Bucky McMillan Introduced as Head Basketball Coach
Apr 07, 2025 | Men's Basketball
Bucky McMillan was introduced as the 23rd head men's basketball coach in school history at a welcome event Monday afternoon inside Reed Arena.
Video of the event as well as a transcript are available below.
Next go 1-on-1 with Bucky in his first exclusive interview.
Further down the page, check out Bucky's first press conference as head coach of the Aggies.
ANDREW MONACO: Howdy, Ags. Thank you for being here. Whoop! Absolutely. New era, we tip it off today in just a little while.
This place has become special, has it not? This is where the number one team goes down on a Tuesday night. This is where the number two team went down on a Saturday morning and a Saturday afternoon. And number four and number six and number nine. And a lot of reasons, that is because the number 12, the 12th Man, and how you've embraced this program and transformed this place into one of the toughest places in the SEC, and it's been special.
And the history of this program is special as well, and as I said, we tip off something very, very special today. And I'm not even sure we know how special it's going to be in the years to come and the games that are going to be here and the atmosphere that this place is going to be.
Fearless, hard-working, unselfish. You're going to hear those three words an awful lot. You're probably going to see them around this program a lot. And if you ask me, doesn't that play right into the core values of Texas A&M University?
Introducing the new head coach of your Fightin' Texas Aggies, Bucky McMillan!
It is now my honor to introduce and bring to this podium President Mark Welsh.
GENERAL MARK WELSH: Howdy.
Welcome home, Coach. Good have you here. Liz, thank you for being here. Coach has got his mom and dad here today, as well. Would you both stand up for just a second and wave at the crowd?
It's really wonderful to have you here. Any time a kid can make his parents proud, it's a good day.
Thank you all for being here today to celebrate Aggie Basketball and to welcome our new coach to the campus.
I think Coach McMillan knows that Aggieland is a great place. He's been hearing that from a lot of great people. There's a lot of great people here today. We've got regents here today. We've got great, great supporters of A&M Athletics here today. We've got students here today. Coach, we've got a little bit of everything, and they're all here because they're excited about what you're going to bring to Reed Arena.
I want to start by thanking a couple of people. This last basketball season was an exciting one for Texas A&M in a lot of ways. It didn't end the way anybody wanted, but I want to thank Coach Buzz Williams for the work he did while he was here.
He poured his heart and soul into that job. And I also want to thank, especially, the players on that team who never quit playing. I think all of us were impressed by their hard work, their work ethic, their never-say-die attitude, their brotherhood. They just represented Texas A&M exceptionally well, and I, for one, was incredibly proud to have them doing that.
I also want to thank Aggie fans for sticking with them the whole year and cheering them on and being there for them and encouraging you to let's get excited for next year, because we're going to see some exciting things in Reed Arena next year.
I've learned an awful lot about Coach McMillan over the last couple of weeks. I've been talking to people who have watched him coach. I've been talking to people who have watched his teams play at Samford. Any coach who wins 330-plus games as a high school coach and multiple state championships is worth paying attention to. Anybody who has the record he's had over the last five years at Samford University, which plays in a tough basketball conference, is worth paying attention to. And anyone who raises attendance the way he has at every venue that he's been part of is worth paying attention to.
He very clearly -- I just met him backstage and had a chance to talk to him for a couple of minutes, and I'm telling you, there's an energy there. There's a confidence there. And there's a very quiet confidence there that you're all going to like, because I loved it.
And I am really looking forward to what he brings to Aggie Athletics and Aggie Basketball, in particular. He's going strong right now trying to find us a team.
[Laughter]
I've been working out; I told him I'm about ready. Went through some physical testing last week at home, and I almost got twine once. But I think it's going to be phenomenal to watch this team together come, watch it get ready to go, and then to cheer it on next year here in Reed Arena.
I also want to thank Trev Alberts for conducting this search. There are a lot of people with opinions on who ought to coach sports here at A&M. And Bucky, you're going to find out that the best thing about A&M is that everybody is passionate about it. And some days, the worst thing about A&M is that everybody is passionate about it. And they're especially passionate about two things here. One is the Corps of Cadets, and the other one is Aggie Athletics.
Nobody knows what Trev did except Trev. Nobody else knows all the coaches he reached out to, who reached out to him, the negotiations he had, the discussions he's gone through with the search firms, with agents. He did a phenomenal job in this search. And we are really excited about the result of the whole thing.
Let me just finish with two things. Number one, Bucky, your job is to beat the hell out of everybody. It's a simple job description, and you'll have more love surrounding you and Liz than you know what to do with if you can do that.
And, Trev, we are proud to have you as our leader of Aggie Athletics, buddy. Would you come to the microphone and tell us a little bit more?
