Bucky McMillan’s Final Samford Farewell
Former Samford head basketball coach and now Texas A&M head basketball coach Bucky McMillan joined the latest State of the Bulldogs Podcast episode to reminisce on his Samford tenure and to thank those involved in that journey.
Even as McMillan is starting his new coaching life in the Southeastern Conference, he made sure to take the chance to thank everyone in the Samford community.
“And so I wanted to jump on here, said McMillan. “Because I didn't get a chance, in my opinion, to really show my gratitude for all the people at Samford, a place that I love and a city I love, and all the great times we had. And like I will always be a Samford Bulldog in my heart. That place means a lot to me. And I wanted to say that because we never got the chance just the way everything moved. And I wanted to do it before basketball season started. I'm not going to be that coach hovering over the program. You know, I'm going to be wishing it incredible success. Lennie’s a friend of mine, and you know, I've told all the boosters that were close with me, man, this is a program we got to keep supporting. He's a coach worth supporting all the way down the line.”
He made sure multiple times to shout out new Samford coach Lennie Acuff saying that he is a great offensive coach and a perfect fit for Samford.
“Lennie’s a really good offensive coach. I would say think Jimmy Tillette (Samford’s winningest coach), but way faster. Very conceptual stuff on offense, like very good concepts but way faster. Very smart players, he’s going to have skilled players that can really pass and shoot.”
In five seasons as Samford’s head coach, McMillan finished with a 99-52 record, two regular season Southern Conference championships and one Southern Conference tournament championship.
Samford basketball was brought back to life and will look to keep that same level of consistency under Acuff. Samford President Beck Taylor said on the State of the Bulldogs Podcast that “Samford does not hire a Lennie Acuff without a Bucky McMillan” and he is absolutely right.
Lennie Acuff’s Bulldogs were picked to finish third in the Southern Conference by the coaches as they start their season on Monday, November 3rd at Tulane.
One final salute to McMillan for the last five seasons and the “great times we had.” He said “I will always be a Samford Bulldog in my heart” and we will always remember McMillan for what he did for the Samford basketball program and community. Shoutout Bucky Ball.
Check out our full interview with Bucky McMillan on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify.
