Amid his first season at the helm, Texas A&M (2-2) head coach Bucky McMillan is already dealing with adversity after two consecutive losses to Oklahoma State and UCF after starting 2-0, and ahead of hosting Montana on Tuesday night, the Aggies are now in “must-win” mode during the rest of nonconference play.
Yes, it’s still very early, but without star transfer forward Mackenzie Mgbako in the lineup, Texas A&M’s lack of reliable shooting production despite the transfer talent on the roster directly resulted in last Friday’s second-half drought against the Knights, while McMillan’s press defense, which will alow wide open shots on the other end more than not, led to UCF hitting 14 3-pointers. The Aggies did not respond on the other end.
It’s fair to state that Texas A&M’s basketball program is in a rebuild. Still, knowing that every starter and most of the rotational players have more than two years of experience, with some leading their previous teams in scoring last season, it’s up to McMillan and his staff to right the ship over the next month to get out of nonconference play with a decent record before January.
On Monday, Bucky McMillan spoke during his weekly appearance on the Aggie Basketball Hour. Here’s everything the first-year head coach had to say ahead of hosting Montana.
Bucky McMillan on the Aggies’ failure to close the game vs. UCF
“We didn’t close the game right. We’re closer to things that translate to winning than we were. We played 30 minutes of basketball, but have to close it out. It’s a work in progress with this group, but nothing we didn’t expect.”
Bucky McMillan on the team’s lack of “chemistry” over the last two losses, and Mackenzie Mgbako’s return date
“We have some chemistry stuff to work on with guys coming back. Pop Isaacs only played his third game in 11 months. Mackenzie Mgbako will probably come back Friday. I know where our program is going.”
Bucky McMillan on how the team will look once Mackenzie Mgbako returns
“We’ll be better when Mackenzie Mgbako comes back. We’ve got some guys playing out of position without him in the lineup and asking some guys to do more offensively. Positionally, everybody will be in their more natural position.”
Bucky McMillan on forward Chris McDermott making his first start against Montana
“I play guys who play the hardest. Everybody knows Chris (McDermott). He plays his heart out. Chris is starting tomorrow (against Montana). He sets that example and plays hard.”
Bucky McMillan on Texas A&M’s two 2026 signees
“We just signed two really good high school players, a guard and a forward who are both top 50 players. We still think freshmen are valuable, but you have to take players in the portal. Fortunately for us, we’ll have a longer portal season this time to be able to find the best fit for our program.”
Bucky McMillan on what the Aggies need to do to win games down the line
“We’ve got to put together 40 minutes of the way we want to play. When we do that on both ends of the floor, we’re putting a lot of pressure on the other team. I’m just waiting for this game where we go off from three. We’ve got to get our defense better, because when those shots aren’t falling, we don’t have a roster that can physically overwhelm you, so we have to do every small thing right. We missed a lot of shots at the rim.”
Bucky McMillan on the challenges that SEC play will present
“You’ve got to be playing optimal basketball as the season goes on. In league play, we’re going to be playing against four or five guys a night who are on the NBA Draft board. We’ve got to get to our optimal point in conference play.”
Bucky McMillan on his use of analytics
“You want as much information as possible. You want to play analytically sound, but there are intangibles to players that analytics can’t measure, with how hard they play or how they impact our team. You’ve got to be able to fill both out.”
Bucky McMillan on what he wants to see from his team on Tuesday night
“I want to see us move the ball and get the shots we want. I want to see us play with the sustained effort I saw for the first 30 minutes against UCF. It takes time, but let’s take another step.”
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Everything Texas A&M HC Bucky McMillan said before hosting Montana