TREV ALBERTS: Howdy. Sorry, that was a little loud. I'm getting old, so I've got to get my glasses out here. Sorry.
Well, thank you all for being here, and what a great crowd. Give yourself a round of applause. This is a great turnout. Thank you. Such a beautiful afternoon, and you could be doing anything, and you're here in Reed Arena to welcome our new coach, so I want to say thank you.
Just a couple thank yous that I want to do before I just say a few words. I know you're not here to see me and hear me, you want to hear Coach, but I want to thank General Welsh.
It's really an honor to get to have a President at a university that cares as deeply as he does about student athletes and our coaches. General Welsh has a lot to manage here at Texas A&M, but he always takes the time to reach out to our coaches to involve all of our student athletes and be here like today. So join me in thanking President Welsh for what he does for our athletic department.
We have some regents here. We have donors here. I'm not going to go through every single name, but I just want to thank all of you for what you do. As General Welsh said, this is a special place, but it can't be special without the support of people like you. So once again, we want to thank our regents. We want to thank our donors.
I want to thank several of our head coaches who are here. I know Jamie [Morrison] is here. Mike Earley in baseball is here. Some of our head coaches are here.
It's one of the things that I told Bucky on the plane on the way here. I said, you're going to love the coaches that we have at Texas A&M. We have a group of amazing people leading this Athletic Department. And so, I just want to thank you for your teamwork, for your collaboration, and all of our coaches who could be here with us today.
I want to join General Welsh, and I want to thank Buzz Williams and his wife Corey. I want to thank the entire family for everything that they did for Texas A&M Athletics. As general Welsh said, he worked extraordinarily hard. I watched him work. He cared deeply and cared about our players. We talked a little bit with Bucky, and I know we have one of our former players here. Henry's [Coleman III] here. Thank you for being here. Thank you.
We had great character on our team, and that's really important to Texas A&M. So I want to thank you for representing the players here, and you'll always be an Aggie.
I also want to thank our staff. Most of you have no idea how hard it is to transition, any sport. And I'm not going to list all of the names, but all of you that are here, I just personally want to thank you for your hard work. Our staff immediately went to work. And as you can imagine, one staff is leaving; one is coming in. There's a lot to that. And I'm just so honored and privileged to get to work with such an amazing group of people at Texas A&M Athletics. We have so many wonderful Aggies who care deeply about this place. And Bucky, you're going to see very quickly just how invested they are in this place.
Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank Bucky. I want to thank you for your belief in Texas A&M. I want to thank you for sharing the vision that we have and the administration that the opportunities at Texas A&M and our men's basketball program are legitimately limitless. There's no ceiling here, other than championships. And so I just want to thank you for your belief in Texas A&M and our administration.
Just a couple of thoughts. I'm just thinking over the last couple of days, any time you have a transition at any point in your life, whether it's personally or even a coaching search, you have a chance to kind of pause and reflect and think about where the program has been, where we are today, and then, perhaps, where we're going down the road.
The interesting thing is today's a very interesting day. For those of you who follow college Athletics, Judge [Claudia] Wilken, April 7th, the House settlement proposed case is underway. We don't have any final conclusions, but the reality, as you all know, is college athletics is changing significantly.
And so I thought about this word "modernization' that just kept coming to mind. I thought this is a great opportunity to look at every aspect of our program, and how do we modernize it? How do we modernize our approach to the game? How do we modernize our roster development? Obviously, we have one player right now, so that will take a little modernization, right?
How do we modernize and think differently in this red-shirt era? How do we create championship-level basketball? There are far more challenges today than we've ever had before. How do we modernize our community involvement? How do we modernize our interaction with the 12th Man? How do we modernize our interaction with our students on campus and even our administration?
And so, we talked to a lot of folks. Talked to a lot of folks about basketball. And the thing about Bucky McMillan that kept coming up was this is one of the elite, emerging, young minds in college basketball. This guy is an innovator. He thinks differently. He coaches outside the box.
The players enjoy playing his style of basketball, Bucky Ball, as I'm learning. And I've also learned that fans -- give me some whoops, there we go -- our fans are going to really enjoy this style of play, too.
But the most important thing about Bucky that stood out to me -- obviously, basketball is important, but what was important to me is I kept hearing things about, he's genuine, he's authentic, he's real, he is who he purports to be. I thought, geez, could there be a better fit for Texas A&M Athletics and our Aggie Basketball program than a forward-thinker, a guy that can modernize our program, and do it in a way that really embraces all of the traditions and values that are really, really important to all of us?
And so, I would like you to please join me in welcoming the 23rd Head Coach of our Texas A&M Men's Basketball program, Bucky McMillan.
[Applause]
How about that, huh? Hey, we have two players now.
BUCKY McMILLAN: Howdy. Howdy! Oh, we're going to get it going in here. I love it.
