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Some notable pickups by Texas coach Sean Miller in the transfer portal have the Longhorns projected by some as a preseason top-10 team.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. \u2014 Sean Miller<\/a> is stoked.<\/p>\n Just 13 months removed from accepting the Texas basketball job<\/a>, the second-year head coach approaches his next season with a whole lot more confidence than he did in Year 1.<\/p>\n And a whole team to boot, too.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Amazing what a $20 million payroll, give or take, can accomplish. While Miller strongly refutes that number reported by On3 \u2014 which stands by its story \u2014 it\u2019s certainly in the ballpark in today\u2019s spending spree that is college basketball\u2019s new trend.<\/p>\n And the inroads he\u2019s made this offseason has attracted so much attention, some are projecting his team as top-10 material.<\/p>\n When asked if the amount of money devoted to Longhorn basketball approached $20 million, Miller shook his head and said, \u201cNo, no, no. We\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n Is Texas in the neighborhood?<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI won’t go beyond that,\u201d he said, “but we’re not.\u201d<\/p>\n While he had to make do with a patchwork lineup built on the fly last spring, he did a lot. While his defensively challenged team had no true point guard and no frontcourt that could deny shots at the rim, Miller has put together a 14-player roster with five transfers, a pair of top high school recruits and a returning foundation built around 7-footer Matas Vokietaitis<\/a>, All of the transfers have more than one year of eligibility remaining, and four were four-star recruits.<\/p>\n And they can play defense, too.<\/p>\n That will come in handy because those players from last year\u2019s 21-15 team, while offensively robust and confident during its Sweet 16 run<\/a>, were deficient on that side of the ball.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n That especially holds true for dynamic TCU power forward David Punch<\/a>, who, well, brings one. Mlller recruited the solid 6-7, 246-pound junior-to-be at his former Xavier job and has always kept an eye on him. Punch averaged 14 points a game and reportedly was offered $3 million to stay in Fort Worth.\u00a0Mokietaitis will make closer to $4 million.<\/p>\n \u201cDavid’s been able to go inside and out with the Big 12,\u201d Miller said at the SEC spring meetings Tuesday. \u201cWe were thrilled to have David. When we were at Xavier, he was actually under the radar coming out of high school, so we had familiarity with him. So being able to get David gets us help at the four position.\u201d<\/p>\n His presence rectifies a glaring omission from last year\u2019s club because 6-7 shooting specialist Cam Heide<\/a> was playing out of position at the four last year and Vokietaitis has yet to become an efficient shot-blocker inside. This was probably the most critical piece of the puzzle because Miller\u2019s trying to copy the model of versatile big men that teams like Florida and Arizona have perfected.<\/p>\n \u201cThe three positions for us that have great meaning because of our style is the point guard, the four man, and the five,\u201d Miller said. \u201cBecause in college basketball, the best right now have a big or somebody at that position that can really punish you around the basket, and sometimes they’re adept and go inside and out. Think of Florida, think of Arizona, so is Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller also turned the point guard position into one of strength when he landed sophomore Isaiah Johnson<\/a> out of Colorado to run the team. Johnson was regarded as one of the top scorers in the portal with an estimated NIL valuation of $1.3 million.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIsaiah played in the Big 12 at 18 years old, so he should have or could have been a senior in high school,\u201d Miller said. \u201cHe loves the game of basketball and again has a really bright future.\u201d<\/p>\n