By Chelsea Reber
Photo courtesy of Chris Shepperd
A leader is defined as someone who rules, guides, or inspires others. This definition fits Donald Sloan to a T, and he has been nothing less than a leader for the 2009-2010 Texas A&M men’s basketball team.
Sloan, a senior, agricultural leadership major from Dallas, has experienced much success as an Aggie and has done his best to leave his mark in College Station. It all started his freshman year during the 2006-2007 season when he appeared in all 34 games. He started all 36 games of his sophomore year and at the end of his junior year, the Aggies were 39-8 in his career when he had at least three assists and 33-13 when he scored in double figures.
So far, his senior season has been all that we expected: outstanding. Sloan is leading the team with an average of 18.5 points a game and is one of only three players to start every game this season. He brings both a rush of excitement and wave of calm when he steps onto the court. Everyone from his teammates and coaches to the thousands of Aggie basketball fans know the ball will be taken care of in Sloan’s hands.
Texas A&M has started conference play strong with key wins over Nebraska and Oklahoma and a tough overtime loss against Texas. Even though the season looks to be a great start on paper, the team had to overcome a major obstacle in December. Derrick Roland, a senior guard, broke two bones in his lower right leg in a game against the University of Washington, which would bring his college career to an early end. Roland, also known as “D-Ro,” had gone to high school with Sloan, and the two were not only teammates, but also great friends.
While the rest of the team headed back to Texas after the game, Sloan would remain with Roland during his surgery and recovery at a hospital in Seattle.
“When his aunt arrived, she did her best to lift everyone’s spirits and it was then that I realized if he was going to be ok, so was I,” Sloan said. “It inspired me to be tougher and see that he didn’t want me to be worrying about his leg or how he was going to be; he just wants me to go out and play.”
Roland’s injury would be a tough blow, not only mentally for the team, but physically as he was the heart and soul of their defense. However, his words of encouragement have inspired everyone around him to step up and play harder to achieve their goals for the season.
“He said everyone is going to have to take it to another level. He was a very important part of this team, and without him it is going to be hard. Now that we know he won’t be with us physically on the court, we all need to step it up,” Sloan said.
With everyone on their best game, the Big XII will still be a tough road for the Aggies. With several teams making appearances in the top 25 AP poll, no one is an easy opponent in the conference.
“No matter what a team’s record is, whether they are 1-4 or 4-1, they are going to play with the same intensity. Even the higher ranked teams never take a day off, they play just as hard as they would if they weren’t ranked,” Sloan said.
The Aggies are one of a handful of teams across the nation that have made it to the NCAA tournament for the past 4 years in a row, and the hunger will never cease for a return trip. It is always one of the most important goals the team sets at the beginning of the year.
A key factor in their success has been their “togetherness,” which Sloan said has been better than ever this season.
“I think we have done a great job from the beginning of the season,” he said. “I think this is one of the best teams we have had since I have been here in terms of togetherness.”
Not only is Sloan an exceptional leader on the court, but off the court as well. As a senior, he knows the underclassmen look up to him; therefore he is especially conscious of his actions out of the gym.
“Guys look to the leaders and see how they respond to certain situations. There is also how I handle things off the court, not getting in trouble, making sure I am always attending classes; they see me doing the right thing and they are going to do the right thing too,” Sloan said.
Sloan and the Aggies have the support of thousands of A&M basketball fans, who have already proved to give a true home court advantage this year. With the Reed Rowdies, D-Ro’s encouraging words from the sidelines and Sloan’s exceptional skills on the court, A&M basketball is looking at another very successful season.