First, I want to thank Trev Alberts for our conversations and your trust in me and General Welsh.
I know when I was looking, I was coaching at a fantastic place in Samford University, and it was in a place I've been a long time. And I've always told someone that for me to leave that place, I'd have to go somewhere that was truly special and I felt could compete at a very high level and win championships. And we all know you can only be as good in athletics as your administration is. And we have a fantastic administration here, and that's why this university is at the forefront of athletics, academics, and it's a great place to coach. And I just want to tell y'all how much I appreciate your trust in me to lead this program, and we're going to have a lot of fun doing it. Thank you very much.
Trev had mentioned the previous players that had built this program, and it's been a program with fantastic culture. The way it works these days with the transfer portal and the coaching changes, not many are here today but for those watching and for the few that could attend, I appreciate you. And I want you to know that even through a coaching change, this will still always be a program you can relate to, identify with, and coaches that are going to support you. And when we have events and we bring back past teams, we're going to honor you. And I'm going to be the coach here in the driver's seat, and I'll never forget who built this program. So you will always have a home here in our program.
[Applause]
As you can tell, I've lost my voice here a little bit over the past three days. I literally haven't slept. It's been crazy. I'm so excited to be here. But I have some others that are very excited to be here as well.
When I came out here from Samford, there was an opportunity there, and it's a great place. And one of my coaches, Mitch Cole, who was here years ago. Coach, raise your hand. Coach, stand up, Coach. Come on. Right here. And Kyle Keller who's going to be downing our staff. Stand up, Coach.
These two coaches were part of Coach [Billy] Kennedy's great teams, and the last Sweet16 team here they were a part of. And when I said we've got a chance to go back and go to Texas A&M, and they had opportunities elsewhere, they said "I'm in." And that doesn't happen very often when you have an opportunity to be a head coach. They said, I want to be here. I want to be there at Texas A&M.
So, they have spoke nothing but incredible things about College Station, the 12th Man, and this great university. I really appreciate y'all being here, and we're going to build something so special here. And I couldn't do it without y'all saying you were in. It's going to make this process even shorter, and I appreciate y'all.
I want to thank my family. They got mentioned earlier. My mother, my father right here, and the woman in my life, Ms. Liz. They don't miss a game. They don't miss games. My mother and my father, we've never lost a game. It was always the refs blew the game.
[Laughter]
That's how it is. So they'll fit right in. But I can assure you, it's never been the coach's fault, I know that. And it's pretty different, because Ms. Liz, she always sends me a text before the game saying, don't be too mean to the refs. So, opposite ends of the spectrum here, but I wouldn't be here today without y'all, the life lessons you taught me that I give to my players today. I love y'all, and I'm so glad y'all could be here.
When we came out on the plane last year, we were playing in the NCAA tournament. And it was a game that the refs cost us, right? And we went out there, my dad and my mom just said, I'm so happy I was alive to see this. And I'm just happy y'all are here today, and I love y'all. Thank y'all.
There's so many people that have made me who I am, that without them, I could never be here. And I grew up in Alabama, and Alabama is not much different than here. You talk about genuine people. That's what I've heard about this place is the people are real. And you're always going to get real from me, okay?
Like, I got into this as an AAU basketball coach at 17 years old. Then I was a JV basketball coach. And then I became a varsity basketball coach. And then I had an opportunity to become a college basketball coach in the Southern Conference. And now I'm a college basketball coach in the SEC.
And I came up, I did it all. I ran the popcorn machine as the varsity basketball coach. I was the bus driver. I was the ride home. I was the study hall, the academic advisor. I did everything. And I got into basketball, not because we were making the big bucks. I got into it because I loved the kids. I loved the kids. I loved the relationships. And I loved the game. I mean, back then, we were making 25-cents an hour. And we got into it for the right reasons.
And there's so many people at home who have made me who I am, and for those watching, thank y'all, because those lessons that I learned in Alabama, that I was able to pour into our athletes, that they were able to pour into others, it started with those people.
I see my godfather right here, Frank. Thank you for being here, man. Thank you for being here. You saw it all. You saw it since I was this big.
But it's a tremendous day for me, because now God's given me an opportunity to influence so many more. And that's the great part about athletics, is that when you're involved in athletics, all your life lessons you get to pour into today's youth. And they get to transform, and they get to pass those to others. And I can't wait to do it out here in Aggieland. I'm so excited to do it.
I have to thank a couple people here. The first is my very first athletic director, I know you're watching at home, a guy by the name of Terry Cooper. He gave me my first job when I was 23 years old. It was a big high school in Alabama, a prestigious high school. He could have hired anyone, and he gave me an opportunity. And we took over a program that was doing pretty good. Didn't have a great season. And we took that program to become one of the best teams in the entire country.
