Bucky Ball's High School Roots…

2,956 Views | 28 Replies | Last: 2 mo ago by PJYoung
maroonthrunthru
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10:03a, 1/18/26
A good portion of my extended family lives in the Mountain Brook "enclave" in Birmingham, Alabama..

Mountain Brook is (for lack of a better term) a smaller, more "Old South" version of Dallas' Highland Park.

The population is, I'm pretty confident, dang near 100% White… it's the wealthiest town (village) in the state, per capita.

Think about this for a second…. Bucky McMillen was the HBBC at MBHS from 2008-2020…

In those 12 years, MBHS won 5 State Championships in the largest, most competitive classification…

With a bunch of rich, entitled, mostly (if not all) white kids….
Not just one fluke championship… 5 outta 12, including 3 in a row from 2017-2019…

I was convinced, and I'm even more convinced after this season's start, that the guy can flat-out coach basketball…

Whatever the "secret sauce" is for:
1. Identifying quality players
2. Getting them to play together
3. Winning
… he's got it…

Pay the man…





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JJxvi
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10:10a, 1/18/26
AG
Its impressive but I dont think its like he turned water into wine based on what you described. My high school won a state title when I was there and we played and beat Highland Park in the title game. Even if it is "white," it helps to be rich.
Hardworking, Unselfish, Fearless
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jeremy
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In reply to JJxvi • 10:40a, 1/18/26
AG
5 out of 12 years?
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rondis23
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10:45a, 1/18/26
AG
5 of 12, and check where they ended up the other 7 years...
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ILuvAgLand
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11:28a, 1/18/26
Hope he recreates that here
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bobinator
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In reply to JJxvi • 11:39a, 1/18/26
AG
I wonder if Bucky got his start on… let's say creative talent acquisition… in the high school ranks too
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JJxvi
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11:40a, 1/18/26
AG
Well, I don't know about that, but there is a black guy that played for him at Mountain Brook thats in the NBA
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JJxvi
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11:43a, 1/18/26
AG
I also don't know whether or not Trendon Watford received a "strong offer" to play at LSU.
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bobinator
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In reply to JJxvi • 11:43a, 1/18/26
AG
Yeah I'd never accuse our own coach of breaking any rules but I bet that area became a popular place for upcoming basketball players to move to.

Doesn't mean it was illegal or anything. It's kind of a self fulfilling thing where you make a team good and play a fun style and the word gets out and people want to move there for their kids to play in it to set them up for success.
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Method Man
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11:46a, 1/18/26
How do we know they were entitled?
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Aston04
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In reply to maroonthrunthru • 12:00p, 1/18/26
AG
maroonthrunthru said:
A good portion of my extended family lives in the Mountain Brook "enclave" in Birmingham, Alabama..

Mountain Brook is (for lack of a better term) a smaller, more "Old South" version of Dallas' Highland Park.

The population is, I'm pretty confident, dang near 100% White… it's the wealthiest town (village) in the state, per capita.

Think about this for a second…. Bucky McMillen was the HBBC at MBHS from 2008-2020…

In those 12 years, MBHS won 5 State Championships in the largest, most competitive classification…

With a bunch of rich, entitled, mostly (if not all) white kids….
Not just one fluke championship… 5 outta 12, including 3 in a row from 2017-2019…

I was convinced, and I'm even more convinced after this season's start, that the guy can flat-out coach basketball…

Whatever the "secret sauce" is for:
1. Identifying quality players
2. Getting them to play together
3. Winning
… he's got it…

Pay the man…





I'll just add 1b) recruiting his ass off after identifying his targets. No let up with this guy.
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taylorswift13_
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12:05p, 1/18/26
AG
I've seen an old interview where he mentions it being a majority white school so he needed to run a high powered offense and full court pressure to combat their lack of athleticism versus other teams lol
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buckyball34
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In reply to bobinator • 12:12p, 1/18/26
bobinator said:
Yeah I'd never accuse our own coach of breaking any rules but I bet that area became a popular place for upcoming basketball players to move to.

Doesn't mean it was illegal or anything. It's kind of a self fulfilling thing where you make a team good and play a fun style and the word gets out and people want to move there for their kids to play in it to set them up for success.

Some very talented kids moved in and were key pieces to state title teams. To say this was the reason he won championships really sells it short, though. This is probably a conversation over beverages of choice. In short, he leaves no stone unturned.
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buckyball34
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In reply to Method Man • 12:14p, 1/18/26
Method Man said:
How do we know they were entitled?


