"Time will tell" and "has a chance" are some pretty healthy qualifiers. I probably should have also said positive revenue generating sports . Blair , Henry, Morrison … yes . They were great hires as well. This one could be more impactful tho. as far as he whose name shall not be mentioned … one good year with a lot of players he didn't recruit … too short a tenure to even count as a great hire here especially considering the way it ended

Sherrill, Slocum … good football coaches to be sure but never broke thru for various reasons..

Billy G was a great hire but never really broke thru either . He may have had he stayed but we'll never know. The other 3 … decent to good as well . Kennedy is the one that kind of never really had a fair shot because of his health.

None were truly great in terms of National level accomplishments Bucky has a shot to be imo. That's all I'm saying … he has a chance to be great imo and if he does it will end up being considered a fantastic hire.

Not disagreeing with you...just pointing out that we've been burned after crowning a coach as "the greatest" after only one season. Again...love Bucky to death...but I think he will also tell you he has a long, long, long way to go to get this program where he thinks it should be.

I think if you interpret "best hire" to mean the actual process of hiring someone then it's much more possible because some of the people we throw out as greats already had pretty lengthy track records of success before we hired them. This wasn't a case of just being willing to throw money at a coach that's already proven he can do it.

The list of unproven head coaches we've hired that have panned out and, crucially, that we've been able to keep, is a much shorter list. There's a list, RC for one, and Morrison, but it's a shorter list.

I wouldn't count BCG but certainly Buzz and Blair. Blair took the next step here but had already been to the Final Four.

Coach Bucky McMillan has quickly brought excitement and a new identity to Texas A&M basketball. Known for his innovative, fast-paced style called "Bucky Ball," McMillan emphasizes relentless effort, unselfish play, aggressive defense, and an up-tempo offense. In his first season at Texas A&M, he led the Aggies to a 2212 record, a fourth-place SEC finish after being picked 13th in the preseason, and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Beyond his success on the court, McMillan is known as a competitive, energetic, and player-focused coach who values relationships and team culture. His combination of enthusiasm, innovation, and winning mentality has created considerable optimism about the future of Aggie basketball.

What gave it away???

Needs to recruit better. We really could use longer athletic wings. And the front court is made up of projects. But overall I like the fact Bucky is hungry and it's not only about him like it was with Buzz. It's frustrating Buzz couldn't or wouldn't recruit here. Goes to Maryland and recruits like crazy. Though it'll be interesting if that continues as I bet it took a lot of effort and I really do wonder if Buzz will put forth that much effort again.

Not sure how any HC hire could top Pat Henry. Unless it results in multiple FB or men's basketball championships.

NoahAg said:

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Not sure how any HC hire could top Pat Henry. Unless it results in multiple FB or men's basketball championships.

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Track =/= Basketball, Baseball, Football

If we win a Natty in either of these two sports, they will be considered bigger than Henry.

GrayMatter said:

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NoahAg said:

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Not sure how any HC hire could top Pat Henry. Unless it results in multiple FB or men's basketball championships.

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Track =/= Basketball, Football

If we win a Natty in either of these two sports, they will be considered bigger than Henry.

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Knowing Ags, one NC in football would trump all others combined in the eyes of fans…only a baseball one would come close and it would a far far far distant second.

St Hedwig Aggie said:

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GrayMatter said:

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NoahAg said:

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Not sure how any HC hire could top Pat Henry. Unless it results in multiple FB or men's basketball championships.

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Track =/= Basketball, Football

If we win a Natty in either of these two sports, they will be considered bigger than Henry.

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Knowing Ags, one NC in football would trump all others combined in the eyes of fans…only a baseball one would come close and it would a far far far distant second.

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Good point, I knew I was missing a sport!

I think football is 1st, basketball is 2nd and baseball a close 3rd.

I'd venture to say that if Texas A&M were to win a NCAA Basketball championship, it would be a bigger national story than it would be a Texas A&M story.

halfastros81 said:

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What has me so excited about Bucky is that he started from practically nothing and the team became competitive after less than half a season. They have a long, long way to go to get it where he wants it and that's a good thing . I think I see something different about the drive to get there. Obviously I hope to be right but you are not wrong either … hasn't done it until he's done it.

