Sean Miller’s first season in Austin, Texas, ended just as his last tenure at Xavier began, with a Sweet 16 appearance. Last year, the Longhorns saw much of what a Miller program emphasizes: pack-line physicality and on-ball juice from their lead guard.
Miller’s veteran backcourt of stayovers, Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope, fit his mentality but not his style, skill, or build. Mark was a Miller-type player in many ways. He played physically, covered on defense, and fought for rebounds. Pope could score and get downhill, but he didn’t provide true point guard play that created opportunities. Texas’ 43% assist rate was the lowest team assist rate in Miller’s coaching career.
Along with Mark and Pope, rising-star transfer Dailyn Swain became an All-SEC player who heard his name called in the NBA Draft. Because of eligibility and portal entries for the rest of the roster, junior big Matas Vokietaitis is the lone returner for a team that reached the second weekend. For some programs, that would mean a major rebuild and a step backward, but for Miller and his Texas support system, it just means he has more freedom to find his guys and fully implement a scheme that has earned him 14 tournament appearances throughout his career.
