Samford hires longtime prep coach Bucky McMillan as bench boss

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford has hired veteran high school coach Bucky McMillan to lead its basketball program.

Athletic director Martin Newton announced McMillan’s hiring on Monday, saying he “quickly became the obvious choice” to replace Scott Padgett.

McMillan led Mountain Brook High School in suburban Birmingham the past 12 seasons, winning his fifth state title in 2019. He took the program to the finals seven times. in the state's highest classification.

McMillan was selected as a coach in the 2019 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game. He won 333 games, averaging nearly 28 per season.

Mountain Brook went 18-12 in his first season and then won at least 23 games in each of the next 11.