We were a top 20 team most years in the country in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Finished fifth in the country. We played an exciting style of play. We gained a lot of momentum right there in Alabama. But I probably wouldn't be sitting here today if it wasn't for that athletic director that gave me my first opportunity.
And then, I caught maybe the biggest break any coach has ever caught in their entire life. I went directly from being a high school head coach to being a college head coach. And I had heard it all. When I went from being a JV coach to a varsity coach, people would say, well, the way you play, that's not going to work at the varsity level. Or when you go to AU to JV, I don't know if y'all can play that fast. Y'all play a little different. And certainly, when I went from high school to college, it was the same sentiment.
But I had an athletic director in Martin Newton who had tremendous courage, who gave me an opportunity. And when we had that opportunity, we knocked the door down.
We won more games in the Southern Conference the past four years than any team in the Southern Conference. And that means something, but where the program was that had never finished higher than the bottom four in the league, it was significant. And it was significant because I had an athletic director that gave us a chance. We won three championships in four years. We had it going.
And it meant a lot to me when this job came open, he said, Bucky, if you can take that job, you gotta take that job because that job is about to be, perhaps, the best job in the country with the way college athletics is going and the people behind that program.
And last, I want to thank my former players. I've said this before. There's very few times when you're a high school coach -- well, let me say it like this. As a high school coach, your job is to help your players advance to the collegiate level, whether that is as a college athlete or just as a student, right? That was our job when I was in high school. Making sure they're academically sound. Making sure that they could take the next step when they walked across that stage. Those that wanted to play college basketball, making sure that they got to do that.
Rarely do those players ever help you go to college. And that's what they did for me. Their heart and what we built allowed me to go to college. And what our players did at Samford in the Southern Conference allowed me to play in the SEC. And I know some of you are watching. I've had so many texts from everyone. And I love y'all, and I appreciate y'all. Y'all have got me here today.
Most importantly, I want to thank the 12th Man. I want to thank the 12th Man. I want to thank those that are here today, because we are going to do things with this basketball program that have never been done before. That have never been done before.
And this is the very start, and these faces and these people that are here at the start, I won't forget it. I won't forget it. And I can't wait to make -- to have relationships with everyone here and with the 12th Man and with Aggie Nation as we built this program to levels it hasn't gone before.
I appreciate y'all, and I really appreciate y'all being here today.
But now it's time for us to seize this moment. To seize this moment. And our mission here, you say, hey, what is the mission of you being here at Texas A&M? Our mission is very simple. We want to have an elite basketball program, a first-class basketball program. Okay?
And what does that entail? Well, the first is we want to have great personnel involved in our program. When we get those personnel, the correct people here, we want them to develop as a person. We want them to develop academically. We want them to develop athletically. And then when they're done here, we want them to be able to pursue their professional dreams.
And we're going to do that. Our program has been founded on hard work. The pillars of our program is get the best personnel that you can, like these coaches who are right here. Get the best coaches that you can get. Get the best players that you can get. Get them here. And y'all can play a tremendous part in that. When we bring recruits to the games, and this place is filled up and filled out, and we're leading the country in scoring, and it's going crazy, people are going to say, I want to go be a part of that.
And in this nature of college athletics, the resources related to a school directly relate to the personnel you can attract to a university.
And this place has so many people willing to give back and willing to pour into the athletes that we're going to recruit. And so, we're going to have tremendous personnel.
Now, once we have that personnel, it's about how hard are we going to work? How hard are we willing to work relative to the competition? Everybody in this league, the SEC, is the toughest league since the inception of college basketball. This season, it was the NBA. It was incredible. It was an incredible basketball league.
And everybody's going to want to be successful. There are teams in this state that are going to play for the National Championship, teams that have. There's teams in this state that are in our league that they want to be successful just as well.
How are we going to outwork our competition? And that's what we're going to do. That's what this university is about, because people don't differ in their desire to win; they differ in the price they're willing to pay to do it. And these student athletes that we have are going to pay that price, and we're going to work hard and we're going to work harder than our competition.
The second thing we have to do is get athletes here that are going to be unselfish. That are going to be unselfish. Basketball is a team game. You wouldn't be here today if you weren't a team player.
And so, we have to have a group that outworks everybody, that outworks everybody, but is about this university.
I always tell our team at the start of the season, we'll never have a true team until every person on our team gives up something that they want to accomplish that season for the sake of the team.
Maybe you have somebody that wants to score 20 points, but we say, man, we need you to score seven points and be an elite rebounder. Maybe it's somebody that wants to be an offensive player, but they need to be a defensive player.
