Texas A&M basketball coach Bucky McMillan certainly found his first trip to the SEC Meetings in Destin, Fla., to be enjoyable as he got two huge pieces of good news Tuesday.
Not only did the Aggies sign one of the best shooters remaining in the transfer portal, he received word that his top addition had withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will be in Aggieland this fall.
First, the Aggies signed former Texas Tech and Creighton guard Pop Isaacs, who has averaged 14.2 points over the course of his two-plus seasons of major college basketball. Isaacs averaged 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists for Creighton last year, but a hip injury ended his season after just eight games. One of those games was against A&M at the Players Era Festival, where he scored 25 points (5 of 10 from 3-point range) and added six assists in an 77-73 Aggie win.
Isaacs started all 34 games for Texas Tech in 2023-24 and averaged 15.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Red Raiders. For his career, he has hit 36.2% of his shots, including 33.4% behind the arc, while making 85.2% of his free throws. In 2024-25, he averaged 38.3% from 3-point distance, topping his 37.9% mark in 2022-23. He slumped with his shooting percentage in 2023-24, making 34.9% of his shots overall and 29.3% from 3-point range, but still found ways to score.
Isaacs had originally committed to Houston, but backed off that commitment when Cougars guard Milos Uzan decided to return to school instead of remain in the NBA Draft. That suited McMillan and the Aggies just fine, as Isaacs likely moves into the starting lineup in the backcourt with point guard Jacari Lane.
Another withdrawal from the NBA Draft also worked well for the Aggies — that of forward Mackenzie Mgbako. Mgbako, who announced his transfer to A&M from Indiana earlier this spring, had impressed at the G-League and NBA Combines, but still seemed destined to be a second round pick had he remained in the draft. Instead, he will come to College Station and be one of the key pieces in McMillan’s up-tempo offense, which could help his draft status significantly.
With the addition of Isaacs and the guarantee of Mgbako’s arrival, the Aggies now have 12 scholarship players, 10 of which have arrived via the transfer portal since McMillan’s hiring. A&M still has three scholarships remaining to fill.
