Everything Important Bucky McMillan Said After Texas A&M’s Win Over Alabama State

These were a few of the interesting things Bucky McMillan had to say after the win over the Hornets.

Nov 25, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Bucky McMillan reacts during the first half against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What stood out after Texas A&M’s first basketball game of the 2026-27 season was that the offense and defense had their ups and downs but pulled together for a landslide win.

For head coach Bucky McMillan, it wasn't that the Aggies won by 30, but rather that the minimum that they should’ve scored was 97 points, which was, hopefully, the minimum the team was able to post in the 97-66 win over the Hornets.

“I think that 97 points is the minimum we could've scored in that game,” McMillan said. “We had 30 points off turnovers, turning them over 25 times.”

A couple of star players who struck him as having a solid night were guards Jordan Pope and PJ Haggerty, along with forward Jalen Shelley, who all contributed in unique ways that made this game look better than the stats on the sheet suggest.

"Jalen Shelley rebounding the ball was great,” McMillan stated. “Pope was great; Haggerty is always going to score. Overall, I don't think our guys played their A game when it came to skill.”

Skill

Oct 14, 2026; Birmingham, AL, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard PJ Haggerty speaks during the SEC Basketball Tipoff at Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

At times, McMillan appeared pleased with what his roster did, but some moments stood out as areas for improvement, like knocking down free throws.

“I think the strength of this team will be getting to the line,” McMillan voiced. “Going 29-for-48 in your home gym at the free throw line can't happen. I do think you'll see we're a more physical team. We've got to get a lot better."

A few of the departments McMillan mentioned that could fall under the positive category included how Pope, the Texas transfer, was the subject when it came to his rhythm, which really caught McMillan's eye.

“I like Pope's rhythm,” McMillan said. “I love his game. Every time it leaves his hand, I think it's going in. His IQ is really high. He has so many intangibles. He can see rotations; his IQ knows where the ball should go next. He's easy to coach.”

On decision-making, McMillan said there were wasted shots on possessions after discussing his takeaways from the SMU exhibition game.

“We just wasted some possessions on shots and flow,” McMillan commented. “I didn’t think the first group that was out there played very well together. It took the second group getting in there to really get moving. We got to call it what it is. Get to the free throw line, you get to the rim, you got to capitalize on this. I think that’s something we really have to hone in on why we couldn’t make free throws at the rate of number that we know we are capable of.”

Despite some funkiness in the first non-conference outing, when A&M was 60.4 percent at the charity stripe and shot 20 percent from three, McMillan saw positives.  

“We've got to get a lot better, but I still thought there were some positives in the game,” McMillan said.

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