Texas will have to get creative without Mikey Lewis, but Sean Miller sounds confident the Longhorns can survive the early stretch while their junior guard recovers from surgery on a fractured foot.
Lewis, a key bench scorer who was expected to see time at both guard spots because of his “next-level firepower,” went down with a non-contact injury during the fourth day of practice. Miller called it a brutal blow, but he also said the hope is that Lewis can make it back this season, with December before the end of the non-conference schedule viewed as the optimistic target.
“That’s our hope. I think that’s realistic, but we’re not there yet,” Miller said. “Devastating to lose somebody in fourth day of practice, especially a great kid who’s doing everything right on and off the court, but he’ll be bigger and better and stronger because he’s going through it.”
For now, the injury opens the door for younger players to carve out real roles, and Miller made clear that’s part of the plan while Lewis rehabs.
“It gives some younger players and some guys on our roster an even bigger opportunity, and sometimes when you experience this type of injury, you build your roster and guys grow and rise, then Mikey joins us and he ends up making us stronger than we could have ever been, and that becomes our new goal,” Miller said.
One of the biggest beneficiaries should be Austin Goosby, the younger brother of Texas star left tackle Trevor Goosby. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound guard has been back at practice after dealing with several minor injuries and now looks lined up for a larger workload next to sophomore Isaiah Johnson.
Goosby’s size and versatility are what make him so valuable. Freshman guard Bo Ogden called him a “ Swiss Army knife ” because he can handle the ball, space the floor, and defend top opposing guards. Miller has also pointed to Goosby’s height as a real asset as a playmaker, since it helps him see over the defense and create for others.
“I really believe in Austin across the board, and Austin can play a multitude of positions - he could play really any of the three guard positions, so I think his versatility is something we’re excited about,” Miller said last week.
Miller also sees a lot of the same traits in Goosby that have made Trevor Goosby such a success on the football side, even if Austin arrives with a more decorated résumé as a McDonald’s All American.
“I think a lot of the the things that make up Trevor on the football field that I have learned - his leadership, his character, who he is off the court, how much he invests, just his growth and development - Austin is is very similar, and he may actually come into college a little bit more decorated and advanced, a McDonald’s All American, but we look at him as being able to really impact us,” Miller said.
There’s also a wider opening for the other freshmen on the roster. Bo Ogden, the son of former Texas sharpshooter and current general manager Chris Odgen, brings more than just shooting to the table. At 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, he arrives with a more complete game than a pure spot-up threat.
“He just has a toughness about him and a love for the game. I think Bo will contribute,” Miller said before Lewis sustained his injury. “Knows how to play the game, how to pass, make decisions, and has a competitive spirit, a winner.”
Joe Sterling could be in the mix as well after coming in as the No. 130 player nationally. His recruiting list included USC and Washington State, though most of the schools involved were mid-major and low-major programs. Miller said Texas saw more in him than most others did.
“In my mind, Joe to some degree was under recruited,” Miller said. “We fell in love with his skill level, his passion to be good, and the fact that he could play either guard spot, point guard or two. So we felt very fortunate to convince him to come to Texas.”
Sterling was originally viewed as a possible redshirt candidate, but his shooting has pushed him into the conversation. He starred at Harvard Westlake in California, once scoring 30 points against a talented Overtime Elite team that featured current Texas sophomore guard Amari Evans, and he has been nearly automatic at the line during offseason work, hitting almost 99 percent on more than 3,000 attempts tracked by Miller and his staff.
“We’re thrilled to have him as part of our program simply because of this - you already know, to get that good in one area of this game he must love it, he must pour into it, he must just just be a great worker towards the game of basketball,” Miller said. “And all those things are true. In my mind, the more people that you have that love this game, the easier it is to win and coach and do all the things we want to do, so we’re thrilled to have Joe Sterling as part of our program.”
Lewis’ absence may also push Texas toward bigger lineups, at least during the non-conference portion of the schedule. College basketball insider Jon Rothstein recently watched a practice and floated a surprising take on the Longhorns’ starting group, though Miller had already noted the staff had only introduced one position to freshman forward Marcus Spears Jr. before preseason practice began.
Spears has flashed improved jump shooting since arriving this summer, and his length and athleticism give him a chance to help early. Still, a frontcourt combination of Spears, junior forward David Punch, and junior center Matas Vokietaitis brings spacing questions. With Lewis sidelined, Texas has less proven shooting to balance that group, so the bigger look may be more of an experiment than a finished product against high-major competition.
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