Familiar name among Aggies

When the New Mexico State Aggies tangled with superstar Kevin Durant and the Texas Longhorns Friday night, a former Pullman High standout of four years ago was in the spotlight.

Fred Peete, who played his senior year at Pullman after relocating there from Memphis, Tenn., made a return to the area with the opening-round game.

“A couple of people came up from Pullman to watch the game,” Peete said in the NMSU locker room. “It felt good to be back, playing here one more time.”

Peete is one of six transfer players suiting up for the revived Aggies program this season.

The 6-foot-4 junior guard was a redshirt last season after coming over from Kansas State after his sophomore year. He spent his freshman season at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a junior college, after leaving Pullman.

“Basically, I came at the right time,” he said of NMSU’s resurgence under coach Reggie Theus. “When I came over, the program was in the dumps. With the addition of me and a couple of transfers, we can bring this program to the top.”

As proof, the Aggies hung tough with Durant and the Longhorns before eventually succumbing 79-67. Peete had five points and three assists in 18 minutes of play, but it was his defensive effort which was noticeable.

He was one of a series of Aggies assigned to guard Durant early in the second half, during a stretch when they slowed him down. Late in the game Theus put him on Texas freshman guard D.J. Augustin when he got hot and he had similar results.

When asked if he was a defensive specialist for his coach, Peete responded in the confident manner befitting a former top national prep recruit.

“I’m basically everything – defensive stop, playmaker. I do it all on the floor,” he said.

As far as guarding Durant?

“It was just basically guarding a regular player, just keeping up on him so he couldn’t get his shot,” said Peete.

The Aggies did that job well as a team, according to Durant.

“They’re a very tough team,” said Durant. “They were getting physical with me, but I just ran through my cuts and the refs were making great calls.”

Durant rallied to finish with 27 points, but had to get 15 at the free-throw line.

Despite the loss, Peete feels his senior season at NMSU could be the best, as he’s finally found a basketball home.

“No one thought they would be in the NCAAs, so it’s a lot of positives for next year,” said Peete.