Following the firing of former head man for the last six seasons, Scott Padgett, Samford University men's basketball was looking for a change. According to our report and by Jon Rothstein, the Samford Bulldogs have reportedly found their next head coach in Bucky McMillan. It was officially announced Monday.
Change was called for atop the Samford basketball head ladder, and THIS is a much needed change. Deep in mediocrity over not just the last 6 years, but as far back as I can remember. Over the last 6 years, Samford's record was 84-115 (37-74 in SoCon play). With as many or even more athletes transferring than the previous regime, which played a part in Bennie Seltzer getting let go after 2 seasons with losing records.
Samford basketball needs optimism in the worst way. Student attendance is down and overall attendance is down in general. The excitement in the basketball program was lost and this hire of McMillan should wake up the Samford Bulldog faithful. UAB and Samford both achieved this with the Blazers' hiring of former player and coach Andy Kennedy. Maybe this starts a great home-and-home series between the two, a great city rivalry.
McMillan, 36, brings life and energy back into the Samford program. This is as brand name as it gets in the state of Alabama. Bucky, a Birmingham native, will transition into the college game after a legendary high school career, even at such a young age. Five state championships speak for themselves.
One main question is, what is Samford's roster going to look like? Gone is one of the top assist leaders in the country in Josh Sharkey. Second leading scorer, Robert Allen is in the transfer portal and looking at Georgetown and Mississippi State. The team's third leading bucket getter, Brandon Austin is graduating. Hopefully former UT-Martin and Citadel guard, Preston Parks, stays on campus. Parks endorsed the hire on Twitter today.
Samford's problem normally has been on the defensive end. Samford was DEAD LAST in opponent points per game at 87 in 2019-2020. Even next to last in offensive PPG which usually is not the case for this team. Also they were last in offensive and defensive shooting percentage. In most categories they were near the bottom. Translation: 2019 was terrible, all-around.
Let's not forget the difficult personal decision made by Samford Athletic Director, Martin Newton. Newton is a Kentucky guy, letting go of Scott Padgett, another former Kentucky Wildcat. However, this is the right decision being made to change the future of Samford men's basketball for the better.
Look at the women's team for example. First year coach Carley Kuhns, led the Samford women to the regular season and Southern Conference tournament title. Congrats to them and sad they weren't able to compete in the NCAA Tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sometimes change is absolutely necessary to survive.
Samford has hired a proven winner in Bucky. How his winning ways will transfer to the college ranks remains to be seen. One thing is for sure. This a splashy hire here by Samford as it is officially a done deal. McMillan held his introductory "press conference" if you want to call it that during this COVID-19 time. He also mentioned about having a team that when we watch them play, "their effort is something that we have not seen before."
Reports say that he has already picked his assistants in Duane Reboul, Jake Headrick, and Dave Good. Reboul was Bucky's head coach at Birmingham Southern College and Headrick is back in Birmingham after being on the Missouri State staff for the last couple years (Headrick spent four years on Scott Padgett's Samford staff). While Good, comes over from Mountain Brook, who previously worked at UAB as a video coordinator.
What's the saying? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting the same results. Letting go of Padgett changes the narrative. Even after multiple contract extensions, firing Padgett shows that Samford absolutely wants the best for their basketball program.
Samford does have a long way to go to become successful and to match up with the other strong SoCon teams like ETSU, UNCG, and Wofford. Success won't come right away but this team in year one should pack the Pete Hanna Center. The last sellout in the Pete was back when this guy named Stephen Curry (sound familiar??) came to town.
The results for Samford men's basketball were lacking and McMillan is here to bring the results and much needed life back into the city, school, and program. Because we desperately need it.
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