Sean Miller takes over Texas men’s program looking for consistent March Madness success

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Sean Miller beat Texas in the NCAA Tournament barely a week ago, bouncing the Longhorns out early and ensuring they would be making a coaching change.

By Tuesday, Miller was standing next to the massive BEVO Longhorn mascot and thrusting his right hand in the air with the “Hook’Em Horns” sign as the new Texas men’s basketball coach.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited in my life,” Miller said at his introductory news conference on campus.

Miller also said it was hard to leave Xavier, a program where he coached twice, most notably when he returned there in 2022 after he was fired at Arizona.

“I love that place. It’s a place that trusted me, and believed in me,” he said.

Still, the lure to join a power conference program with deep resources in the top league in the country was too hard to pass up.

Miller, 56, led 13 teams to the NCAA Tournament in 20 seasons in his two stints at Xavier and Arizona. He now takes over a Texas program looking for consistent tournament success and eager to establish itself in the rugged Southeastern Conference, which has seven teams still playing in the Sweet 16 of March Madness.

Miller replaces Rodney Terry, who was fired on Sunday, a few days after Xavier beat Texas in the First Four in the NCAA Tournament. Terry had three years left on a contract that paid him more than $3 million per year.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said Miller’s contract terms would not be released until they go to the school’s board of regents of approval.

Terry led Texas to the Elite Eight in 2023, but pressure mounted as he struggled to maintain that success. Texas made quick exits from the tournament the past two seasons, and was just 6-12 in league play in its first season in the SEC.

In Miller, Texas gets a coach with a history of success at mid-major and power conference programs, who also was implicated and later cleared in an NCAA investigation into Arizona.

Miller’s teams at Xavier and Arizona made to the Sweet 16 eight times and the Elite…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/sean-miller-takes-over-texas-181412067.html

Author : JIM VERTUNO

Publish date : 2025-03-25 18:14:00

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