‘This village raised me’: Bucky McMillan returns to Mountain Brook for first SEC Media Days

Bucky McMillan said he used to walk right past the future Grand Bohemian Hotel location when he was a kid, carrying a basketball to school every day.

Now, as the first-year head coach at Texas A&M, McMillan got to take the podium inside that same hotel with a sense of belonging and homecoming that hit him as soon as he arrived.

“I saw a lot of familiar faces when I came here, people stopped by to say hey. You’ve heard the saying it takes a village to raise a child. This village raised me. I wouldn’t be here without the people of this village. We did a lot of great things together. We’re about to do a lot of great things at Texas A&M.”

Bucky McMillan

Bucky Ball has finally made it to the SEC and to those who saw him at Mountain Brook and Samford, it would not be a surprise to see the coach’s exciting brand of basketball quickly have success on the big stage.

Keep reading to see what else McMillan had to say about his Mountain Brook roots + what he expects from his Aggies in year one.

Bucky Ball

Bucky Ball was first introduced at the high school level when McMillan took over the Mountain Brook High School basketball program, returning to his alma mater.

In 12 seasons, McMillan won five state championships. He also became the first Alabama coach to be named the national Boys Basketball Coach of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association in 2019.

Shortly after that, he took his Bucky Ball standard to the college level.

The high-paced style of play proved to be just as successful at Samford, winning the Southern Conference Tournament championship for the first time in program history and earning the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than two decades.

“There’s no difference. I can tell you this, when I was at Samford, we were playing Kansas in the NCAA tournament, two minutes left to go in the game, I’m coaching a JV basketball game, two minutes left in the game, as a coach and competitor, you don’t note the difference. You are where you are, right?

“What I can say is we had a lot of college coaches come and recruit some of my players in high school. I got to see every angle. That experience is probably better than any experience I’ve had as a college coach. I had a McDonald’s All-American on my team. I got to see every school in the country recruit that player. What worked, what didn’t work. That helped me tremendously understanding the recruiting game…

“Once we kind of figured that out, I know how this recruiting works, the basketball stuff and the connecting piece, that’s something I’m very comfortable doing. I’ve done it my whole life.”

Bucky McMillan

Texas A&M basketball

Now, he’s made the jump to the next challenge.

“What made it the right time now? We have a great administration. I’ve worked for a tremendous person when I was at Mountain Brook High School, an athletic director named Terry Cooper who I actually played for there. So I knew him, believed in him. I honestly felt at that time I was the best person for that job. I knew Martin Newton at Samford. When I went to Samford, I felt like I was the right person for that job. I talked to Trev Alberts and his vision for what he wanted at Texas A&M, I felt I fit that job, and that job fit me.”

Bucky McMillan

McMillan has brought in a lot of new players to College Station for his first season. Two new transfers were in Mountain Brook on Wednesday and spoke about making the transition to Bucky Ball.

“He’s fast paced, plays hard defense and just gets out on the ball. When I heard about it [Bucky Ball], everybody was bought into it.”

Mackenzie Mgbako

Pop Isaacs was at Creighton last season, playing alongside former Mountain Brook player Ty Davis. And while Isaacs said he had never heard the term “Bucky Ball” before meeting the coach, he did say he spoke with Davis about it and he’s excited for the “relentless” style of play.

But McMillan’s impact goes beyond the court.

“We were at midnight yell last weekend and you could just tell he was super fired up and passionate, being out there with the fan base. I think him being like that with them, they’re going to give him the same level of respect and treatment back. I think they’re really going to love Bucky for what he does with the community, how much he cares and how much he wants us to care.”

Pop Isaacs

Want more stories from SEC Tipoff 2026?

• Nate Oats on his new-look roster + the benefits of playing a tough schedule
• Auburn’s Steven Pearl ready to take the lead on The Plains
• Kristy Curry takes on SEC Media Days to talk new roster additions, building homecourt advantage

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