To this day, Rudy Woods loves to drop a "thank you" from nowhere.
It doesn't necessarily derive from the former Texas A&M center being a southern gentleman. That was just a little something Woods and the rest of the Aggies from that 1979-80 season got used to leaving opponents with in defeat.
The Aggies relished the opportunity to turn opponents from doubters into believers all the way to becoming the first Texas A&M team — and the last until this year — to reach to the NCAA Sweet 16.
"Nobody gave us a chance, and I mean nobody," Woods recalled this week. "But we were like, 'All year long, we've gone through this. We can't beat so-and-so. It's a Cinderella team. You can't do this, you can't do that.'
"Thank you. Thank you."
Arguably, the Aggies have never fielded a team as talented since the 1979-80 squad that won both the Southwest Conference regular season and tournament to secure its bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The unit, which featured an NBA-like starting five, included 6-4 guard David Britton, 6-7 forward Vernon Smith, 6-6 forward Rynn Wright, 5-10 point Dave Goff and the 6-11 Woods.
And it was all orchestrated by the late Shelby Metcalf, the winningest coach in SWC history.
Could do it all
"What probably made that team so good is we had a lot of different weapons so we were able to play a lot of different styles," said Goff, a four-year starter in the backcourt. "It didn't matter whether it was slow down, speed up or defense. We weren't one dimensional."
The crew, which also included standout sixth man Claude Riley, created a lot of excitement and memories that season. There was Rockin' G. Rollie Coliseum and The Wall — the nickname given to the punishing interior of Woods, Smith, Wright and Riley.
But the best was saved for the postseason when the Aggies stunned North Carolina in a double-overtime thriller in Denton for the right to move on to the Sweet 16.
Then came the regional semifinal game against No. 2 Louisville. The Aggies (26-8) were in control late but allowed the Cardinals to come back and then seal it in overtime to end a magical run.
Louisville went on to win the national championship two games later.
"We were pretty hard to beat," said Goff of the 1979-80 team that held the single-season wins record until this year. "The only question I had is we had a team capable of winning it all and obviously we didn't. When you look back on it, it's great to have played in the NCAA and all that, but at same time I remember going through it and thinking we should have gone further.
"That's the tough part. Louisville went on to win it, but we certainly feel like we should have beaten them. So it's a little bittersweet in that regard."
What should have been
As far as Woods is concerned, it was the one opportunity the Aggies let slip past them that season.
"In my heart and my mind, I know if we had beat them we would have won it," he said. "We should have beat them."
Now, 26 years later, this edition of the Aggies has a chance to pick up where Woods & Co. left off. They won't have any bigger supporters in tonight's Sweet 16 game against Memphis than the living members of the 1979-80 team.
"They are going against our Louisville, which nobody is giving them a chance to beat," Woods said.
"That's what I've heard on all the sports channels: A&M is not supposed to beat them. But I doubt they are going to let it go like that."
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