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Four important words from Sean Miller’s press conference reveal his vision for Texas basketball

by:keenanwomack•about 20 hours
Sean Miller
Sean Miller (Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Sean Miller had his introductory press conference today as the new head coach of Texas men’s basketball, their fifth coach in the last 10 years alone. Obviously, that’s not a bragging point; Miller aims to hold down the job for a long time, and based on Chris Del Conte’s confidence, it seems that he is the man to do so. 

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Miller is confident, and stood in front of the Texas brass and media today without a blink. He has had big jobs before, leading Arizona to several Elite Eight appearances and conference championships before returning to Xavier, where he helped rebuild a dying program. 

Four Important Words

When asked about his system, he boiled it down to four words in particular: “Pace, Movement, Togetherness, Toughness.” This simple breakdown provides a lot of insight into what Miller thinks is important in his program. 

Pace is a word to which Texas fans are unaccustomed – the last several coaches for the Longhorns emphasized defensive intensity over high-octane offense. Miller wants to push the pace and get into transition. 

Movement is another foreign phrase for Longhorn faithful, as Rodney Terry’s offenses focused on isolations and lacked off-ball movement or action almost entirely. This simple adjustment, though more complex in practice, is one way to kill the stagnation of dribbling out the clock and firing up a prayer at the end of the possession. They will be as active on offense as they have been on defense, which will open up so many opportunities for drives and clean looks. 

Togetherness may seem like a buzz word, but on both sides of the ball, it is imperative. Offensively, knowing each other’s movements obviously dictates execution, while defensively, the guards have to know when and where to switch. The bigs, who typically drop or hedge, will also have to be in line with these switches. So much of defensive awareness is knowing how teammates will move.  

Toughness is the last phrase, but in the Southeastern Conference, it may be the most important. Texas played several games this season that came down to physicality, from some of which they emerged victorious. They also lost games this way, however, when they played bully-ball teams like Tennessee. 

Building Infrastructure

These four elements combined – pace, movement, togetherness, toughness – create a blueprint for a team that can compete at any level. The offense will take care of itself, as the scheme Miller has developed has worked for the last few years since he updated it to be more in line with the modern NBA. They aim to be able to score with the offensive teams in the conference like Alabama and Kentucky, while still providing enough physicality to body up to teams like Auburn. 

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It seems Miller has a very specific set of principles he wants to install, and that, if executed correctly, these pillars can create infrastructure in a program that has lacked that recently.

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