COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Bucky McMillan era tipped off Monday at Texas A&M with a lofty promise from the coach who raised Samford basketball to new heights.
“For me to leave that place, it would only be for some place that I know I could not just win championships, but was a great place with great people,” McMillan said at his introductory news conference in A&M’s Reed Arena. “That’s why I’m here — we’re going to win championships here.”
Texas A&M’s men’s basketball team has never advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. The A&M women won a national title in 2011 under coach Gary Blair.
The Aggies hired the high-revving McMillan, 41, to replace Buzz Williams, who left A&M for Maryland on April 1. Williams finished with a 120-73 record at A&M over six seasons and advanced to the NCAA tournament in each of the past three seasons.
A&M hasn’t advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2018 under coach Billy Kennedy — which is why Williams’ tenure was considered disappointing to A&M fans.
McMillan, a native Alabaman who has never coached in Texas and had visited College Station only once prior, has hired two former assistants at A&M under Kennedy: Mitch Cole, who also assisted McMillan at Samford, and former Stephen F. Austin State head coach Kyle Keller, whom the Lumberjacks dismissed in January after a 1-7 start to Southland Conference play.
McMillan led Samford to the NCAA tournament a year ago, and the Bulldogs narrowly lost 93-89 to Kansas in the opening round. McMillan, who was 99-52 over five seasons at Samford in Birmingham, Alabama, previously coached Mountain Brook High School near Birmingham to five state titles in Alabama’s highest high school classification.
“I’ve talked to a lot of folks about basketball,” said A&M athletic director Trev Alberts, who made his most high-profile hire since his arrival in College Station a little more than a year ago. “And the thing about Bucky McMillan that kept coming up was, ‘This is one of the elite, emerging young minds in college basketball.’ … He thinks differently — he coaches outside the box. And players enjoy his style of basketball.”
That style, first dubbed “Bucky Ball” during McMillan’s high school coaching days, is frenzied on offense and defense. McMillan has agreed to a five-year deal at A&M, sources told ESPN, but exact contract numbers were not available Monday.
“When we bring recruits to games, and this place is filled up … and we’re leading the nation in scoring and it’s going crazy, people are going to say, ‘I want to be a part of that,'” McMillan told about 500 fans gathered in Reed Arena for his introduction.
The Bulldogs ranked 13th nationally in scoring this season with 82.9 points per game, and finished in the top 10 in 3-pointers made and attempted (356 of 978 for 36.4%). The Samford defense’s 16.1 turnovers forced per game ranked fourth nationally.
“Any coach who wins 330-plus games as a high school coach with multiple state championships is worth paying attention to,” Texas A&M president Mark Welsh said. “Any coach who’s had the record he’s had over the last five years at Samford University, which plays in a tough basketball conference, is worth paying attention to.
“And anyone who raises attendance the way he has in every venue that he’s been a part of is worth paying attention to.”
A season ago, Samford won a school-record 29 games and swept the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs in 2024 also won a school-record 17 consecutive games and were 18-0 at home. This season, Samford finished 22-11 and lost in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at George Mason.
Williams coached a veteran team in his last season at A&M (23-11), and based on expired eligibility and the transfer portal, McMillan inherits a lone scholarship player in freshman forward Chris McDermott, who played sparingly in his first season.
“We’re going to have to get to work immediately,” McMillan said of cranking up his recruiting at A&M. “We do play a unique style, very up-tempo and fast-paced. We love to recruit to that system, but we can’t run that system with four players. So we’re going to have to get players on board, and we have to get players on board quickly here.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
