at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.