With the announcement of Texas A&M hiring former Samford head coach Bucky McMillan as their new coach everyone has been scouring the internet to find out about "Bucky Ball."
There's no shortage of podcasts, X posts, or former players to look to for an explanation of McMillan's system from their perspective. However, like most things, you can learn about someone by how their peers talk about them. Prior to facing off against McMillan and his Samford team during the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournment, Kansas head coach Bill Self had a lot of praise for the Texas A&M head coach.
"The thing that he has done in a short amount of time is remarkable" ... The style is fun style, there is pressure all the time. It's a style you don't have to play perfect, but you have to play athletic and quick."
For Texas A&M fans who aren’t familiar with Bucky McMillan…you’re getting one hell of a coach who’s going to bring an electric style of basketball to College Station.
— Scott Forester (@ScottForesterTV) April 5, 2025
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That's high flattery from a very successful Division I basketball coach who does not know him personally and never played him before. After a hard-fought round one win over Samford, Self had this to say after the game.
"That's my first experience with Buckyball and I would just as soon not play against it again for a while."
There is some concern that, coming from a Mid-Major that McMillan's style of play will not be successful in the SEC. However, as Aggie Wire's Cameron Ohnysty points out that most coaches making the jump are more successful than not. There is a lot to be excited about for Aggie fans, and Reed Arena will see a lot of entertaining basketball.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M basketball: Bill Self praised new Aggie coach Bucky McMillan
