Mar 21, 2024; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Samford Bulldogs head coach Bucky McMillan during the first half in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament against the Samford Bulldogs at Vivint Smart Home Arena-Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Texas A&M's Bucky McMillan Admits He's Studied Rival SEC Coach

Originally posted on Texas A&M Aggies on SI
By Aaron Raley | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 5:31 PM ET

The "Bucky Ball" era is set to begin in College Station.

After former Aggie head coach Buzz Williams announced he would be filling the head coaching void that plagued the Maryland Terrapins' men's basketball team, the Maroon and White called on Samford Bulldogs coach Bucky McMillan to lead the way for the Aggie hoops team.

While there is little doubt that the coach's overall style of play will be dazzling to the Reed Arena crowd and beyond, some may be wondering how McMillan came up with his game plan on the hardwood, or even who he learned it from.

During his recent interview with Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, McMillan didn't shy away from sharing his influences, starting with a personal one.

"I played for a great college coach in Duane Reboul, who was the coach of Birmingham Southern, who was in the Big South at the time," McMillan told Rothstein. "He went to an NAIA national championship before that, and he was kind of the same way, early three-point shooting before it was popular, spacing the floor. I studied him a lot."

McMillan even went as far as to list influences that he will likely be standing across the court from in his first year in the SEC, including one who has garnered a remarkable reputation in his short time with a basketball powerhouse in the conference.

"There's some college coaches that are friends within the business. One of them had a similar route to me, it's Nate (Oats) at Alabama, I'll go ahead and say it," McMillan said. "I've watched him analytically. We were kind of into the analytics before the analytics were the analytics."

To be fair, it would be hard to put Bucky at fault for studying a coach such as the Crimson Tide's Oats, who has led the team to the NCAA Sweet 16 in nearly every year that he has led the way.

It will certainly be interesting in McMillan's first season to see how exactly "Bucky Ball" translates over to the SEC, the conference dubbed the most competitive by many athletes and analysts alike.

Or if it's just a fancy alliteration for a machine that is bound to self-destruct at the hands of teams such Oats' Alabama Crimson Tide.

This article first appeared on Texas A&M Aggies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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