With one short statement, the 2009-10 Texas A&M men's basketball team went from returning four starters to losing one-third of it's scoring and rebounding from last season.

It happened when Chinemelu "Junior" Elonu decided to remain in this month's NBA draft.

A&M was already being looked at as a team that could begin play in the Top 25. That was assuming juniors Donald Sloan, Bryan Davis and the 6-foot-10 Elonu would all take their names out of the 2009 NBA draft.

Elonu's surprising-to-some decision will have the so-called experts rethinking how good A&M can be when the Aggies open the season in mid-November.

Without his big man, A&M third-year coach Mark Turgeon says others will have to step up if the Aggies are to move up in the Big 12 and advance past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

"Going into [Monday], I thought we were going to have the best team we've had since I've been here. It's changed things," Turgeon said on a Big 12 summer conference call. "It's changed our depth a little inside. Now we have some holes to fill, but some young kids are going to get some opportunities to play, and we'll see how they react. If they react well, then we're going to be good again."

In Elonu, even though he struggled at times with double teams and foul trouble, Turgeon knew he was putting a shot blocker on the floor who could rebound with most and was difficult to handle one-on-one in the paint.

If not for Kansas' Cole Aldrich, Elonu could have easily been the most improved player in the Big 12 last season, averaging nine points and seven rebounds. He was second in the conference in blocked shots at 1.56 per game. He also would have paced the league in field goal percentage if he had qualified with enough shots. Elonu helped teammates by drawing plenty of double teams. Some of that may have been because Elonu was prone to turnovers, but his athleticism and strength often forced teams to use two players to contain him. And with his work ethic, Elonu's numbers likely would've improved this season.

So with Elonu and leading scorer Josh Carter gone, A&M is having to replace its best two players for the second time in three seasons. That can be difficult when trying to take another step forward in building a program.

Sophomore David Loubeau must now fill the void at center, and there is no doubt he can do it offensively. He may even come close to matching Elonu on the boards, especially on the offensive end.

Defensively, however, Loubeau must show improvement while also staying out of foul trouble -- or maybe just show improvement by staying out of foul trouble.

The Aggies have other options at center in freshmen Ray Turner (6-8) and Kourtney Roberson (6-9), both good-sized, impressive athletes, but both are players Turgeon would have rather used to spot Elonu rather than take his spot.

There also is 7-foot sophomore James Blasczyk, who has a nice touch for a big man, but like Turner and Roberson, he has never faced Big 12 competition.

"We still have expectations. We're still going to be good," Turgeon said. "We have good basketball players, and we have some senior leadership, so we are looking forward to it."

There is no guarantee the quiet Elonu will be drafted -- he's not listed on many of the mock drafts on the Internet, for what that is worth -- and he could very well end up in Europe or the NBA D-League.

But there is no denying Turgeon wishes the ESPN ticker, which initially had Elonu coming back to A&M on Monday, would have been accurate.