But everybody in our organization must give up things that they may want to accomplish if we're going to have a successful unit on that basketball court. And when you do that -- and this is going to be the most fun, and this is what I want you to understand about our program, when you have the correct personnel and they've outworked everyone and they've given 100% of themselves, 100% of the time, not 100% of themselves 90% of the time, or 90% of themselves 100% of the time, they were all in every day, and didn't just outwork their competition on game day, they did it every single day, and you had a true unit that was unselfish and about each other.
When they walk out on the floor out here, and they walk between those lines and they know they've outworked their competition, they're more together than their competition, that's when magic happens, because they earn the right to play fearlessly. And that's the pillars of our program. It's hard-working, unselfish, and fearless.
And you'll be able to feel it. You'll be able to feel it the way that we play. You'll feel it.
I remember I was in Bryant-Denny Stadium, and a guy y'all may know by the name of Johnny Manziel rolled into town. And I'm going to tell you, that wasn't significant, that stuck out and is evened in my mind because of what he did in Bryant-Denny Stadium that day, and Texas A&M walking away with the victory. It was the way they went about it. They were fearless. And that's how we're going to play basketball. That's how we play basketball.
Bucky Ball ?? 12th Man#GigEm pic.twitter.com/fr1RVyZjzY
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) April 7, 2025
Everybody asks, how do you play? Well, the first thing that's most important, getting the great players, getting them to play hard, getting them to be unselfish, playing fearlessly, and then we'll get into the Xs and Os.
Coach, how do you play? What's your style?
I mentioned this. We play a style that wins. We just play very fast. Very fast. When I was at Samford, we were a top ten scoring team in the country. That's never happened 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.
We play full-court defense. We play full-court defense. We run, we pressure, we shoot a lot of threes, and we're going to attack the whole game.
And the students, you're going to love it. You're going to love it.
And I would say this. I'm from the South. I know what's king in the South. Football is king. I love football. You're never going to find someone that loves football more than me. I love all sports. The coaches that are here today,. I greatly appreciate y'all being here. You'll see me at all of your games.
And I know that basketball, it's great to win, and we're certainly going to win, but it's also supposed to be entertainment. And you're going to be entertained the way that we play. And I just appreciate y'all and I appreciate what we're going to do.
Gas station? Nah, that's our coach! ??#GigEm pic.twitter.com/TugXuYlsmn
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) April 7, 2025
When I see y'all around town, my friends, they call me Bucky. My friends call me Bucky, and you all will be friends to me, and I certainly appreciate a passionate fan base. I love that. And some days, you might like me less than others. But guess what, you're still going to be my friend. And I want to build these relationships.
When I was in Alabama, if you said the name "Bucky," most of the time, people knew who you were talking about. And then this gas station rolls up into town.
[Laughter]
And now, when you say "Bucky," they say, "like the gas station?"
And what I'll say about that, I take that as a compliment, because I've been in those service stations, and it's excellence.
And so what I can tell you, we're going to make this program so excellent out here that when you go to pull over and they say, "Hey, there's a Buc-ee's, let's pull over," they're going to say, "Oh, like the basketball coach?"
But in all seriousness, this is a tremendous opportunity for all of us. And I want you to know this, that you are just as much a part of this program as I am and these players are, and together, we're going to build something special, and I appreciate y'all very much. I can't wait to get started.
The core values of this university -- respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, integrity, selfless service -- I'll know them by heart tomorrow.
And the people that I've met since I've been here and who have texted me, I feel it in all of them, and I appreciate y'all and everyone who reached out.
Look forward to meeting every one of y'all. Thank y'all, and you know what time it is. Gig 'em, Aggies.
(transcript courtesy Caption Pros)
A one-on-one interview with Texas A&M Men's Basketball Head Coach Bucky McMillan ??#GigEm | @BuckyBasketball pic.twitter.com/t2ZCBgg6RD
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) April 7, 2025
Bucky McMillan Introductory Press Conference
rough transcript:
"I just thank you all. I appreciate you taking the time to be here today; it means a lot to me. And, most importantly, we're going to be interacting throughout this journey, and it'll be good and bad times, but I appreciate y'all's coverage. I know our coverage is not always good coverage, right? Sounds good. Sounds bad. Sometimes, some are low, but I don't take it personal. What I do want y'all to know is that in time, we're going to have a championship program here. And, those that are covering this are going to be very exciting. I can't wait to build this here., I think the impact that you have can be tremendous on our program. The vibe that we put out, I know it's going to be difficult here early. We have one player, as we know, and we're going to have to build a roster that can compete. But I do know that when you're here, you're going to have a lot to cover, a lot to write about, and we're going to have a lot of fun. Thank you all again for what y'all do."
Welcome to Aggieland. The challenges of putting together a roster in today's world and the type of players that you want. How selective can you be, considering how deep we are into the process?
