New Longhorns Coach Shares Unique Connection With Texas A&M's Bucky McMillan

The Aggies and the Horns will have brand new faces leading their programs as the rivalry heads to year two of the new SEC era.

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

The Texas A&M Aggies Aggies and the Longhorns renewed their fierce rivalry during the 2024 season in Texas' debut season in the SEC.

In three meetings, the Horns got the last laugh, knocking out the Aggies in the SEC tournament to secure a spot in March Madness.

Texas Longhorns guard Chendall Weaver (2) defends against Texas A&M Aggies guard Wade Taylor IV (4) while he goes up for a layup during their second round game of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 13, 2025. | Nicole Hester / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Both programs will have a completely new look for the upcoming season, starting with new faces at the helm.

Texas A&M hired Bucky McMillan from Samford, while Texas brought in Sean Miller, formerly at Xavier.

Oddly enough, there’s a unique connection between the two new head coaches.

That connection is Colby Jones, a second-year shooting guard playing for the Washington WIzards.

“Bucky was Colby Jones’ high school coach in Birmingham, Alabama,” Miller said. “I was Colby Jones’ college coach at Xavier. Colby Jones, if you don’t know him, he got drafted in the early second round. He’s currently an NBA player, most recently with the Washington Wizards, an amazing kid and connected to somehow, the University of Texas and Texas A&M’s basketball coaches. I think if you bet on that about four years ago, there would be a lot of people that would take the bet that that wouldn’t be the case.”

McMillan’s coaching career has been an orthodox one. At age 25, he became a high school varsity basketball coach at Mountain Brook High School, his alma mater.

In 12 seasons under McMillan, Mountain Brook won five state titles in Alabama’s 6A division and racked up a 333-74 career record.

“So, that’s really my familiarity,” Miller added. “And also, I know that he had great success at Samford.”

His success brought him to the collegiate stage at Samford, where he won two regular-season conference championships and posted four straight 20-win seasons. 

Now, he faces his biggest challenge yet: assembling a roster worthy of competing in the always-dominant SEC conference. From there, he believes he can elevate Texas A&M to the next level.

“Our goal is to be one of the top-scoring teams in the country,” McMillan said at his introductory event. “And at some point, we will certainly lead the country in scoring.”