logo
Texas A&M to hire Samford's Bucky McMillan as men's basketball coach: Source

Texas A&M to hire Samford's Bucky McMillan as men's basketball coach: Source

New York Times05-04-2025
Texas A&M is finalizing a five-year deal with Samford's Bucky McMillan to coach the Aggies men's basketball program, a source briefed on the negotiations said Friday. ESPN first reported the news.
McMillan, 41, spent the last five seasons with the Bulldogs, guiding the program to an NCAA Tournament appearance during the 2023-24 season and a 99-52 record. A three-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year from 2022 to 2024, McMillan has led Samford to winning seasons over his last four campaigns, with at least 20 victories in each of those years.
Advertisement
He's now set to replace Buzz Williams at Texas A&M after Williams left for the job at Maryland earlier this week. The Aggies have made the NCAA Tournament in the last three seasons, losing in the second round the past two years and in the first round before then.
They went 23-11 under Williams most recently and 11-7 in the SEC, one of the most competitive conferences in college basketball.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

A look at Venus Williams' tennis career and comeback. She's returning to the US Open at age 45
A look at Venus Williams' tennis career and comeback. She's returning to the US Open at age 45

San Francisco Chronicle​

time9 minutes ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

A look at Venus Williams' tennis career and comeback. She's returning to the US Open at age 45

Venus Williams is back on the professional tennis tour at age 45 and will be returning to the U.S. Open next week for her first Grand Slam competition in two years. She received a wild-card entry for singles from the U.S. Tennis Association on Wednesday — she will be the oldest player in that event in New York since Renee Richards was 47 in 1981 — after earlier getting one for mixed doubles. Here is a look at the career of Williams, who owns seven Grand Slam titles in singles, 14 in women's doubles with her younger sister, Serena, and two in mixed doubles, plus a record five Olympic tennis medals: Venus Williams' pro tennis debut came in 1994 Williams, who was born in Lynwood, California, on June 17, 1980, played her first WTA tournament in Oakland in October 1994, at 14. In the first round, Williams faced Shaun Stafford, the 1988 NCAA singles champion, and won 6-3, 6-4. In the second round, Williams lost to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, who would retire with four Grand Slam trophies. The first Grand Slam event for Venus Williams was the 1997 French Open Her Grand Slam debut came at Roland-Garros in 1997, eliminating Naoko Sawamatsu in the first round and losing to Nathalie Tauziat in the second. Later that year, Williams played in the U.S. Open for the first time and reached the final before losing to Martina Hingis. The 1998 Australian Open featured the first Venus vs. Serena matchup Venus beat Serena — who is 15 months younger — in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open, the first of 31 meetings as pros. Serena went 19-12, 11-5 in Slam matches. The Williams sisters won their first women's doubles Slam title in 1999 Venus and Serena teamed up to win their first major doubles title at the 1999 French Open. They also won the U.S. Open that year. Venus Williams won her first major singles trophy at Wimbledon in 2000 Her first Grand Slam singles trophy arrived at the All England Club when she was 20, via a victory over Lindsay Davenport in 2000. That made Williams the first Black woman to win Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in the 1950s. With Serena having won the 1999 U.S. Open, they became the first sisters in tennis history to each win a major singles championship. They were just getting started. 'I always expected to win Grand Slams,' Venus said at the time. 'This was meant to be.' She also collected the Venus Rosewater Dish — the Wimbledon women's trophy — in 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008. Olympic success for Venus Williams Williams left the 2000 Sydney Olympics with gold medals from singles and doubles (with Serena, of course), then added golds in women's doubles in 2008 and 2012, plus a silver in mixed doubles (with Rajeev Ram) in 2016. The first Williams vs. Williams Grand Slam final Venus won her first U.S. Open title in 2000 with another victory over Davenport, and her second by defeating Serena a year later in the first major championship match between sisters since Maud Watson beat Lillian Watson at Wimbledon in 1884. During one remarkable stretch from 2002 into 2003, the Williams siblings met in four consecutive Slam finals; Serena went 4-0. Venus Williams reaches No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2002 Venus was ranked No. 1 for the first time in February 2002 and was there for 11 weeks. Serena spent a total of 319 weeks at No. 1. Venus Williams announces her diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome in 2011 During the 2011 U.S. Open, Williams withdrew before her second-round match and revealed she had been diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome, an energy-sapping auto-immune disease that can cause joint pain. Later Grand Slam success for Williams Williams had a career resurgence in 2016-17, making it to the finals at two major tournaments (at the Australian Open and Wimbledon) and the semifinals at two others (at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open). Time away from the tour for Venus Williams — and a comeback Williams had 10 consecutive Slam exits in the first or second round, including at the 2023 U.S. Open, her most recent major appearance. No one knew until recently, but Williams also was having more health issues: She had surgery for uterine fibroids last year. She was away from the tour for 16 months until returning at the DC Open this July, winning once each in singles and doubles.