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It's totally different to do this with 2025 rules than what bcg had or pretty much any coach that has been listed in this thread.

That's true but the rules are still the same for Bucky as they are for his competitors so I'm not going to discount him for it. If anything him coming into the cycle as late in the process as he did and still managing to pull together a competitive team last year strengthens his evaluation to date rather than the reverse .

I'm not sure I completely agree anyway. There's tradeoffs.

BCG got lucky that we had some talent already on the roster. If Law, Leach and Wright could have entered the transfer portal I'm sure they would have and where would he have been that year? Bringing over UTEP's roster?

halfastros81 said:

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That's true but the rules are still the same for Bucky as they are for his competitors so I'm not going to discount him for it. If anything him coming into the cycle as late in the process as he did and still managing to pull together a competitive team last year strengthens his evaluation to date rather than the reverse .

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Rules may be the same, but the $$$$ value/budget isn't. It's so much harder to judge a coach now.

It is what it is . Coaches will still be evaluated and it will mostly be based on results on the court . We are spending on players at a good clip but would you have us do otherwise? People are putting up that money and I have to think confidence that the coach can do something with it is a big factor.

There was a clear disadvantage last yr not because of $ but because of timing. This year should be a better gauge but do you disagree expectations were exceeded last year?

Luke The Drifter said:

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halfastros81 said:

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He has a plan and it apparently includes contingencies . I think the man is hyper-motivated to succeed but he also has a sense of humor . Time will tell but I think this has a chance to be one of the greatest HC hires ever made by A & M athletics

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Whoa, wrangler...settle down a bit. Pat Henry, Gary Blair, Jamie Morrison, and Mark Weaver would like to have a word with you...not to mention RC Slocum, Jackie Sherrill, Bob Brock, Mark Johnson, and even the former baseball coach whose name shall not be mentioned.

I love Bucky to death, don't get me wrong. I couldn't be happier with who we have leading the MBB program. But we've had some stud coaches come through A&M athletics over the past 30 or 40 years. Plenty of duds as well, that's for sure. Bucky still has a fair amount of work to do just to be as successful as the 4 men's basketball coaches we had right before him.

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I agree with your overall point, but Mark Johnson??

blynch2005 said:

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Luke The Drifter said:

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halfastros81 said:

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He has a plan and it apparently includes contingencies . I think the man is hyper-motivated to succeed but he also has a sense of humor . Time will tell but I think this has a chance to be one of the greatest HC hires ever made by A & M athletics

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Whoa, wrangler...settle down a bit. Pat Henry, Gary Blair, Jamie Morrison, and Mark Weaver would like to have a word with you...not to mention RC Slocum, Jackie Sherrill, Bob Brock, Mark Johnson, and even the former baseball coach whose name shall not be mentioned.

I love Bucky to death, don't get me wrong. I couldn't be happier with who we have leading the MBB program. But we've had some stud coaches come through A&M athletics over the past 30 or 40 years. Plenty of duds as well, that's for sure. Bucky still has a fair amount of work to do just to be as successful as the 4 men's basketball coaches we had right before him.

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I agree with your overall point, but Mark Johnson??

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Winningest baseball coach in program history with over 200 wins more than the next closest guy...in the college baseball hall of fame...tied for the most number of CWS appearances in A&M baseball history...he has 1/3 of our all-time conference tournament championships and a quarter of our all-time regular season championships...only 1 losing season in 21 years at the helm.

Granted, when we made the change at head coach, it was definitely time for new blood in the program. I'm not arguing that he should still be the coach today or that he should have been allowed to coach beyond the '05 season. Just saying that he did some remarkable things at A&M and built the A&M program into more than just a middling "make it to the post-season on occasion" kind of team.

What about Tom Chandler? He was responsible for vaulting Nolan Ryan into the major league ranks so quickly. Not exactly what you'd categorize as player development tho.