What an Opportunity

To hear Bucky McMillan talk about bringing Texas A&M basketball to its first-ever Final Four--to hear the passion, the energy, the excitement in his voice as he thinks about it--you can see why he's the perfect fit for Aggieland.

In taking over a program which has especially of late seen its share of success on the national stage but has never punched past the Sweet 16, he's been chomping at the bit from the minute he stepped on campus to bring Texas A&M and its fans to places they've never been.

Never been past the Sweet Sixteen? Is that a problem in recruiting?

Hardly.

"That's a positive," Bucky says. "Because guess what...these players that we recruit? They have a chance to put their name on that wall and make history. Not many places do you have that opportunity. And at a place that's inevitably going to do it. We're going to inevitably get to a Final Four here at Texas A&M in time. 

"It's going to happen."

If you missed the wide-ranging episode of Untold, where Bucky sits down with Andrew Monaco and opens up about who he is, what drives him, his upbringing and so much more, it really is a must-watch. It will make you proud that he is your coach--our coach--wearing that Texas A&M logo on his chest and representing Aggies the world over. 

The second-year A&M head coach details where he first got hooked on the game of basketball, his rise to where he is now and his strong relationship with his parents. His parents who, by the way, have also fallen in love with Aggieland and now call the area home and see their son coach every game in person.

One thing Bucky is quick to point out is as much as he loves being a basketball coach, it is not what singularly defines him as a man.

"I've got a whole life to live, and athletics is a part of it, right? I think at the end of the day, I see a lot of coaches up on the mic and they talk as if what they're doing is the only thing in the world. But if I could tell everybody one thing...life's so short, man. Like life's so short.

"I love what I do because it allows me to connect with people and allows me to help people. I just tell everybody, don't lose sight of the relationships out there. This is a mechanism for us to interact and to help each other and to learn and have something we can rally around. There's greater things in life."

And speaking of rallying around, it's one of the biggest reasons why he wants to be able to hang a Final Four, or heck even a national championship, banner in the rafters. It's not the actual banner that matters to him. 

It goes back to relationships.

"If we're able to make that happen, it's not the banner...it's the experience that we all get to have with the people that we love. That's why sports are so powerful...not the wins and losses, right? When you think back to your childhood and you think of your family, you can think of instances around sports. And that's why sometimes when you go to an event, a sporting event that with same team you pulled for as a child, it brings you memories of your parents, and the people you care about, and that's special. 

"I really could not think of any place better than being able to give that here, and working so hard every day for an incredible place where they get to rally around something they wanted to see happen for decades."

It's the mission of his program, to give Texas A&M and its fiercely loyal fan base something they can remember, forever.

"If we all rally together...do you know how much fun that's going to be? Could you imagine going to a Final Four and all those people that went through the up years, the down, and stayed the course, flooded wherever it is--San Antonio or wherever--and that maroon was all over? I mean, that'd be unbelievable."

"What an opportunity, right?"