Texas’s Sean Miller rips Longhorns by name-dropping Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge

Jan 7, 2026 - 19:00

Texas Basketball is coming off an 85-71 loss to Tennessee. Earlier this season, head coach Sean Miller ripped his team’s performance after a win over Maryland Eastern Shore. After the loss to Tennessee, Miller did not mince words about his team, invoking the names of Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge in the process.

“I’ll just say this on my end, that tonight was about one thing. We have to be able to put a group of guys on the court who are going to play their very hardest with great effort for the University of Texas period. Guys like the LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant, they deserve a team, whether we win or lose, that’s playing a game for each other, playing a game for the great place that we all live at, and playing the win,” Miller said after the game, according to Eric Henry of 247Sports.

He clearly is not happy with the effort of the Texas team. He also insinuated that the players were not playing as a team with the comments he made. Miller was later asked about the identity of the team and what progress they had made.

“We’re not making any…. But we have to, we have to establish that I’m playing for the University of Texas. I play for Sean Miller. He’s the coach. What he says goes, this is how we do it. I play for myself. I play for my teammates. Mostly, I’m caught up in the moment, I’m playing a game I love, and I’m going to play as fast as hard as I can. If you can’t play with effort, it’s going to be very, very hard next couple of months, and I think you’ll see that. You know, our lineup has to change. I can’t keep playing certain guys. We’re at that point. We’re just going to have to go whoever is ready to play hard. We have to go with them, because that’s going to be our best bet,” Miller responded.

While Miller did not single out any specific players, it is clear he is speaking to some individuals who are not bringing effort on a nightly basis. It is also clear he is willing to make changes to the lineup if need be.

Miller is in his first season with Texas, taking the job after spending the previous three seasons in a second stint at Xavier. Miller has also had success in the past. He led Xavier to an Elite Eight run in 2007-2008. He also brought Arizona to three Elite Eights and two Sweet 16 appearances. Unless the effort changes for the Longhorns, Miller will not be returning to the tournament this year.

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