Good article on Buckyball from AL.com - Why does college basketball hate Buckyball?

3,489 Views | 33 Replies | Last: 4 days ago by SchizoAg
BulldAg99
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https://www.al.com/alabamabasketball/2026/02/goodman-why-does-college-basketball-hate-bucky-mcmillan.html

BQ_90
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Pay wall and wrong board
BulldAg99
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Thanks. Meant to post to premium but you can access with show reader function on iPhone.
BQ_90
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Hopefully mods will move this to MBB board
greg.w.h
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Very good opinion piece. To be honest the heart of it deserves discussion on every board since our fans insist on being mehs rather than fans in the face of tough competition.

"Is it just me, or are there a lot of similarities between Mountain Brook and Texas A&M?

Lots of money. Heavy on the bro-dork ratio. Maybe a little strange from the outside looking in. I appreciate the uniqueness of Texas A&M, but I can see how it doesn't agree with the folks in Austin.

I ran into McMillan on the sideline of Kyle Field last football season. He was showing a recruit around the school on an official visit. At the time, McMillan seemed a little worried about his new team. He bet big on experienced players in the portal, but didn't know how it would all translate to the SEC.

Bucky was smart to find a bunch of hungry, overlooked guys, including former Alabama player Rylan Griffin. They enjoy creating havoc during games and dumbfounding the college basketball poll voters, and it shows.

"We're going to play fearless basketball, and our guys have bought into that," McMillan said after the Georgia game. "And it's easy when you've got a group of guys like we got, veteran guys.""
BubblesMcGee
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I was also able to read the article on my iPhone. Agree with Greg that this is a good opinion piece and well worth reading. However, I will admit to not knowing what the "bro-dork ratio" means. Maybe that's because I'm an "old" and/or a dork.

Found this explanation on the Google machine: Contextual usage: The term appeared in a search result as a descriptor for a specific environment (Texas A&M) in a sports commentary, implying a high concentration of both "bro" (generally characterized as affluent, social, sometimes rowdy young males) and "dork" (intellectual or niche-focused individuals) personalities.
greg.w.h
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So just that one piece???
BTKAG97
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BulldAg99 said:

Thanks. Meant to post to premium but you can access with show reader function on iPhone.

I don't own a trash phone.
BubblesMcGee
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Believe you and I may be doing our best to temper A&M's "bro-dork ratio."
SchizoAg
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Article doesn't answer the question, but I will: Because it wins.

You can either be lovable losers, or hated winners. Those are your two options in sports
halfastros81
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Are there bro-dork ratio rankings? That might help me get a bead on what it means.
BubblesMcGee
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I hear it's under consideration by both AP and UPI. Who knows, KenPom may be next. Apparently, there are little data on the dork part of the rato. I'm expecting a call soon.
greg.w.h
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BubblesMcGee said:

Believe you and I may be doing our best to temper A&M's "bro-dork ratio."
You can be the bro. I've got dork down pat.
dcbowers
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SchizoAg said:

Article doesn't answer the question, but I will: Because it wins.

You can either be lovable losers, or hated winners. Those are your two options in sports


Rare exceptions:

Indiana Hoosiers (football only) are lovable winners.
Dallas Cowboys are hated losers.
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TyperWoods
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Bro-dork sounds racist
Mr.Milkshake
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Have not seen or heard any hate for our style
Of play
buckyball34
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Mr.Milkshake said:

Have not seen or heard any hate for our style
Of play

It's coming. Probably a little premature for an article like that (Joseph Goodman is a clown, by the way).
Aston04
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Mr.Milkshake said:

Have not seen or heard any hate for our style
Of play

Agreed. I would suspect other coaches respect his style. We move the ball on offense and get after teams on defense. Any real basketball coach appreciates that.

I would guess the far more annoying coaches are the ones clueless on the sideline, but win because of the bag and/or shady recruiting.
Johnny Boyziel 2
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The style is high intensity and fast paced. It is not like we are bending the rules or finding a loophole in them like some coaches have in football with the faking injuries or exploiting the substitution rule to slow down an offensive tempo. If others get upset because of how we play, then that's on them. Nothing is stopping them from trying the same.

ETA: I didn't read the article with it being behind a paywall. Why does college basketball hate buckyball?
halfastros81
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Greg posted most of it 5th post from the top.

