Jordan Pope enters his third season at Texas, where he will thrive as a scorer off the dribble. Coach Sean Miller also looks for him to spot-up for the three since he made 60 triples last season. Photo courtesy of Texas Athletics.
Honors From Coach Miller: Bringing Coach Sean Miller aboard in Austin was an excellent move, as Miller’s coaching background at Arizona (302-109) and twice at Xavier (185-87) equates to the brilliance of the coaching circles in the SEC.
“Watching the tournament unfold like I did as a part of the tournament, you watch seven advance to the Sweet 16, two more get to the Final Four, and Florida obviously winning the national championship,” said Miller. “Then, when you have the opportunity or you’re going to join that group, you know you’re against the best. Players, teams, programs, investment, and the coaches, obviously. I think you have to certainly be excited about the challenge.” 
Miller is 22-13 in 13 NCAA Tournament appearances in leading Arizona to five Pac-12 regular season championships and three Pac-12 Tournament titles. In his first appearance at Xavier, the Musketeers won Atlantic 10 regular season championships from 2006-2009 and the A-10 Tournament in 2005.
Miller returned to Xavier in 2022 and led X to an AP rating as high as No. 8 in his first season. Xavier is now in the Big East, and the Musketeers posted two NCAA Tournaments in his four seasons (2023, 2026) upon his return.
“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. “There’s nothing like Madison Square Garden. That conference to college basketball means everything. When I had the opportunity to be back at Xavier in that league, that, too, was just an amazing time in my life.”
Swain’s Versatility is Key on Texas’ Roster – Dailyn Swain comes into Texas from Xavier, where he was the third leading scorer (11.0 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.5 rpg). The junior from Columbus, Ohio, will likely start at power forward.
“I feel like we mesh well,” Swain said of his new team. “We obviously have something to talk about with us, beating them in the tournament last year. Just having those experienced veteran guards who are really good with the ball and off the ball, I feel like they’re developing, and it’s helping my development as well. So, it’s been really fun.”
Enduring Status: Miller looks forward to the return of the experience of Jordan Pope (11.0 ppg) and Tramon Mark (10.6 ppg), who were the Longhorns’ third and fourth leading scorers last season.
Pope is a second-year Longhorn who came from Oregon State and will be a key in the Texas running game and three-point attack. Mark played at Houston for three seasons and then at Arkansas before last year at Texas.
Junior Chendall Weaver played 20.9 mpg and shot 51 percent from the floor in ’24-25, and he will once again be a three-point threat and a tough matchup off the dribble.
“Definitely trying to get back healthy and get my body right,” commented Weaver. “Definitely shooting at the gym – 1,000
shots up a day to get my confidence back.”