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Late in the second half of Xavier’s thrilling 86-80 win over Texas basketball in a First Four game March 19 in Dayton, Ohio, Longhorn freshman Tre Johnson drained a fall-away 3-pointer and raced down the court celebrating with outstretched arms.
As Johnson raced past the Xavier bench, he even got a high-five from Sean Miller, then the Musketeers’ coach.
Six whirlwind days later, Miller found himself in Austin being introduced as the Longhorns’ head coach. So, trying to convince the 6-foot-6 Johnson, who scored 23 points against his Musketeers, to return for one more season seems like a logical first move for Miller, right?
Not exactly.
“What I would say to him is he needs to go,” Miller said. “That’s his best decision for him and his family.”
On Tre Johnson: ‘What a great offensive player’
The NBA scouts agree with Miller and almost everyone else invested in what happens in this summer’s NBA draft. Johnson led the SEC in scoring at 19.9 points a game while drawing multiple freshman All-American awards. According to ESPN’s latest 2025 NBA mock draft, Johnson is projected to go to Philadelphia with the No. 5 overall pick.
Don’t expect Miller — or any other coach — to see Johnson on a college court again.
But back to the slap of hands late in Xavier’s First Four win. Why did Miller reach out and congratulate Johnson, which in hindsight seems like a hoops portention?
“People after the game brought it to my attention; I didn’t even know I did that,” Miller said. “I really didn’t. I guess it just happened naturally. You get so caught up in the moment in the game. I guess, as I reflect back on it, I just watched him make the shot, and I go, ‘Wow. What a great offensive player, what a tough shot.’”
Sean Miller: Meets individually with players Tuesday
The spring portal window opened…
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Publish date : 2025-03-25 21:35:00
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