"You know, we won't be able to be as selective as we like to be, right? We have to fill a roster, and this season is different than any other season because with the loss and stuff that was going on, most of the players this year went to the portal early because the compensation out there was significant early because most programs start, they need to spend a large percentage of their money before this lawsuit was settled. And so because of that, a lot of players are not available, particularly at the level, the level player that we need in the SEC. So this would be like on most years, I mean, this like taking over a program in August and having one player. I know that sounds crazy, but that's not an excuse. I'm just stating the facts of college basketball. The only program that could be in a worse place in terms of the portal would be Samford University because they haven't hired their coach yet. There are a lot of good mid-major, players out there, but a lot of high majors. We're gonna have to get to work immediately. And we do play unique style, we play very up-tempo, very fast-paced. We love to recruit to that system. But I know this we can't run that system with four players, so we're going to have to get players on the board and we have to get players on the board quickly here. And, you know, we'll have to get lucky in some circumstances. But you're going to see us going to work here right after this press conference."
What did the city of Birmingham mean to you, and why now leave a place that you've been your entire life?
"I love Birmingham, I grew up there. A lot of the people there are awesome people and I wouldn't be here without those people. It was truly special that I got to grow up there. And so many people got to raise me. And our success was together in every way. And people that I grew up with or those that support our program at a significant level. We had a lot of success. And, so for me to leave that place, it would only be for some place that I know couldn't just win championships, but was a great place to be with great people. And that's why I'm here. We're going to win championships here, but that's not enough. Life's too short. I'm not going to put it on my tombstone. I won a bunch of championships. I'm going to live like that's inevitable, that we're going to get this done. But I want to do it with great people. That's what makes it enjoyable. College Station, and you say, well, coach, how do you know you hadn't been here long enough? But, a man who was been so involved in my life is Mitch Cole. He's a coach here with me, and he was an assistant coach, and I played for him in college, I have known him since I was eight years old. He's talked about this place and the people here. I'm excited because of the people that are here and, the support this program gets."
With the way the portal is now, it is so important in constructing a roster, but how much emphasis do you put on recruiting high school kids?
"We take players from anywhere. The best players that we can get that we feel can help our program be successful. The issue with high school kids is that most of the high school kids they're known about were signed early. There's not a lot of high school kids available right now, but in the future we would take them from all levels. The most important thing to recruiting is making sure that you can build a car. You can't have three steering wheels and an engine, right? You have to have the right parts for the car. And so I don't care if it's from this auto shop, which is a high school auto shop, or from the store over here, which is the junior college, we're just going to fit and find the right pieces that have shooters. You got to have slashers, you have athletes, you gotta have thinkers, you got to have the mix. And so we'll take it from anywhere. But this late in the game, there's not a lot of high school players available. That can impact our program right away."
I was able to speak to Tredon Watford further on Saturday about you coming in here, and he said that you've always been like a big brother to him. And you describe your style as a player's coach, but somebody isn't afraid to get on you. And at the same time, he said, the way you attack defense or other teams is you want to take their will from them. I ask you to say all that to say, would you agree with that assessment from him?
"We want to play in a manner where the way that we play is something we do every day. Like if you come to our practice, it's a competition. Everything we do is track for wins and losses. We'll have a board in the locker room. The most important thing on that deal is going to show what drills your team won that day or lost that. We add it up, and there's a lot throughout the season, and it does not lie. When you've done 3,200 drills, it kind of shakes out. And if you're one of these guys who have won a lot or you've lost a lot, there are reasons for that. And so that's how we practice. So when we get to game day and the pace that we play, that's just another day at the office for our guys. So you know we want to be balanced, and everything we're going to play fast on offense, fast on defense. But we want to play with discipline, and we're going to do that. You mentioned Trendon Watford. I've known him since he was eight years old. I was fortunate enough to see him grow and develop into who he is. And the best compliment you can have as a coach is not if they like you when you're coaching them. It's just when they're gone do they respect you and the values that you tried to instill in them. I'm so proud of him and everything he has become."
Right now, the roster is kind of the main focus, but how important was it for you and building your staff to get a couple of guys like Mitch and Kyle that have ties in this game? Where are you in the process of filling up your stuff?
"We're in the process. But first, Kyle and Mitch are tremendous to get, not just because they're tied to this university, but because of their knowledge of the game. Mitch Cole was one of the best offensive minds in the game. The people we had professional scouts and coaches come in our gym at Samford all the time. We would be talking to them, all the time wondering about things that we do. And, Kyle Keller, the way that he plays defense, it is a defense that tries to rip your heart out and take your will from you. And that's the way I view defense. I want an aggressive defense. We got a good mix there with a great offensive mind, a great defensive mind. But they match. We want a defense that compliments what we're doing on offense, which is playing fast. We want to make other teams have to play fast because they fear that we're going to take the ball from them. That's how, in football terms, here, he blitzes every play. And I can live like that. I don't want to live another way. I want to be blitzing. So, the connections are tremendous. But the knowledge is up there as well. Both can recruit. We'll be adding new staff members here shortly. And, once we get this staff into place, it's going to be a well-oiled machine."