Most wind up going to the University of Alabama.
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bobinator
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In reply to buckyball34 • 12:15p, 1/18/26
AG
Yeah that's what I was getting at. Not that he was out there recruiting or paying for a super team or anything.

But you could tell he had a killer instinct for talent acquisition the moment he got here and we signed players from every corner of basketball. Midmajor guys, high major guys, a professional European player…
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Method Man
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In reply to buckyball34 • 12:22p, 1/18/26
buckyball34 said:
Method Man said:
How do we know they were entitled?


Most wind up going to the University of Alabama.


So mostly every person that goes to Alabama is entitled. Got it. I've met plenty of entitled athletes that are rich in talent but poor in finances. I'm just saying it's an assumption based on preconceived notions.
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buckyball34
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In reply to Method Man • 12:25p, 1/18/26
Method Man said:
buckyball34 said:
Method Man said:
How do we know they were entitled?


Most wind up going to the University of Alabama.


So mostly every person that goes to Alabama is entitled. Got it. I've met plenty of entitled athletes that are rich in talent but poor in finances. I'm just saying it's an assumption based on preconceived notions.


I was just making a joke. I'm from Mountain Brook. I've been labeled as entitled, privileged, racist, etc. you name it. There's a lot of awesome people there just like anywhere else. Hard-working and super successful people.
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bobinator
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In reply to buckyball34 • 12:27p, 1/18/26
AG
You have to cut Method a break too, he's our resident negative Nancy and just likes stirring the pot sometimes.
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halfastros81
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1:36p, 1/18/26
AG
Coming from a financially successful family doesn't necessarily make you entitled. I'd argue the values instilled in a lot of successful families might tend to do the reverse , you understand the relationship between hard work / getting a quality education and future success . Are there exceptions …. absolutely.

Successful family financially and spoiled trust fund kid are not the same . Having said that there are probably also trust fund kids that are high value people .

I know … way too serious a post for this board
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Ag Eng 92
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1:46p, 1/18/26
AG
Spent a long weekend in Mountain Brook this summer for a wedding. It blew me away with how nice it was- beautiful area, very well maintained homes and neighborhoods. Very old South, in the good ways. The Samford boys in the wedding party were already missing buckyball…
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Method Man
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In reply to bobinator • 1:53p, 1/18/26
bobinator said:
You have to cut Method a break too, he's our resident negative Nancy and just likes stirring the pot sometimes.
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jeremy
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In reply to jeremy • 2:16p, 1/18/26
AG
jeremy said:
5 out of 12 years?


I was asking the poster that said they beat Highland Park, if they beat them 5 out of 12 years like Bucky did to win state.

Anyone can win once. Sustained wins are impressive.
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TyperWoods
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4:35p, 1/18/26
5 state championships in 12 years is good, no matter what.
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JJxvi
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7:13p, 1/18/26
AG
I agree and said it was impressive. I think the framing where it makes it sound surprising that anybody could ever win at that school is misleading, that's all. They just have a different set of advantages.
Hardworking, Unselfish, Fearless
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PJYoung
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7:23p, 1/18/26
AG
Nothing to do with basketball and I dont think this was anywhere near Mountain Brook but I was in Birmingham last fall for a golf trip and the 1st day we played a warm up round at a surprisingly nice muni called Highland Park. Really fun course and way nicer than I expected.

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buckyball34
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In reply to PJYoung • 7:32p, 1/18/26
I was a cart boy there one summer. Interesting little track. Cool views of downtown.
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CJohns77
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8:37p, 1/18/26
Forget where I saw/heard this, but it was mentioned in a video how Bucky would do whatever it took to bring talented players to Mountain Brook. Colby Jones and Trendon Watford, both of whom are NBA players, transferred to mountain brook after already playing HS ball. Whether those acquisitions were ethical or not, he gets it. He understands what it takes to win and how to get there.
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maroonthrunthru
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In reply to PJYoung • 11:30a, 1/22/26
Highland Park GC is the old Country Club of Birmingham, before the area started to go downhill a bit..

The current CCB is in Mountain Brook…
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PJYoung
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In reply to maroonthrunthru • 11:58a, 1/22/26
AG
maroonthrunthru said:
Highland Park GC is the old Country Club of Birmingham, before the area started to go downhill a bit..

The current CCB is in Mountain Brook…

Ah that makes sense.
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