Former Mountain Brook High School and Samford basketball coach Bucky McMillan is making an early impression in his first season leading an SEC program, with some believing he could be on a path to a national title.

Hired at Texas A&M following the departure of Buzz Williams to Maryland, “Bucky Ball” has made its way to College Station. McMillan has the Aggies at 6-1 in conference play and on top of a very strong SEC at the moment.

During an appearance on “The Next Round,” former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Mark Gottfried heaped praise on the Birmingham legend and even offered a very bold prediction for the ceiling of his career as a college coach.

“If you’re not a believer in Bucky McMillan by now, you’ve got your head in the sand somewhere because what a phenomenal young coach he is with the job he’s doing at A&M,” Gottfried said. “I’ve known Bucky forever and I couldn’t be more excited about him…He’s just a blossoming star in my view and I think he’ll win a national championship.”

During his tenure at Mountain Brook, McMillan led the program to five AHSAA state championships before taking the job at Samford, where he compiled a 99–52 record in five seasons and led the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000.

Though he may now be coaching outside of the state of Alabama, McMillan certainly has a ton of fans in the Yellowhammer State who are going to keep rooting him on no matter where he goes next.