I know you've been here for all of a couple hours now, but since you've touched down. Seeing the facility facilities, seeing the turnout today from the 12th man, what are some of your early takeaways about this place?
"Well, it started with the 1,200 texts and phone calls that I got when I got the job. That's why I've lost my voice, they're passionate. You get on the phone with anyone associated with the 12th man. You're going to be talking for about an hour and 15 minutes most days. I like that. I'm just trying to stay alive here to get through this process. It's been awesome and it's genuine. I like real people, and it's been genuine how much they love this place. The facilities are top notch, I told, Trev when we were going through the facilities. Man, I'm glad I didn't come here and see this when I was coaching at Samford because I would be selling our facilities and all this and, no idea what I was up against. I was glad I was so naive."
What's the longest amount of time that you have been away from Birmingham in your life? As the negotiations were getting serious, you've mentioned your relationship with Mitch Cole particularly and how he always talked about A&M and how much maybe the sounding board was he for you and when you were trying to seriously consider this place? Have you had any conversations with him about what being a head coach here would be like?
"We've had him through the years, like the love he has for this place and admiration, This wasn't when this job came up. This was for years. He's always talked about this place. When you live in Alabama, it's Alabama or Auburn. Both love their university, but both are slightly different. The people in Auburn, they might die for that place. I've seen them. Coach Cole talked about comparing Texas A&M and the different universities in this state. And he would admire the people so much, and he's just admired it in his time here, how much it meant to him. And, so obviously when this came open and we started talking about it, he was just like lit up because he's such a tremendous coach, he could have been a head division I coach for someone to say, I'm going back to Aggieland, he's lived in Birmingham for 20 some years. I'm going to want to get back to thinking about that. I mean, that's special. And then my athletic director, obviously when you have success, different universities talk to you about opportunities. This is a guy that I love to death, Martin Newton. He didn't want to lose me for sure. But he said, if you can get that, you got to go. That can be one of the best places to coach in all college basketball. And he's one of the 12 members on the NCAA tournament selection committee. So there's somebody that knows."
We have seen what your style of basketball looks like at Samford. You mentioned the SEC as the best conference in the sport. Just what looked different at all and what gives you the confidence that Bucky-Ball could work in a conference like this?
"I think the pillars of our program translate to any level because you have to remember, for me, X's and O's is the last. It's like X's and O's is lax, just personnel first. How hard are we going to play and even to see when we play like, you see dogs on the floor, you know what I'm saying? You're going to see like win, lose, or draw. You're going to walk away and say, I'm going to have this Texas A&M on my shirt. Those dudes laid it down out there. Like when there's a loose ball, there's always going to be five guys diving on it, and you're not even going to know sometimes, particularly the short term, depending on this roster, we may not win every game. But you're going to feel like it. It's going to feel like it when you go see people that are together, like together, in that they're going to attack fearlessly. And that's the first pillar of the program: great personnel that work and play so hard, play together, and play with a tremendous amount of confidence and its X's and O's. That's where I think coaches can sometimes get lost. Sometimes I played against teams that, hey, they run a lot of great stuff. They may not play very hard and they run a lot of great stuff. They don't play together well. I don't care what they run. If they don't do that, they're dead. And I played against some teams that, hey, they may not run a lot of great stuff, but they play so hard and so together. With such confidence. There are always adjustments, but our general philosophy is always going to be one that mathematically makes the most sense. Every analytical measure has shown that we've been successful playing the way that we have. When I was at Samford, we went in, and we beat Ole Miss and people could say, well, other mid-majors have done it too. But the Southern Conference is not that league, right? The talent gap is significant. We beat Oregon State, right? We lost to Georgia in a two-possession game and went overtime at DePaul and Central Florida. And in reality, they were a call away from beating Kansas. So you know, I have complete confidence that what we do is going to work because I've seen it work."
You were talking about, what Mr. Newton said about you got to take that job. And I'm assuming that some of that has to do with the opportunity to have a significant NIL war chest. How does that opportunity affect how you might recruit, especially in this compressed time period that you've got?
"We're going to need all the help that we can get and the support that we can get. That's for sure. And I know in the future that it's going to be easy when, you know, 12th man, they know me because, you know, they know our program because they're going to want to support what I'm talking about. They're going to want to support our athletes. Now, in the short term, everyone's going to have to take a leap of faith because we have to have that support to recruit on a level playing field. And so, that's very necessary. So, I can say that, but guess what? If this place wasn't capable of it, it wouldn't have accomplished so many significant things that this university has."
