Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller spoke with reporters at SEC Media Days in Birmingham, AL. on Wednesday a few weeks from the start of the 2026-27 season.
He talked about the season ahead and what he expects from his new-look team but Miller also delivered some important details on the injury recovery for guard Mikey Lewis.
Lewis, a transfer from Saint Mary's, suffered a foot injury in practice last month and is set to miss multiple weeks, but fans now have a timetable for when they can expect him to return.
Mikey Lewis Could Return in December
Miller said that the team expects Lewis to return in December and that he "fully" anticipates him playing in the final 20-25 games of the year.
"It could be as soon as eight weeks from the injury, as far out as maybe 12," Miller said. "I think the sweet spot is maybe in between. We expect him to return in December. The silver lining is we have some really young guys that will get more opportunity, not just in games but every day. Without Mikey, I think they'll grow and develop maybe in a bigger way than they would have if Mikey were there. And I think the other part of it is because it happened so early, we fully expect him to be with us from the last 20 to 25 games of our season."
This is big news following what Miller described was a "non-contact, bizarre" injury for Lewis.
"Non-contact, bizarre type of play, not at the rim, just out on the court, flipped his foot," Miller said. "Similar injury that Jordan Pope experienced. ... My hope is that he can hit the ground running when he gets back. But there's nothing good when someone like him gets hurt, but the fact it happened as early as it as it did, I think will be helpful."
While Lewis is out, the Longhorns will lean on a freshman-heavy backcourt with Austin Goosby, Joe Sterling and Bo Ogden along with other transfers in Isaiah Johnson and Amari Evans.
Over the past two seasons at Saint Mary's, Lewis played in 68 games (33 starts) while averaging 11.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
Texas begins the season at home against Chicago State on Nov. 2.
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