It’s a brand new era for Texas A&M as former Samford coach Bucky McMillan takes over in College Station. He inherits a program in decent shape thanks to the work of Buzz Williams, as the Aggies are fresh off a third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. However, it’s not easy work staying relevant and competitive in an SEC that seems to get stronger and stronger leaving McMillan quite the job ahead.
The advent of NIL and the transfer portal mean complete rebuilds for many teams on a regular basis and that’s the case here for an SEC team with a head coaching change. While the Aggies did lose a number of names to the portal and other schools, this program also did bid goodbye to recent legends like Wade Taylor IV and Zhuric Phelps, who had enormous roles in that recent success. A few underclassmen return but won’t be notable players next season.
Instead, the Aggies have completely rebuilt this rotation using the portal and have quite the new look. The frontcourt has a flurry of new names, nabbing Rashaun Agee from USC, Federiko Federiko from Texas Tech, and Mackenzie Mgbako of Indiana, probably the best of the bunch. Rylan Griffen slides over from a down year at Kansas while former North Alabama point guard Jacari Lane could have a big role in the immediate future.
However, the most important addition actually came later than expected in Pop Isaacs. A 6-2 guard from Las Vegas and a former Top 75 recruit, he had two prosperous seasons at Texas Tech before missing most of last season after an injury while with Creighton. Isaacs put up 15.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in his last full year with the Red Raiders and had similar figures through eight games with the Bluejays.
Texas A&M really became an offseason winner later than expected when Isaacs became available. This talented shooter and point guard on the rise was in the portal and landed at Houston, but opted for a new landing spot after Milos Uzan returned to the Cougars. Now he slides into a massive role for the Aggies likely playing both guard positions where he’ll be leaned on heavily moving forward.
You can start to piece together a starting five and work out some rotations, but the key to the equation will be Isaacs’ play. He’s back from his injury but it’ll be important for him to play at the same level or better with the Aggies. There are always question marks with so many moving pieces and there are legitimate concerns in that frontcourt outside of Mgbako, but Isaacs gives a defined veteran backcourt presence who can score and make his teammates better.