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New Texas basketball coach Sean Miller has yet to hold an introductory press conference at his new school, but the never-ending cycle of college athletics never stops.
The spring portal window opened Monday, and rebuilding Texas' roster that will likely lose almost every rotation player seems like an immediate concern for Miller, who replaced the fired Rodney Terry as the Longhorns' coach on Sunday. Six Texas players used up their collegiate eligibility: forwards Arthur Kaluma, Jayson Kent, Ze’Rik Onyema and Kadin Shedrick as well as guards Tramon Mark and Julian Larry. And Tre Johnson, the SEC’s freshman of the year, is expected to declare for the NBA draft any day.
That leaves Miller with three players — junior guard Jordan Pope, junior guard Chendall Weaver and sophomore wing Devon Pryor — as the only eligible returning players who averaged at least 10 minutes a game from a team that went 19-16 and lost to Miller’s Xavier squad in a First Four game.
But Miller, 56, can point at his team this season as an example of how to rebuild a roster with both speed and sense. After a disappointing 16-18 record in the 2023-24 season, Miller lost nine players to the portal and welcomed in seven new Musketeers. The result? A 22-12 season, a fourth-place finish in the Big East and a spot in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 64, in which Xavier lost to Illinois on Friday.
Here are three questions as Miller begins to reconstruct the Texas roster:
Besides trying to somehow convince Johnson to stay one more season, the first conversation for Miller may be with Weaver. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged just 6.4 points in 20.7 minutes this season, but he posted 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest and sets a physical and relentless tone in each game and every practice. He seems like a natural for Miller, himself a fiery guard back in playing days at Pittsburgh. And he would provide a sense of familiarity for the fans and the program entering his third season at Texas.
They didn’t for Terry and basketball general manager Chris Ogden, by most accounts. If fans need a reminder of the importance of NIL funding in the modern era of college athletics, watch Texas Tech play Arkansas this weekend in the Sweet 16. First-year Texas Tech forward JT Toppin, the Big 12's player of the year, considered Texas, but the Longhorns’ basketball collective didn’t match Texas Tech’s reported $1 million payment to the former New Mexico player. Will the hiring of Miller add a jolt to the financial commitment for UT basketball? Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte certainly hopes so.
It’s not uncommon for a coach to bring along several players from a previous school. Texas will have plenty of open roster spots, especially since the NCAA will now allow for 15 men’s basketball scholarships, two more than allowed this season. Five Xavier players that joined Miller for one season in 2024-25 have at least one more year of collegiate eligibility, including star guard Ryan Conwell (16.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists). In addition, sophomore wing Dailyn Swain had a breakout season for Xavier with 11 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Swain, a former four-star recruit and one of the top prep basketball players in the state of Ohio for the 2023 class, picked Miller and Xavier over a plethora of other offers.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball: 3 questions for UT coach Sean Miller as portal opens
Continue reading...
The spring portal window opened Monday, and rebuilding Texas' roster that will likely lose almost every rotation player seems like an immediate concern for Miller, who replaced the fired Rodney Terry as the Longhorns' coach on Sunday. Six Texas players used up their collegiate eligibility: forwards Arthur Kaluma, Jayson Kent, Ze’Rik Onyema and Kadin Shedrick as well as guards Tramon Mark and Julian Larry. And Tre Johnson, the SEC’s freshman of the year, is expected to declare for the NBA draft any day.
That leaves Miller with three players — junior guard Jordan Pope, junior guard Chendall Weaver and sophomore wing Devon Pryor — as the only eligible returning players who averaged at least 10 minutes a game from a team that went 19-16 and lost to Miller’s Xavier squad in a First Four game.
But Miller, 56, can point at his team this season as an example of how to rebuild a roster with both speed and sense. After a disappointing 16-18 record in the 2023-24 season, Miller lost nine players to the portal and welcomed in seven new Musketeers. The result? A 22-12 season, a fourth-place finish in the Big East and a spot in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 64, in which Xavier lost to Illinois on Friday.
Here are three questions as Miller begins to reconstruct the Texas roster:
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Chendall Weaver: Sean Miller's top priority at Texas?
Besides trying to somehow convince Johnson to stay one more season, the first conversation for Miller may be with Weaver. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged just 6.4 points in 20.7 minutes this season, but he posted 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest and sets a physical and relentless tone in each game and every practice. He seems like a natural for Miller, himself a fiery guard back in playing days at Pittsburgh. And he would provide a sense of familiarity for the fans and the program entering his third season at Texas.
Texas basketball boosters: Will they loosen the purse strings?
They didn’t for Terry and basketball general manager Chris Ogden, by most accounts. If fans need a reminder of the importance of NIL funding in the modern era of college athletics, watch Texas Tech play Arkansas this weekend in the Sweet 16. First-year Texas Tech forward JT Toppin, the Big 12's player of the year, considered Texas, but the Longhorns’ basketball collective didn’t match Texas Tech’s reported $1 million payment to the former New Mexico player. Will the hiring of Miller add a jolt to the financial commitment for UT basketball? Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte certainly hopes so.
Xavier basketball: Will any Musketeers join the Texas program?
It’s not uncommon for a coach to bring along several players from a previous school. Texas will have plenty of open roster spots, especially since the NCAA will now allow for 15 men’s basketball scholarships, two more than allowed this season. Five Xavier players that joined Miller for one season in 2024-25 have at least one more year of collegiate eligibility, including star guard Ryan Conwell (16.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists). In addition, sophomore wing Dailyn Swain had a breakout season for Xavier with 11 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Swain, a former four-star recruit and one of the top prep basketball players in the state of Ohio for the 2023 class, picked Miller and Xavier over a plethora of other offers.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball: 3 questions for UT coach Sean Miller as portal opens
Continue reading...
