Texas' season may be over but first-year head coach Sean Miller has high expectations after the Longhorns' magical March run.
After barely sneaking into the NCAA Tournament, expectations were low for Texas under first-year head coach Sean Miller. However, the Longhorns peaked at the right time and rattled off three straight wins to go from the First Four to the Sweet 16.
While the surprising run came to an end in a tough 79-77 loss to 2-seed Purdue, Texas showed that it can be a contender come March. Most years this would leave the team and fans feeling devastated, there's still no doubt they would prefer to still be playing, but the late-season turnaround inspired more hopeful feelings for the future.
Following his debut, Miller shared this sentiment and highlighted his vision for the Longhorns.
"If you come to the University of Texas, you have a chance to play for the top prize on the biggest stage. And that's what we want, to build a program that continually can get to March and play their best to advance," said Miller.
This statement seems bold for someone with only a one season sample size, but it's easy to understand Miller's optimism. As previously mentioned, Texas was another loss away from potentially sitting at home during March and made a deep tournament run.
Texas faithful can only imagine what a more consistent squad in later years can accomplish in the Big Dance. However, Miller isn't purely hoping for more success, he's expecting it.
The Longhorns have gone a long way with earning recruits and transfers to Austin with their performance on the court and Miller's words add fuel to that fire.
"I think the bigger picture is really just trying to instill a way of doing things, a way of practicing, how we compete in games, a style of play...which I think sets a great tone for the future. Really all of that came true through these guys' effort," he said.
It may seem strange to look forward to next season mere days after this year's season drew to an end, but the strong play as of late and Miller's lively remarks have reinvigorated hope in the Longhorns from their fans.
With the transfer portal yet to open and recruiting not close to wrapping up, it is too early to tell what the makeup of next year's squad will look like for Texas, but with Miller at the helm, their potential success may already be crystal clear.