What is ‘Bucky Ball?’ Former players and coaches break down McMillan’s basketball strategy

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - As new Texas A&M men’s basketball coach Bucky McMillan exited the stage at a welcome ceremony in Reed Arena this Monday, a section of students serenaded the coach with chants of “Bucky Ball.”

In five years coaching at the Division I level, all at Samford, McMillan has crafted a unique style of play that has garnered national attention for, not only entertainment value, but success.

So, can Aggie fans that come to Reed Arena next fall expect from “Bucky Ball?” Former players and fellow coaches provided their insight into the evolution of McMillan’s Xs and Os.

“Bucky Ball is playing really fast- shooting a lot of threes- but the majority of it is the press,” former Samford guard Rylan Jones told KBTX. “We press on makes and misses, and a lot of trapping. We try to force teams to play games that they’re not used to.”

McMillan might have only five years as a college head coach, but he boasts more than two decades of head coaching experience at every level of basketball. It was in the lab that is Amateur Athletic Union and junior varsity basketball that “Bucky Ball” took shape, by trial and error.

The now 41-year-old began his coaching journey as a teenager, put at the helm of youth squads while he still was playing high school ball.

“I would imagine I’ve coached more basketball games than probably about anyone who’s coached college basketball,” McMillan said at his introductory press conference. “Like, my route was completely different. Most of the time, college basketball coaches; they play college basketball, they become a [graduate assistant], they work their way up for years to be an assistant coach, and then they work their way up to becoming a head coach. So, they’ll be in a game and may get a job in this league and they’ve never called a timeout before.”

When former Mountain Brook High School athletic director Terry Cooper hired McMillan, he said he was worried how the then mid-20s coach would handle parents who argued their child needed more playing time. The frenetic pace of McMillan’s system answered those questions before they could come up.

“We found out quickly that wasn’t a problem, because Bucky played everybody,” Cooper told KBTX. “Now, that’s kind of changed in college, but I’d still say he’d like to play at least 10 people. I’ve seen him play, over the last [five] years at Samford, several times. If there’s a dead ball, somebody’s coming in the ballgame. There’s going to be a change.”

Over his five seasons at Samford, McMillan had two seasons under 71 possessions per game, 68.2 in 2022-23 and 29.1 in 2021-22. Two seasons ago, when Samford made the NCAA Tournament, Bucky’s Bulldogs ranked eighth in the country in adjusted tempo, averaging 72.9 possessions per game. Last year, Samford came in at 24th with a 71.1 average.

The high-pressure defense created offense in the form of turnovers. In the last two seasons, McMillan’s squads ranked 15th and 16th, respectively, in defensive turnover percentage, at approximately 21% in both seasons.

Mitch Cole, McMillan’s associate head coach at Samford who will join him in Aggieland, said fans can expect a fun brand of basketball. Cole was previously an assistant for the Aggies under former head coach Billy Kennedy.

“On defense, we’re going to get after people and guard and defend full court,” explained Cole. “But also, we’re going to play extremely fast, try to get a lot of possessions, shoot a lot of threes, have the players playing an exciting brand of basketball that I think everyone will enjoy.”

During the welcome event, McMillan made a promise standing in a drastic contrast to A&M teams under former head coach Buzz Williams. The Aggies, under the new regime, would lead the country in scoring.

“We just play very, very fast,” McMillan revealed. “When I was at Samford, we were a top 10 scoring team in the country. That never happens for a mid-major program. Our goal is to be one of the top scoring teams in the country, and at some point, we will certainly lead the country in scoring.”

In six seasons under Williams, the Aggies’ highest ranking in offensive scoring was 99th in the 2023-24th season, averaging a high mark of 76 points per game. On the other hand, Samford had only one season outside the top 50 in the category under McMillan. The last two seasons saw the Bulldogs rank 13th and fifth, respectively, with a high mark of 86.1 points per game in the 2023-23 season.

Another way they will accomplish this is by playing “Moneyball,” or focusing on the highest-percentage shots – layups, 3-pointers and free throws. It’s a system familiar to basketball fans in Alabama as it has been a catalyst of success for the Crimson Tide’s under Nate Oats.

“He’s a perfect example of – a lot of people play checkers when other people are playing chess,” former Mountain Brook assistant Benny Eaves said. “Bucky is playing chess most of the time when other people are playing checkers. He’s very analytical. He’s very insightful and just breaking the game down and looking at the analytics. He was doing analytics when we didn’t even know what analytics were.”

In McMillan’s time at Samford, the Bulldogs ranked top-50 in 3-point field goal percentage in the last three seasons, including fourth in 2023-24 at 39.5%. They also ranked top 50 in 3-point attempt percentage in three of his five seasons. Last season, Samford ranked 14th in the nation in point distribution from 3-pointers at 40%.

In each of the last three seasons, the Bulldogs shot over 60% at the rim and over 72.1% at the free throw line.

“If analytically, it’s a free throws, layups, and threes game, you can perfect that,” McMillan said. “I’d be a decent golfer if you told me, ‘hey, you’ve just got to learn to hit the driver, the pitching wedge and the putter. Don’t worry about [the other clubs]. It makes it easy and we focus on that. We get pretty good at hitting that pitching wedge, putting and hitting that driver.”

There was no doubt in Eaves’ voice when he made a prediction how the McMillan era at Texas A&M will go, assuming he can get the personnel and backing from the university and the fans.

“I’ve always told everybody, ‘Don’t ever bet against Bucky McMillan,‘” he added. “‘He’s going to succeed. There’s just no question.’ I would imagine, if they buy into what it is he’s doing, Texas A&M will be successful very quickly. Probably quicker than people expect.”

KBTX sports director Tyler Shaw and sports reporter Morgan Weaver contributed to this report.

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