What is Motivating Texas Men’s Basketball Heading Into Their Season

“I go to watch a women's volleyball game, (and) Jared Elliott, the coach, and they're right there,” Miller said. “You know, they have an amazing team… the pageantry in that gym, watching our women's volleyball team is like something that I've never seen before.”

With seven matches remaining before their SEC Volleyball Tournament starting Nov. 21, Miller mentioned the outstanding coaching behind the currently undefeated (14-0) Texas volleyball team. However, his praise didn’t stop there.

“In the spring, I watched Coach (Jim Schlossnagle) and the baseball team, number one seed in the NCAA Tournament; the place was packed,” Miller added. “I watched our women's softball team win the national championship, and just what that felt like in the city of Austin.”

Last season, in his Longhorns debut, Schlossnagle elevated Texas baseball to a 44-14 record, in which they also reached the NCAA Austin Regional tournament. However, softball’s successful 2025 campaign contributed heavily to the mentality at Texas of reaching towards excellence.

“So, you know, what I would tell you is (that) we're surrounded by excellence as a basketball program, and to me, that's what we're here to establish,” Miller said. “To grow, to build something that's been good.”

Coming off the 2024-25 season, the Longhorns lost 10 players, with five entering the portal and three to the NBA. So, with six returners and eight fresh faces to the Longhorns’ roster, Miller adds that he’s applying the winning mindset to his own coaching.

“That's something that I think you have to embrace when you're at a place like the University of Texas,” Miller said. “But look, I would rather be surrounded by excellence than anything other than that, and that's what we have.”

The Longhorns will take the court in Charlotte, North Carolina for their season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 7:45 p.m. CT.