Head Coach Bucky McMillan

enters his third season as head coach of the Samford University Men’s Basketball team. McMillan was named Samford’s 29th head men’s basketball coach April 6, 2020. Year two under McMillan in 2021-22 served as one of the Bulldogs’ most successful seasons in recent history. For the first time since the 1998-99 campaign, Samford men’s hoops tallied 20 regular-season wins. McMillan’s squad added 15 wins from the previous season, finishing 21-11. The Bulldogs posted a 10-8 mark in conference play, earning them the no. 3 seed in the SoCon Championship before eventually falling in the tournament semifinals. McMillan was named the SoCon Sports Media Association Coach of the Year while sophomore guard Ques Glover earned All-SoCon First Team honors. Glover, who ranked third in the SoCon in scoring average (19.2 PPG) and second in assists per game (4.4) in 2021-22, was also named to the SoCon All-Tournament First Team and a finalist for the Lou Henson Award. The Bulldogs notched a pair of road wins at power-five opponents, knocking off Oregon State 78-77 on Nov. 18 and besting Ole Miss 75-73 on Dec. 21. The Bulldogs drew two of their largest home attendances in recent years in 2021-22, totaling 2,876 attendees against Belmont on Dec. 5 and 2,512 against Furman on Feb. 23. In his first season at Samford, the Bulldogs started the season 5-3 before injuries and COVID-19 setbacks slowed their progress. When the final horn sounded on the season, Samford went 6-13 overall and 2-9 in SoCon play. “BuckyBall” had an immediate impact on the program, averaging 76.8 points per game, ranking fourth overall in the prestigious Southern Conference. Samford scored a school record 133 points in a blowout win over Belhaven (133-84) on Dec. 21, 2020. In an early season exhibition, the Bulldogs defeated Greenville 174-99 in a game that drew national attention from Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Fox Sports. Individually, freshman sensation A.J. Staton-McCray shined in coach McMillan’s system. The 6-5 guard from Charlotte, N.C., was named to the 2020-21 Southern Conference All-Freshman Team after averaging 10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. His 30 steals led the Bulldogs and ranked second in the SoCon. He also finished the year ranked 30th in the league in points per game. McMillan claimed his first collegiate victory on Dec. 1, 2020 versus Covenant College, 98-73, and his first SoCon win came against VMI, 84-71, on Dec. 30, 2020 in the Pete Hanna Center. McMillan came to Samford after serving as the head coach at Mountain Brook High School for the past 12 seasons. McMillan has led the program to unprecedented success, reaching the state finals in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, and the team won the title in the state’s highest classification in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

In 2020, the Mountain Brook program was ranked 13th in the list of top 25 public high school basketball programs in the United States over the last decade. In 2018, the National High School Coaches Association named McMillan its National Coach of the Year after his team finished the season with a 34-3 record and ranked No. 17 in the USA Today national rankings. His 2019 team finished the year ranked No. 5 nationally by USA Today. McMillan’s teams were ranked No. 1 in the AHSAA state rankings during each season from 2013 to 2020. McMillan was named USA Today’s Alabama Coach of the Year in 2019; Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) Coach of the Year in 2013, 2014 and 2015; Birmingham Tip-Off Club State Coach of the Year in 2012, 2015 and 2019; and Over The Mountain Coach of the Year in 2013,

2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019. He was selected to coach the Alabama All-Stars in the 2019 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game. That same year, he was named one of the coaches of Michael Jordan’s “Jordan Brand” All-Star Classic. During his 12-year run in charge of the Spartans’ program, McMillan won 333 games, averaging nearly 28 wins per season. After posting an 18-12 record in his first season as head coach, McMillan’s teams won at least 23 games in each of the next 11 seasons. In addition to his work at Mountain Brook High School, McMillan founded the Bucky Ball Academy, a youth camp to enhance and unify basketball in the Mountain Brook community. He also founded the Alabama Flyers program that provides off-season basketball opportunities for the community’s youth. McMillan played his college basketball at Birmingham-Southern College from 2002 to 2006, where he was named to the Big South Conference Academic Honor Roll all four seasons, and to the league’s All-Academic team as a senior. He also earned the distinction of being named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honor’s Court. McMillan earned his bachelor’s degree in education services from Birmingham-Southern in 2007. While a student at Mountain Brook High School from 1999 to 2002, McMillan received All-State honors from the Birmingham News in 2002 and was nominated for the McDonald’s High School All-America team. The Birmingham News also named him to its All-State Athletic Academic team.

“As a former high school coach myself I am excited for both Bucky and Samford University. Bucky is someone who has put his time in and climbed the ladder to earn this opportunity. I have only known him a short time but have seen first-hand that he has the unique ability to connect and motivate his players, the knowledge to evaluate and develop them and the drive and passion it takes to coach at a high level. I’m confident he will do some great things at Samford.”

Nate Oats, University of Alabama Head Coach

“Bucky is an incredible leader of young men. He is fully committed to his players’ overall development both on and off the court. Samford just got a lot better by hiring Bucky!

Travis Steele, Xavier University Head Coach

“One of the biggest bright spots of this hire is the excitement Bucky will bring to the program, to Birmingham and to college basketball in Alabama. We were able to tap into that when I was at Samford and it helped bring about the success we enjoyed. It’s just an excellent hire by Samford University and Martin Newton.”

John Brady, Former Samford University and LSU Head Coach

“I was an assistant coach at UAB in the mid-90’s when a young, tough, smart little point guard came to our camp and led his team. Bucky was a Good Player at BSC before embarking on an incredibly successful high school coaching career at his alma mater. I’m truly excited for him as he embarks on the tremendous opportunity provided to him by Samford University!! Can’t wait to watch him do great things at that great university!!

Andy Kennedy, UAB Head Coach