Promoting the game is about drawing more people in and getting them invested in the product.
Head coach Bucky McMillan knows that and has been telling Aggieland that Reed Arena is where the party is, whether you're a basketball fan or not.
"I love the people here," McMillan shared. "We're going to have a heck of an atmosphere here. I don't care if you love basketball, don't like basketball, it doesn't matter. We're going to make Reed the place where the party is. That's where everybody hangs out, and we like making it miserable for other teams to come here. We've got to heat teams up when they come here. Aggies fight together."
That's the spirit and belief other coaches, players, and fans should want to support ahead of the season opener, which will feature plenty of athleticism and intensity unique to the college basketball landscape.
With a lot of the buzz surrounding the program and how it responds to last season's success, the 12th Man will need McMillan to control the court for sustained success and for there to be an even more motivated reason to continue showing up and showing out.
Texas A&M Aggies head coach Bucky McMillan speaks during the SEC Basketball Tipoff at Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
McMillan has more options to rely on down the line. His ability to recruit and retain players in Year 2 in College Station bolstered the chances of competing for a conference championship and a national championship.
When McMillan started evaluating where the team stood after their run to the Round of 32, he knew he would lose some pieces that had built the foundation and culture he wanted to establish. He lost his captain, Rashaun Agee, along with Reuben Dominguez, Jacari Lane, Josh Holloway, Pop Isaacs, and Marcus Hill.
Now that those playmakers have moved on to their next stage of life, a fresh batch of ballers enter this season with high aspirations. McMillan wasted no time bringing speed and size to the team.
A few of those guys in the locker room include two remarkable guards: Kansas State transfer PJ Haggerty and Texas guard Jordan Pope . Two other forwards are LMU transfer Jalen Shelley and incoming freshman Josh Irving.
Don't write off what he did bringing in Tyshawn Archie, Lucas Walls, and Jalen Reece either.
A&M has a lot of change and plenty of bench options. Between the star power and deep roster he has to balance, he has plenty of tools to pick from to get the job done.
Whoever McMillan views as giving his team the best shot to win, he'll do so knowing that height, length, and the ability to play defense and knock down shots factor into earning playing time.
"I thought last year's group was able to play how we want to play in terms of they were heavy three-point shooting, full-court defense," McMillan said at SEC Media Days. "We didn't have a lot of slashing. The players that played the majority of the minutes were the smallest Power Four team in the country."
"It's strange, we played a scrimmage the other day, and when the ball came off the glass, we didn't have to have the ball fall perfect to us to rebound. We had more attackers, guys that can get to the free-throw line, guys that can get to the charge circle, guys that are going to get fouled. The later the season goes, when you're at high-level basketball, it becomes a real player's game. You got to have players that can create advantages without actions."
"I think this year we've got a lot more of those, a lot of more positional size. It'll look very similar, but I think we're going to attack the basket a lot better this year."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/tamu as Bucky McMillan Wants to Make Reed Arena Miserable for Texas A&M's Opponents .
