It took just one year for Texas men's basketball head coach Sean Miller to turn the program back into an impressive program (after far too many years of irrelevance), and because of that, the Longhorns have been able to bring in some of the most highly coveted talent in the country, both from the transfer portal and out of high school.
After his first season with the team, Miller landed the No. 4 recruiting class of 2026 and the No. 5 transfer portal class; however, the biggest question is whether any of those top players will actually stick around for more than just one year.
Texas landed blue-chip prospects Marcus Spears Jr., Austin Goosby, Bo Ogden, and three other elite talents in the class of 2026. The Horns also landed top transfer prospects like David Punch, Isaiah Johnson, and more.
As has long been a trend in college basketball, many of the top talents leave after just one season at their collegiate program, heading to the NBA instead of staying in college. So, many of those players, who are set to play their first-ever season at Texas in just a couple of months, could leave as soon as the player is over.
Luckily, Spears, who only turned 17 years old over the summer, has to play at least two seasons of college ball before heading to the NBA Draft, but the rest of them could wave goodbye to the 40 Acres next year, especially if they can lead the Horns on a deep run through March Madness.
Yet, this may not necessarily be a bad thing, and it's something that Longhorn Nation may need to get comfortable with, rather quickly.
Sean Miller may transform Texas into a 1-and-done program
College basketball insider Jon Rothstein recently paid a visit to Texas, and after just one day with the Horns, he was already singing the praises of true freshman Austin Goosby and transfer additions David Punch and Isaiah Johnson.
So, with a basketball analyst already hyping up three players who have yet to take the court with the Longhorns, one could easily expect those three players to head to the NBA Draft next year (barring anything going terribly wrong).
That trend is very likely to continue.
As Miller continues to bring in top talent, either from the portal or out of high school, Texas fans can expect that very top talent to follow the trend of playing just one season and then leaving for the pros.
No, the Horns may not have franchise players like the ones they have had recently, like Brock Cunningham and Chendall Weaver. However, the top programs throughout the history of college basketball have succeeded with one-and-dones leading the way: UNC, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and UCLA, just to name a few.
One deep run in the NCAA Tournament could have Texas back in the conversation with perennial programs like those, and Rothstein believes the Horns have it in them.
"This is Sean Miller's most talented roster since the Arizona team in 2016-17 that had Lauri Markkanen. And Texas has geography to play for the 2027 NCAA Tournament," Rothstein wrote on X.
Not to mention that the Texas athletic department is fully backing this program, and the amount of NIL overhead that the Horns have can sustain the level of recruitment that we have seen over the last year.
Longhorns, get ready for this to be a different men's basketball program, but get excited for what's to come.
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