Bucky McMillan's Aggies continuing to grind through summer workouts

As Bucky McMillan and his staff wrap up the first month of summer workouts, here are some of my main takeaways from the couple of practices I’ve seen:

First, you’re probably wondering who’s practicing. In past offseasons when 80 percent of their production would return, the Aggies could practice at full strength from the start of summer workouts, but that’s not the case this offseason.

Chris McDermott, Jacari Lane, Zach Clemence, Mackenzie Mgbako, Josh Holloway, Marcus Hill, Jamie Vinson, Rylan Griffen, Pop Isaacs and Jeremiah Green have all been in town since the start of summer workouts in early June.

That leaves Rashaun Agee, Rubén Domínguez and Federiko Federiko as the only players who haven’t been with the team since summer workouts began. Both Agee and Domínguez arrived within the last two weeks and started practicing on July 1. McMillan and his staff are also still waiting for Agee’s and Domínguez’s waivers for an additional year of eligibility to be approved by the NCAA, but they can practice while they await the decision. Federiko arrived in College Station a few weeks early on July 1 and should start practicing soon.

The Aggies just received some great news on the injury front as Isaacs was cleared for non-contact work on July 1st. He’s been progressing through his recovery from hip surgery in December.

Next, here’s what the Aggies have been doing on the court.

Holloway, the transfer from Samford, told me the team is following a similar routine to the summer workouts and practices he experienced in Birmingham. He’s also been warning his teammates that they haven’t seen anything yet compared to their practices during the regular season.

There’s getting back into basketball shape, and then there’s getting into Bucky Ball shape.

Mess up a drill or don’t hustle? They’re running sprints.

Lose a drill? They’re doing push-ups.

Everything in practice is a competition. There’s not much standing around at practice. Everything is high energy and pushing the pace. One of the biggest points McMillan has been teaching his team is that they want to be the fastest playing team in the country on both sides of the ball. The Aggies want to break teams and push them past their limits because nobody should be able to run with them for 40 minutes.

People often forget just how grueling it is to face Bucky Ball’s pressure.

McMillan’s Samford teams have been inside the top 30 nationally in turnover percentage forced and steal percentage over the last two seasons. I have questions about the defensive ability of this current roster when matched up against SEC talent, but from what I’ve seen in practice, I believe that whatever defensive shortcomings the 2025-26 Ags may have in the half-court, they will make up for it with their full-court pressure.

McMillan has challenged his team to steal at least four inbound passes per game, a number his Samford teams often reached. There is no time to celebrate after making a shot because once that ball passes through the nylon, they will be applying pressure to lean on teams. Not every player wants to do that, but McMillan has preached that it takes a special player to want to sacrifice themselves and not conserve energy at any moment on the floor. There’s a reason they’ll roll up to 11 deep on any given night to keep bodies fresh and make sure the intensity from the opening tip is the same as the final whistle.

Going back to the offense, walking into that gym for the first time this summer felt like I was the first person to watch the invention of the forward pass in football. What do you mean guys taller than 6-foot-8 can shoot 3-pointers? That is not just allowed, it’s encouraged.

To give you all an idea of how much emphasis McMillan places on 3-point shooting and finishing at the rim, in most of their practice games and drills, the staff uses a unique scoring system. Triples are worth three points, anything at the rim is worth two points and midrange shots between the charge circle and the inside of the arc are worth one point. Simply put, most of what I’ve seen in practice is what you’ll see in games. This team will take the majority of their shots at the rim or behind the arc. The new wave of analytics supports this offensive strategy, and this roster has guys who fit the mold perfectly.

That brings me to my final point of how each player has been performing over the last month:

Everyone on the team has had their ups and downs so far.

From what I’ve seen, Mgbako has been what he was advertised as. He’s the most talented and complete player on the floor, and he can get a bucket any time he wants. Give him a couple of weeks to see how he does against bigger bodies like Agee and Federiko, but the early returns have been promising. Watching him up close and personal, his process is professional, and he’s a quick learner. He has had a solid first month, but I still think he has way more to offer.

McDermott has shown me a lot of effort in transitioning his game to fit McMillan’s system. He has kept the same rebounding intensity that Buzz Williams brought him in for, seemingly always finding his way to the ball against taller players in practice, but he has also been working on his deep ball. I’ve seen McDermott stay after practice multiple times, taking dozens of 3-pointers. It’s starting to pay off in live drills, knocking down a few treys here and there. There’s no doubt the work ethic is there, and he’s doing everything he can to make an impact.

