Analyst Gives Optimistic Take On Texas A&M Hiring Bucky McMillan

The Aggies hired Samford's Bucky McMillan to cover the head coaching duties for the A&M men's basketball team.

Mar 20, 2024; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Samford Bulldogs head coach Bucky McMillan during the NCAA first round practice session at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Texas A&M Aggies basketball team didn't waste any time finding a replacement for Buzz Williams, who signed a six-year deal to become the next head coach of the Maryland Terrapins last Tuesday.

By that Friday night, Texas A&M AD Trev Alberts' search for a new head coach had ended, resulting in the signing of Samford head coach Bucky McMillan to a five-year deal.

McMillan accrued a 99-52 overall record over his five seasons at the helm at Samford, including a 29-6 record in 2024 that saw the Bulldogs win the Southern Conference regular season and conference championship and also make it to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell short to the Kansas Jayhawks.

Nov 6, 2023; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Samford Bulldogs head coach Bucky McMillan looks up at the video board during the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

His success with the Bulldogs also landed him three straight Southern Conference Coach of the Year Awards from 2022 to 2024.

Shortly after Texas A&M announced the hiring, ESPN analyst Jay Biles gave his thoughts on the hire, even comparing the Aggies' new leader to another SEC coach who has gone on to create a powerhouse team on the hardwood.

"I think Bucky McMillan is an outstanding basketball coach. It's going to be a challenge going into the SEC and doing extraordinarily well, but he's certainly got the resources at Texas A&M to do it," Biles said. "When you think about Nate Oats, where he was 10, 12 years ago. He was a head coach in Detroit at Romulus High School. Then he goes to Buffalo as an assistant to Bobby Hurley and then takes over the head coaching job, and now he's killing it at Alabama as one of the most respected coaches in the game."

This is a promising comparison and not one that should be taken lightly. Since taking over the Crimson Tide squad in 2019, Oats has led the team to two conference championships (2021 and 2023), to the Final Four in 2024, and the Elite Eight in 2025.

McMillan is also known for his "Bucky Ball" offense, a fast-paced and entertaining play style that helped Samford average 82.9 points per game in the 2024-25 season, and an equally supercharged defense that has ranked highly in opponent turnover percentage in 2024 and 2025.

Only time will tell how long it will take for McMillan and his critically acclaimed offense to take the Aggies to a higher level as he joins the most competitive conference in college sports.