At 45, Venus Williams earns her 25th U.S. Open singles draw
At 45, Venus Williams earns her 25th U.S. Open singles draw

UPI

timean hour ago

  • UPI

At 45, Venus Williams earns her 25th U.S. Open singles draw

Tennis legend Venus Williams will make her return to the U.S. Open after earning a wild card draw for the prestigious Grand Slam tournament that starts on August 24. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams has secured her 25th main draw in the prestigious tennis tournament at age 45 amid a recent comeback attempt. Williams is one of eight women who obtained wild card draws for the competition that begins with qualifying rounds on Tuesday, the U.S. Open announced on Wednesday. The main event runs from Aug. 24 through Sept. 7. Williams won consecutive U.S. Open singles titles in 2000 and 2001 and last month ended a 16-month hiatus from competitive tennis when she entered the Citi Open in Washington. She defeated Peyton Stearns, the world's 35th-ranked women's singles player, 6-3, 6-4, during her opening match in that tournament. Poland's Magdalena Fręch was the tournament's fifth seed and defeated Williams, 6-2, 6-2, but Williams secured a wild card invite to compete in the Cincinnati Open, which started on Aug. 5 and ends on Monday. Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro beat Williams, 6-4, 6-4, on Thursday in the Cincinnati Open. Other U.S. women who earned wild card draws in the U.S. Open are Clervie Ngounoue, Alyssa Ahn, JulietaPareja, Caty McNally and Valerie Gloxman. Pareja, 16, is the world's top-ranked junior, while Ngounoue, 19, is the former top-ranked junior and won her first Women's Tennis Association main draw at the Cincinnati Open. Caroline Garcia of France and Talia Gibson of Australia also received wild-card main draws for the U.S. Open. The main draw wild cards mean Williams and other recipients don't have to play in the U.S. Open's qualifying tournament, which is held from Monday through Aug. 20 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City's Queens borough. Williams has won five Wimbledon titles in addition to her two U.S. Open wins for a total of seven Grand Slam singles titles, plus four Olympic gold medals and one silver medal. She also has won 14 major doubles titles. The U.S. Open news wasn't the only highlight for Williams on Wednesday. Toymaker Mattel on Wednesday also announced it is producing a Venus Williams Barbie Doll as part of its "Inspiring Women Series" dolls. The Williams doll wears a tennis outfit and visor while holding a tennis racket, which is modeled after one of her prior tournament outfits.

Bengals' Ted Karras wants Shemar Stewart to 'be smarter' after rookie bumped Joe Burrow
Bengals' Ted Karras wants Shemar Stewart to 'be smarter' after rookie bumped Joe Burrow

USA Today

time2 hours ago

  • USA Today

Bengals' Ted Karras wants Shemar Stewart to 'be smarter' after rookie bumped Joe Burrow

Shemar Stewart is still finding his way with the Cincinnati Bengals after a prolonged holdout that wasn't resolved until late July. On Wednesday, teammates delivered a pointed message to the first-round rookie defensive end on the need to properly harness his intensity in a practice setting. Stewart ignited a scuffle during practice when he bumped into quarterback Joe Burrow during a play. Right guard Lucas Patrick confronted the defender, with teammates quickly arriving to separate the two. We've got a scrum at #Bengals practice. Not sure what the cause was here, but after the first play of a 30 minute period of 11 v 11 scrimmage, the offense and defense come together for a scrum. Will be an interesting remainder of the period. Center Ted Karras, a 10th-year who has been a captain for all three of his previous seasons with the Bengals, said the offensive line was ultimately responsible for Burrow's well-being, noting, "We gotta be better up front." But he also called for better judgment from the No. 17 overall pick out of Texas A&M. Asked if he appreciated the edge Stewart brought to the defensive line, Karras said Wednesday, "Hell yeah. Just be smarter. ... Come on, man. That's all our hopes and dreams right there." Safeguarding Burrow has been a lofty challenge for the Bengals' maligned offensive line throughout the quarterback's five-year career. Cincinnati's offensive front ranked last in ESPN's pass-block win rate metric in 2024, and the two-time Pro Bowl signal-caller tied for fourth with 48 sacks taken. Burrow missed the final seven games of the 2023 season after suffering a torn ligament in his right wrist. With receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins re-signed to massive extensions this offseason, the Bengals are once again counting on Burrow to shoulder a heavy load and lead the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022. FANTASY FOOTBALL: Is Ja'Marr Chase the No. 1-ranked wide receiver? Stewart, meanwhile, is expected to help revitalize the defensive front and made a strong early impression on teammates. "He's been making some plays out there for us," defensive tackle B.J. Hill said earlier in August. "He's a strong, physical, big-time athlete who can do a lot of things for us. Inside or outside. Glad to have him on our side. When he learns this defense, things are going to very explosive for our defense."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store