Callie Garner, TexAgs

Josh Holloway, a transfer from Stamford, is a coach on the floor with his familiarity of the Bucky Ball system.

Another under-the-radar player who has impressed me has been Kansas transfer Zach Clemence. After watching him for a month, I can see why Hall of Fame coach Bill Self speaks so highly of Clemence, and now he has an opportunity to make it click in this new system. Clemence is a really consistent producer in practice with a gorgeous 3-point shot. Every time he shoots, I’m convinced it’s going in. He’s the kind of player you’re going to want to root for and hope he figures it out this season because the talent is there.

Jamie Vinson came over from Texas, and he has a very bright future ahead of him. He can protect the rim, step out and shoot the long ball and has a lot of frame to add some muscle to. He has had a good month of practice, but he’s one of the youngest guys on the floor. Still, what he can do at 6-foot-11 is great. Vinson has a way more diverse skill set than A&M’s last 6-foot-11 guy (Wildens Leveque).

Some days, it looks like Hill is the best player on the floor. I remember watching him completely take over a four-on-four drill they had at the end of practice and score six straight buckets on Lane and Holloway. Hill has a bigger body than both of those guards, but he still has the shifty quickness to get by them. Bowling Green and NC State listed him at 6-foot-4, but you will soon find out that is not the case. Hill also makes up for it with how many different ways he can get to the hoop and finish among the trees. Despite being closer to 6-foot-2, Hill is not afraid to stick his nose in there and grab tough rebounds. You don’t average four rebounds a game at the power five level at his height without some heart. Hill is a tough dude.

Holloway is a coach on the floor with his knowledge of the system coming from Samford. When I watched his tape, his athleticism stood out at 6-foot-2. My initial thought was that he looked really athletic in the SoCon, but what about the SEC? His athleticism still pops in practice against power conference players. He reminds me of a smaller Dominique Kirk as a really quick guard with an unlimited motor who carries great leadership qualities. When his team needs a clutch defensive play, he’s there to tip a pass, block a shot and poke the ball away. You can hear more from him in a Texas Aggies United interview from earlier this week. Overall, Holloway has impressed with his unselfish game.

Lane has faced the toughest transition, going from North Alabama in the ASUN to the SEC. He’s not the loudest one on the floor, but his quick release and speed are undeniable. This team has a ton of really quick undersized guards in Lane, Holloway and Hill. Lane has the most consistent 3-point shot out of all of them. He has shown me that he’s ready for the challenge every day in practice. That 40.6 percent from long range on five attempts per game last year will play in the SEC, no matter how tall he is.

Griffen is finding his footing. He has natural talent with his game, but it’s an adjustment getting his game back into a system that he’s better suited for. He’s not afraid to hunt his shot, and by the looks of it, he’ll be getting plenty of those in McMillan’s offense. He’s another player that I want to see play against some bigger bodies like Domínguez and Agee more often. For now, I like what I’ve seen from him. I’ve seen Griffen have more good practices than bad ones so far. When he’s locked in, he’s one of the best shooters in the gym.

While I only got to watch Agee and Domínguez for their first and only practice so far, I absolutely loved what I saw from them.

Agee was the loudest guy on the floor and the vocal leader of this team from the moment he stepped onto the court. He brings a level of physicality that this team has been missing over the last month in the frontcourt. Hopefully, his waiver is approved because A&M fans will love him. He’s cracking jokes and talking friendly trash with everyone while bruising any player who stands in his way. After one practice, it’s easy to see why Agee was a fan favorite at USC.

Domínguez is a weapon. When the Spaniard first arrived last weekend, he took 500 straight 3-pointers and made 88 percent of them on his first day in the gym. That’s not a typo. I watched him make about 20 triples in a row in warmups. When the coaching staff walked into the gym for his first practice on Tuesday, all of them were giddy like they had just unwrapped a Christmas present and couldn’t wait to use it. Don’t worry, he’s still just as effective in live practice reps, as he only missed seven shots over the course of a 90-minute workout. While the conditioning and a lift from earlier in the day were getting to him late in practice, I really can’t complain about my first time seeing Domínguez live. There’s no language barrier. He’s picking up the drills quickly, and that shot is still as pretty as it was in the Spanish highlights I’ve been watching on repeat for the last month.