Mark Turgeon has no reason not to expect better things to come after two years of directing the Texas A&M men's basketball program.

He just doesn't want his team or its fans to think it's going to happen because that's the way it's supposed to be.

For the fourth straight season, the Aggies won at least 22 games (24-10) and at least one NCAA Tournament game.

"I thought our body of work was really good. We were pretty consistent this year as far as playing well in most games," Turgeon said of his second team at Texas A&M. "I'm really proud of the fact that a lot of new guys stepped into new roles and did a great job with it, and yeah, to make the NCAA Tournament and win a game I think again is real positive for our program."

On Monday night, the team and a small percentage of its fans celebrated the accomplishments during the annual awards banquet at the Cox-McFerrin Center for Aggie Basketball.

Having lost two of the programs most decorated players -- Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk -- after the 2007-08 season, Turgeon knew a lot had to transpire if the Aggies were to build on where A&M basketball had come from since its trip to the 2005 NIT.

"There were guys like Chinemelu [Elonu] who really didn't play a lot [the season before] but had to become a starter. B.J. [Holmes] and Nate [Walkup] really hadn't played a lot and had to play a lot of minutes," Turgeon said last week. "The two freshmen [David Loubeau and Dash Harris], guys like that, I think they really blended in well and did a great job with their new roles and allowed us to be a good basketball team."

The Aggies finished 9-7 in the Big 12 (tied for fourth), including a regular-season ending victory over Missouri, which made the Elite 8.

"I think everybody, unfortunately, judges you on if you make the NCAA Tournament or if you advance; that's what college basketball has turned into today," Turgeon said. "I want to become a better league team. All my teams, if you look back through the years except when I first take over a program, are very good in league."

The potential for the Aggies taking that step appears to be there, with eight of the nine players that saw considerable minutes returning next season. Only Josh Carter, who finished his career having played in an A&M-record 98 wins, will not be back.

The 6-foot-7 Carter ended his career at A&M with a school-record 299 3-pointers (fourth most in the Big 12) and seventh all-time in scoring with 1,566 points. He is also the only Aggie to post at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds (509) and 200 assists (240).

The Aggies went into the season knowing Carter, junior point guard Donald Sloan and junior forward Bryan Davis would be the mainstays of the team but soon found out there was more than the "Big 3."

Elonu quickly gained opponents' respect and at one time had three straight double-doubles. The junior was the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Most Improved Player in the Big 12. He finished second in the league in blocked shots at 1.6 a game.

Elonu, though, showed there is more room to improve as he disappeared at times as the season wound down.

"I thought he really helped us early, I'm not sure down the stretch. I think we have a long ways to go with him," Turgeon said. "He made strides in the right direction, but down the stretch a lot of these wins were with him sitting next to me in foul trouble or not playing so much."

The fifth starter, Derrick Roland, proved his worth on the defensive end, giving the Aggies a player on the Big 12 all-defensive team for the third straight season and fourth in five years.

Turgeon also liked what he got off the bench from sophomores Holmes and Walkup. Holmes was second on the team in 3-pointers with 59 and led the way by hitting 42 percent from behind the arc. The 6-7 Walkup hit the game-winning 3-pointer in a 67-66 victory over Arizona and proved invaluable on defense when teams went to smaller lineups.

"I thought B.J Holmes and Nate Walkup both made tremendous improvement from last year to this year, and even as the year went on Nate Walkup became a better player," Turgeon said. "You go through each guy as a staff after the season [and say], 'Well I thought we were going to get a little bit more out of him and I thought we were going to get a little bit more out of him,' where B.J. Holmes we got a little bit more out of than we thought."

Some of A&M's highlights on the season were a last-minute victory over Arizona after trailing the entire game, a come-from-behind overtime win at Alabama, a victory over SEC champion LSU in Houston, Carter's buzzer-beating 3 to beat Nebraska and a six-game win streak to end the regular season.

It wasn't all good, though, as the Aggies played poorly in the semifinals of the South Padre Invitational, lost at home to Kansas State, blew a 21-point lead in the Big 12 tournament against Texas Tech and started slowly in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Connecticut.

A&M welcomed two freshmen that saw valuable minutes. Although each went through growing pains, the 6-9 Loubeau and 6-1 Harris had games and stretches that proved why Turgeon was so high on his first recruiting class at A&M.

"I thought for both being freshmen they had really good years, especially on an NCAA Tournament team that won lot of basketball games," Turgeon said. "If you asked them they probably expected a little more and I think we'll get a little bit more, hopefully a lot more out of them in the future. I think to be able to play as much as they did as freshmen is just going to lead to bigger and better things down the road."

With almost everyone back, it might appear as if next season should just be an extension of 2009. Turgeon begs to differ.

"This year is this year and next year is next year. I do think you'll see roles change. Some guys who were subs might become starters and guys that were starters might become subs," Turgeon said. "I expect the two freshmen's roles to change. I expect them to be much better players for us next year, year two is a lot easier than year one so their role will change if they work hard this summer."

A&M will also have a handful of new players next year to push the eight returnees who dominated the minutes played.

Khris Middleton is known for his shooting ability and is the perfect size for a wing at 6-7. Naji Hibbert is a shooting guard at 6-5 and Kourtney Roberson and Ray Turner are both power forwards that will help on the boards, which was a strength of the Aggies.

TEXAS A&M BASKETBALL AWARDS

David Edwards Assist Award -- Donald Sloan

Vernon Smith Rebound Award -- Chinemelu Elonu

Sonny Parker Most Improved Award -- B.J. Holmes and Chinemelu Elonu

Dr. John Thornton Academic Award -- Shawn Schepel

Dominique Kirk Best Defensive Award -- Derrick Roland

Dr. Shelby Metcalf Inspirational Award -- Bryson Graham

Acie Law IV Most Valuable Player Award -- Josh Carter