Texas A&M introduces 'Bucky Ball' against Northwestern State

New coach Bucky McMillan brings a bushel full of changes to Texas A&M, and the Aggies get their first chance to show off new faces when they host Northwestern State in their season opener Monday in College Station.

McMillan totally revamped the Aggies in his first season in the Brazos Valley, bringing in 12 players from the transfer portal and signing one from the prep ranks.

Only one player, walk-on Chris McDermott, remained from last season's roster that won 23 games under Buzz Williams and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The new coach forged his style for the last five seasons at Samford, which earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2024. McMillan's preferred up-tempo and aggressive attack is nicknamed "Bucky Ball" -- and is a compete opposite of what the Aggies employed under Williams, who decamped for Maryland.

A&M's new roster is filled with solid players that have already made their mark on the college game. Among those are guard Jacari Lane from North Alabama, forward Mackenzie Mgbako (Indiana), guard Marcus Hill (NC State), guard Rylan Griffen (Kansas), center Federiko Federiko (Texas Tech) and guard Pop Isaacs (Creighton).

McMillan feels he has high-volume shooters across the board. Lane connected on 40.6% of his 3-point tries last season and Isaacs shot 38.3%.

"We had some very good players jump on board without knowing who they'd play with," McMillan said. "I'm elated with the roster we have. We have a good shooting team. We're old, we're deep, and we'll play a style of basketball that's hard to play against."

Mgbako is sidelined the first few weeks of the season after a recent surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his foot.

A&M was picked 13th out of 16 teams in the Southeastern Conference's preseason media poll.

The Demons went 16-16 last season and finished in 12-8 in Southland Conference play, tied for fourth place in the 12-team league. Northwestern State's season opener is the first of three road games to tip off its campaign.

"Our main goal is to always be prepared for conference play," said Demons coach Rick Cabrera, who begins his third season at Natchitoches, La. "At our level, conference games matter most. We want to test ourselves against quality opponents who will bring out the best in us."

Micah Thomas returns to the lineup after scoring 12.4 points per game last year for the Demons. Willie Williams (6.1 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game) and Landyn Jumawan (5.1 ppg) also are back from the 2024-25 roster.

--Field Level Media