MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — John Lennon sang about starting over but the Beatles legend never had to deal with the transfer portal or the NIL.
Texas men’s basketball coach Sean Miller prefers the Sweet 16 to sweet music and when it comes to retooling the roster that hit all the right notes after being nearly left for dead after a turbulent end to the regular season, he believes even better times are ahead.
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We’re a couple of months removed from the Horns losing on a last-second putback to the Purdue Boilermakers, and Miller is in good spirits entering Year 2.
Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller talks to his team during a timeout in the second half of Texas’ 79-77 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, March 26, 2026.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Props to the outgoing Jordan Pope, Chendall Weaver, Tramon Mark and Dailyn Swain, who gave the fanbase something to cheer about in March Madness but a new year means a new roster.
This isn’t the old days when you knew seven or eight guys were coming back each year. The transfer portal has made retention a major challenge and the best coaches are the ones who can somehow find program players who stick around for a couple of seasons to mix with an elite high school player and those essentials veterans from the portal.
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This time last year, Miller was scrambling to cobble a roster together after leaving Xavier for the 512 and after riding a roller-coaster his first regular season, the Horns defied the odds and won three tournament games before bowing out with a 21-15 record.
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“They got on a run that was awesome,” athletic director Chris Del Conte said Wednesday at the SEC spring meetings. “I just think that we have a great coach and the kids believe in what he’s doing.”
Six games over .500 isn’t Texas’ standard but one can’t help but see bright skies on the horizon with the team Miller has constructed, especially with the entertaining brand of ball we witnessed in March.
Florida Gators forward Alex Condon (21) blocks an attempt from Texas Longhorns forward Dailyn Swain (3) in the second half as the Longhorns play the Florida Gators at the Moody Center in Austin, Feb. 25, 2026.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Power forward is a key ingredient.
College basketball is largely a guard’s game but Miller believed getting a versatile power forward was the key to moving this thing forward. TCU’s David Punch was an ideal choice. At 6-foot-7 and a burly 246 pounds, he will have the bulk to make some noise on the interior and spell 7-foot center Matas Vokietaitis who had some foul trouble issues his freshman year.
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“I think the way college basketball is at the (power forward) position, I think it’s more important than ever because certain teams have the ability to play a big at that spot,” Miller said Tuesday at the spring meetings.
Miller pointed to how the Florida Gators won a championship in 2025 with a great 1-2 interior duo of 6-foot-10 center Rueben Chinyelu and 6-11 power forward Alex Condon. The two were interchangeable, allowing coach Todd Golden to either play them together or separate depending on game conditions. The wiry Condon’s length gave him the ability to guard opposing centers when Chinyelu sat, even if some opposing centers outweighed in this league him by a bit.
It was that versatility that allowed the Gators to navigate a tough SEC schedule and maintain enough in the postseason to a 36-4 campaign with the program’s third national championship.
After Miller sang Florida’s praises with Texas media outside the interview room, I spied my fellow Golden speaking to a couple of Florida reporters a few feet away.
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“Nice last name,” Golden said, eyeing my media credential.
“You missed the family reunion,” I said.
“Didn’t receive the invite,” he said.
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Family pleasantries aside (we aren’t related), I asked Todd about his interior duo and how vital they were to the success the Gators have enjoyed over the last couple seasons and will continue to enjoy since both are back in 2027.
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“It’s an incredible luxury,” he said. “Once (Condon) broke through over that last month, I thought he played like one of the best players in the league or one of the players in America. His ability to go from the four (power forward) to the five (center) and be able to stretch it out a bit (was vital).”
With Punch and Vokietaitis working together, the Horns should be able to withstand foul trouble. Better yet, Miller inked 6-8 wing Elyjah Freeman, who averaged 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds at Auburn as a sophomore.
TCU forward David Punch reacts in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026 in Greenville, South Carolina.
Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
The guards will be an interesting study. Isaiah Johnson topped 20 points nine times in his freshman year at Colorado and averaged 20.5 points over his last six contests, including a career high 28 points in a loss to Big 12 champ and eventual national semifinalist Arizona.
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“Isaiah played in the Big 12 at 18 years old,” Miller said. “He could have or should have been a senior in high school and I think for him to have the season that he had in that conference shows a lot about his upside and where’s he’s going. I’m anxious to get him on campus and be able coach him. He loves the game of basketball and has a bright future.”
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It doesn’t hurt to bring in veterans like Freeman and Tennessee’s Amari Lewis, who understand the SEC grind. Miller is also high on Austin Goosby, the 6-5 younger brother of Longhorn offensive tackle Trevor Goosby, Encino (Calif.) guard Joe Sterling, St. Mary’s transfer guard Mikey Lewis and Westlake star Bo Ogden, son of team general manager Chris. 247Sports ranked the 6-6, 195-pound Ogden, who is competing for a spot on the USA’s Under-18 national team, the fifth-best player in Texas for this class. And let’s not forget 6-2 combo guard Manthas Laurencikas who played youth ball with Vokietaitis in Lithuania.
Westlake head coach Robert Lucero gives the runner up trophy to guard Bo Ogden (5) after the loss to Little Elm in the UIL 6A Division 2 State Championship game at the Alamodome on Saturday, March 14, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
It all adds up to what’s hopefully a more brand of his up-tempo style that made the Horns much more entertaining on the offensive end.
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Miller said he was leaving Florida to hit the recruiting trail before the team starts practices June 8. The Horns will play an exhibition game against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden in the preseason with closed scrimmages against Arizona State and SMU.
The regular season includes games against Georgetown, Miami and Memphis, among others. And the SEC is, well, the SEC.
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