Can Dailyn Swain be Texas' Next First-Round Pick?

The Texas Longhorns have a rich history of putting players into the first round of the NBA Draft, having produced 21 since their first in 1982 when LaSalle Thompson went fifth overall to the Kansas City Kings. This past season, shooting guard Tre Johnson went sixth overall to the Washington Wizards after leading the SEC in scoring as a true freshman and winning the conference's Rookie of the Year award.

The program underwent a massive overhaul this offseason after the firing of Rodney Terry and hiring of Xavier head coach Sean Miller, who aims to inject new life into Texas basketball in the midst of some underperformance. Miller not only brings a new offense to the Longhorns, but one of his Xavier stars, Dailyn Swain, as well, who elected to follow his head coach to Texas over schools like Ohio State and Kentucky.

Swain is a 6-foot-8, 220-pound two-way combo forward with strong skills on both ends of the floor. He averaged 11.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season while shooting 53% from the field, most of which were inside-the-arc attempts. Though he struggled from beyond the arc at just 25%, he took fewer than one attempt per game (0.8). He took 77% of his shots at the rim, and has a solid handle with which he can attack the basket from the perimeter.

Though likely to play the power forward position at Texas considering his skillset and the way Sean Miller runs his offense, Swain has perimeter skills as well, even if shooting from deep is not one of them currently. As previously stated, Swain has the ability to slash to the basket, and is also an excellent cutter off of the ball. He is also a very good connective passer, averaging 2.6 assists per game last season and helping to facilitate a very potent Xavier offense. His 2.2 stocks per game also underline his two-way ability.

Ultimately, Swain is a physical, multifaceted player that can be a playmaker on both ends of the floor, getting deflections on defense and making reads on offense. His size lends itself to playing at the next level as well, and when combined with a high feel for the game, Swain looks like a safe bet to the be a first-round draft pick in 2026.