I think the opposing coaches already hate it
Johnny Boyziel 2
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"Lots of money. Heavy on the bro-dork ratio. Maybe a little strange from the outside looking in. I appreciate the uniqueness of Texas A&M, but I can see how it doesn't agree with the folks in Austin."

This is really the only negative from what Greg posted. Is that it? College basketball hates us because our rival doesn't like us?
buckyball34
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The complaints aren't going to be about bending any rules. It's going to be more along the lines of disrupting the status quo.

One of the complaints I heard after the Auburn game was that the bench kept standing during the game and how that was somehow disrespectful.

You'll hear stuff like "this isn't basketball". I've heard this crap for almost 20 years now. Once you get used to it, it's delicious.
bobinator
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Good news here is we actually got some training in this when we joined the SEC in football with the air raid offense. Plus most of our fans like being slighted anyway.
halfastros81
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I didn't really find the article to be negative towards Buckyball at all and I'm not even sure those comments are negative . To me the gist of it is that competing programs are going to hate it because they are likely to lose to it a lot.

I am somewhat puzzled by the Bro-Dork ratio comment. Not clear to me what it even means . Could be seen as a positive or a negative depending on how you interpret it I suppose.
bobinator
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I kinda think Bro-dork is a good way to describe a big section of our fan base. I haven't heard that before, but I like it.
halfastros81
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We've got bro's and dorks for sure but a High Bro-Dork ratio suggests something different than just having both types. It doesn't bother me I just am not clear on what it even means .
The Collective
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bobinator said:

I kinda think Bro-dork is a good way to describe a big section of our fan base. I haven't heard that before, but I like it.


It is a perfect descriptor. We can be so cringe as a fan base (and I don't mean the university traditions), and I'm here for all of it.
bobinator
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I'm choosing to believe it's not an either/or, but a combined descriptor.

Like we have an unusually high ratio of bro-dorks. A bro-dork is a dude that likes to have a beer and talk sports with the guys like a typical bro, so like on Saturday's you walk around Kyle Field and we're as bro as any other school out there, but then we also actually are a good school for academics and most students take things seriously and also possibly have hot takes on the Star Wars sequels.
Divining Rod
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greg.w.h said:

BubblesMcGee said:

Believe you and I may be doing our best to temper A&M's "bro-dork ratio."
You can be the bro. I've got dork down pat.


one of the few times i agree with you
halfastros81
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That could be it. I'll accept that interpretation.
plant science guy
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I'm not really sure what they were trying to say about the bro-dork ratio, and reading the article I must have missed that paragraph or they removed it.

The way it's worded you would think they were saying we have lots of bros in relation to how many dorks we have. But that doesn't make sense if you are then saying that Austin doesn't, because even though their acceptance rate is lower they are still a very bro campus.

It also calls Mountain Brook High School "industrious" and says the culture is similar. Mountain Brook High School is in the top 4 schools in the state and has significantly higher proficiency in every subject than the state average, by a lot. I don't know any of the economics of the Mountain Brook area.

I think bro culture is definitely out of hand on campus (just look at the trucks driving around) and a lot of our students feel like they don't have to study or that they can fall back on daddy's money (look at WHEN they're all driving around), but I don't even know if that's the point they were trying to make if you're saying the highly achieving Mountain Brook is the same.
Canyon99
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bobinator said:

I kinda think Bro-dork is a good way to describe a big section of our fan base. I haven't heard that before, but I like it.

Which side of the bro-dork category do you fall into?
bobinator
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I think I'm definitely a bro-dork.

I can sit around the bar and drink some beers and play "remember some guys", but then also obsessed with tempo-free stats and wanting to share opinions on how the Three Body Problem was adapted for Netflix.
SchizoAg
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halfastros81 said:

We've got bro's and dorks for sure but a High Bro-Dork ratio suggests something different than just having both types. It doesn't bother me I just am not clear on what it even means .

Your problem is probably that you didn't flunk your junior high school math classes, thus closing the door to most respectable careers and relegating you to a life of sportswriting.

See, when a person with basic mathematical literacy says "A-B" ratio, he means the ratio of A to B. However, when this author says it, he means the ratio of "AB" to everyone else. HTH
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