Sean Miller, the Texas men’s basketball head coach, did what most people from Austin did on Saturday — watch the Red River Rivalry game.
Miller has watched every home football game so far this season and makes his way to Gregory Gymnasium for Texas volleyball, a team that has yet to lose a game this season. He had the chance to witness No. 2-seeded Texas baseball host a regional in the NCAA tournament and Texas softball win the national championship.
In his short time at Texas, Miller has learned the importance of winning and chasing championships at Texas.
“The one thing you learn very quickly at the University of Texas is, you name the sport, they’re trying to win the national championship,” Miller said on Tuesday at Southeastern Conference Basketball Media Day.
Miller coached Arizona in the Pac-12 and Xavier in the Big East but had never coached in the SEC until Texas. Now, less than a month away from the Longhorns’ first game, it is Miller’s turn to embrace that winning tradition as he prepares his team for the SEC and hopefully a run at the national championship.
During Tuesday’s media day, Miller expressed how competitive the conference is in college basketball, referencing the seven SEC teams that were in the Sweet 16 of last year’s March Madness tournament and how Florida, a member of the SEC, won it all.
Miller is confident that his time in the Big East, a conference that includes basketball powerhouse UConn, can help him adjust.
“Coming from the Big East, I’m very unapologetic from that perspective because that’s a conference that I participated in, I played there,” Miller said. “That conference to college basketball means everything. … UConn, the three years I was in the Big East, they won the national championship twice. … You need an experience before you take on a challenge like the one that’s in front of us now.”
After arriving on the Forty Acres, Miller was able to retain returners such as senior guards Chendall Weaver and Jordan Pope. However, he was also able to convince Xavier junior guard and forward Dailyn Swain to follow him to Texas.
This move could pay dividends as he is a returner who not only understands Miller’s philosophies but also has the same perspectives of the SEC.
“The biggest thing I would say is you can’t take a night off,” Swain said. “Every single night is going to be a big game. You can lose to any team, and I see all 16 teams. So, I think it’ll bring out the best in me for sure.”
The madness of March may still be months away, but it’s safe to say that Miller knows what is at stake as the head coach of the Longhorns.
“We’re surrounded by excellence as a basketball program,” Miller said. “To grow, to build something that has been good. Can we get to a Final Four? (Can we) win a national championship? That’s the quest. That’s something that I think you have to embrace when you’re at a place like the University of Texas.”