What were some of the influences to building your philosophy and some of the schematics that you do? And I've talked to people in your past life who said analytics were a huge part of that. How early did you start that? And where does that kind of play into the whole round of things?
"The truth is, I don't know 100%, but I would imagine I've coached more basketball games than probably anyone who's coached college basketball. My route was completely different. Most of the time college basketball coaches go, they play college basketball, and they become a GA. 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 they get a job in this league and may have never called a timeout before. And some are successful in doing that. I'm not knocking that, right? I coached AAU basketball, where we played 100 games in the summer it felt like. Then I coach J.V. and Varsity basketball where we play I. And when I was a coach of varsity, JV, and the ninth grade, I played 120 games throughout the whole deal. And so I got to coach all these games and learn through trial and error in a back jam where nobody was watching. I also got to experiment, and we were ahead of the analytics. The free throws, layups, and threes being the most optimal way to play. We were so far ahead of that. And why does it work for us. Well, because guess what? If I'm not the best golfer in the world. If, analytically, it's free throws, layups, and threes game and you can perfect that, I'd be a decent golfer if you told me, you just got to learn to hit the driver, the pitching wedge, and the putter."
First I wanted to ask you about everybody chanting Buckyball as you're walking across the stage. What does that feel like? And has this whole process really sank in with you? Does it feel real in all?
"Honestly, I haven't slept in three days, but it made it feel like home. You know, the whole buckyball thing started when I was a high school coach and then followed me to college. And now we're out here in Texas. I joke about it that it used to be it years ago. When we're playing the way we play, everybody was playing slow and high school basketball and the really good coaches, they play in the 30's, 34's, 32's. There's no shot clock. And so, years ago when we started this and it was my start to get into it, we hadn't won in our first year like at that level. And the old school coaches, it was like a mockery, like just playing basketball. And then we started winning at a high level. Then, it became a positive thing. So it's funny to see how much it's changed. What I can say is, I appreciate the fans and I appreciate them being here today."
Second, I wanted to ask you about the Alabama-Auburn rivalry a little bit; you know, it's Texas and Texas A&M. What are your early thoughts about the rivalry or what do people don't do about it?
"I know that anytime there are rivalries, it's great for athletics. It brings out the best in the players sometimes, not the fans. I'm not against it. With any team, I know Bear Bryant back in the day. He was a great coach; he coached here and at Alabama. He put an Auburn jacket in his closet every day because he would open that closet up in the morning to get dressed, and he saw that. And he knew how he had to go to work. That's what I want from this program. And that's how hard I'm going to work because the truth is, if we're going to do something and become a power player in this league and be able to dominate this league in time, where you got to outwork everyone in this league, and that includes in-state rivals as well."
Texas A&M University is a very special place. Can you tell me what you know about A&M when you start to hear about possibly coming here, any traditions or anything that you heard about that that drew you to this place?
"I've heard people tell me that the people are so tight with all that they do, and it is everything's kind of like the opposite in some ways. Right? They're talking about don't say, hey, it's howdy. So it's here in some of the unique stuff that I had seen from afar. But I didn't understand it yet. And they said it's almost like a Cult, like in a good way, though. Like it's like if you're in, you're in. And that's their way of saying, hey, like, howdy, howdy, you're a believer. I'm a believer. Like, we're on the same page; we believe in this place. And I think that's really cool. I said it's about the people, you know, that it's not the people like, it's these buildings and this office and all. This is fantastic. But that's not going to win us any games. It's not going to win. It's a game. It's about the people we have in this program. Like you love this university. Why? Because it's got nice buildings or because you love the people associated with it. And when there's a connection between all people, that's when special things happen. And it's really special. If people can go through the adversity together and come out on the other side, that's when it becomes so significant, when it's difficult. When it's really difficult and you have to go through the lows to get to the highs. When you go through that together, it's that much more rewarding. And I feel the passion from this place, in this fan base and the people that are there through it all. We're going to celebrate a lot of highs. It's going to be very rewarding."
You mentioned that it is inevitable to win at the highest level here. What gives you confidence that A&M is the place where you can do that?
"As long as the support and the resources are there, like we know, this place is capable of. And look, I can't promise you 100% right now to see how this roster shakes. Are we going to play for a national championship next year? But I do know in time, if we think long term and we get all of Aggie Nation and the 12th man behind what we're doing, the nature of college athletics has changed. The resources matter. Great deal. And we're in the best league in the country with maybe the best fan base in the country and maybe the best resources in the country. So, it's not impossible. Once we get momentum, we keep that momentum. Anything's possible right here. And, because the nature of athletics has changed, you can catch up with the name blue bloods so quick. That is why I believe."
