Late in the second half of Xavier’s thrilling 86-80 win over Texas basketball in a First Four game March 19 in Dayton, Ohio, Longhorn freshman Tre Johnson drained a fall-away 3-pointer and raced down the court celebrating with outstretched arms.

As Johnson raced past the Xavier bench, he even got a high-five from Sean Miller, then the Musketeers’ coach.

Six whirlwind days later, Miller found himself in Austin being introduced as the Longhorns’ head coach. So, trying to convince the 6-foot-6 Johnson, who scored 23 points against his Musketeers, to return for one more season seems like a logical first move for Miller, right?

Not exactly.

“What I would say to him is he needs to go,” Miller said. “That’s his best decision for him and his family.”

On Tre Johnson: ‘What a great offensive player.’

The NBA scouts agree with Miller and almost everyone else invested in what happens in this summer’s NBA draft. Johnson led the SEC in scoring at 19.9 points a game while drawing multiple freshman All-American awards. According to ESPN’s latest 2025 NBA mock draft, Johnson is projected to go to Philadelphia with the No. 5 overall pick.

Don’t expect Miller—or any other coach—to see Johnson on a college court again.

But back to the slap of hands late in Xavier’s First Four win. Why did Miller reach out and congratulate Johnson, which in hindsight seems like a huge portent?

“People after the game brought it to my attention; I didn’t even know I did that,” Miller said. “I really didn’t. I guess it just happened naturally. You get so caught up in the moment in the game. I guess, as I reflect back on it, I just watched him make the shot, and I go, ‘Wow. What a great offensive player, what a tough shot.’”

Sean Miller: Meets individually with players Tuesday

The spring portal window opened Monday, and rebuilding a Texas roster that will likely lose more than half of its rotation players seems like an immediate concern for Miller. Five Texas players used up their collegiate eligibility, including forwards Arthur Kaluma, Jayson Kent, Ze’Rik Onyema, and Kadin Shedrick as well as guard Julian Larry.

That leaves Miller with four players—junior guard Jordan Pope, junior guard Chendall Weaver, graduate guard Tramon Mark, and sophomore wing Devon Pryor—as the only eligible returning players who averaged at least 10 minutes a game.

Miller said he met with a handful of possible returners Monday evening for a few minutes, but Johnson wasn’t among that group. He did plan on meeting with the eligible players individually Tuesday after his press conference.

The fact that Texas just faced off against Miller’s Xavier team a week ago boosts his message to the possible returners, Miller said.

“Sometimes, as a coach, you have to describe what you’re going to do and how it feels to them,” he said. “In my case, it’s so unique because they just experienced it. And I don’t mean from a win or loss perspective, but if I talk about our style of play, it’s a unique perspective that they have. They just went against it. They just ran a game against us. So, I think when you talk about how we want to do it here, it gives them the truth. It gives them a real, honest assessment of how it’s going to be.”

Miller does know that convincing Weaver to stay remains a priority. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged just 6.4 points in 20.7 minutes this season, but he posted 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest and sets a physical and relentless tone in each game and every practice. He seems like a natural for Miller, himself a fiery guard back in his playing days at Pittsburgh.

“I don’t know what coach wouldn’t be a fan of how he plays,” Miller said. “He’s so selfless, impacts defense and offense, and he made a huge difference at the end of the Texas season when he started to play again.”