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Texas Basketball Head Coach Sean Miller explains decision to look international this offseason

by: Evan Vieth10/15/25
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Sean Miller (Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images)

Texas basketball has rarely dipped into the international sphere of recruiting.

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The last international player to suit up for the Longhorns was Marcus Carr, a Canadian native. The last Texas basketball player to hail from outside of North America was Ioannis Papapetrou, who started 25 games for the Longhorns in 2012–13 and was originally from Greece.

That changed when head coach Sean Miller came to town. Within four months of being appointed the head coach of Texas basketball, Miller has added two transfers born outside the States and signed two players from the European basketball circuit.

“I think the game of basketball, all you have to do is look at the MVPs of the NBA, start rattling them off in order—you get to three, four years in a row where an international player in the greatest league in the world has won the Most Valuable Player award. It’s a global game,” Miller said at SEC Media Days yesterday.

This approach of his isn’t something new. Miller looked internationally at both of his last stops, Xavier and Arizona.

“Over my time as the head coach at Arizona, we had great success with Lauri Markkanen and a number of other players toward the end of my time there. They came to the University of Arizona, and they became terrific players, had great experiences. It was fun to coach them.”

This go-around, Miller brought with him Lassina Traore, a former Xavier player who originally hailed from the Ivory Coast. He was joined by fellow big man Matas Vokietaitis, who was born and raised in Lithuania before signing with FAU last year.

Miller didn’t stop there with the big men. In early July, the team announced the signing of two international center prospects: Declan Duru and Lewis Obiorah. Duru was born in Germany but was signed from Real Madrid’s youth development system.

Obiorah is a seven-footer from London who played at Barking Abbey Basketball Academy in the city.

“I think at the University of Texas, again, some of the things we’ve talked about—the city of Austin is a great opportunity for international students and players that want to reach their goals and dreams,” Miller said.

The Longhorns under Miller clearly have a new view on recruiting. Texas has often stayed within the state and hasn’t ventured far for recruits. Now, Texas is looking as far as possible to find the best talent to build its team around.

“I think recruiting nationally is no longer,” Miller said. “It’s recruiting the world, recruiting internationally. We want to do that.”

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