Texas basketball coach Sean Miller says star forward Dailyn Swain and the Longhorns need a break after becoming one of the last SEC teams to get a league bye.
Dailyn Swain has delivered heroic performances in his first season with Texas basketball. But as the 6-foot-8 forward showed in Saturday’s win over Ole Miss, even Superman needs a rest every now and then.
That’s one reason why Texas coach Sean Miller said this week’s midweek SEC bye comes at a perfect time. Swain, who entered the game averaging 17.7 points, scored just seven points on 2-of-5 shooting against Ole Miss while playing one of his most passive offensive games of the season. He scored in single digits for just the third time. The junior's five shot attempts were the second-fewest of the campaign.
Still, Texas (15-9, 6-5 SEC) beat the Rebels 79-68 for a third straight win that lifted the Longhorns above .500 for the first time since joining the conference last season. And Miller said winning even without a big game from their best player bodes well for the rest of the league schedule, which continues with Saturday’s visit to Missouri.
“You win as a team, you lose as a team, and we really needed some other guys to fill in for Dailyn tonight,” said Miller, who coached Swain for the past two seasons at Xavier. “He's carried quite a load this year. What I sense with Dailyn is he needs a break. I think this week comes at an ideal time for him, where he can get his feet under him, get healthy and not have the burden of another game coming.”
Swain could use a day or two off considering the heavy burden he’s carried all season while starting every game. He not only leads the squad in scoring (415 points; 17.1 per game) but also minutes (753; 31.3 per game), rebounds (176), total steals (45), total assists (83) and attempted shots (258). Over an eight-game SEC stretch that started with a Jan. 10 win at Alabama and ended with a home win over South Carolina last Tuesday, he averaged 21.8 points on 59.8% shooting.
But everyone on the team needs to catch their breath for the stretch run, Miller said. The Longhorns are one of four SEC teams that had already played 11 conference games entering this week, and their key players have all played extensive minutes, especially since Texas has avoided the injury bug. The core rotation of Swain, post Matas Vokietaitis, forward Lassina Traore, wing Cam Heide and guards Tramon Mark, Simeon Wilcher, Jordan Pope and Chendall Weaver have played in a cumulative 190 out of a possible 192 games. Heide missed a game early in the season and Traore rested a sore knee Saturday against Ole Miss.
But playing all those minutes means wear and tear, regardless if a player shows up on the injury report.
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“It's not like we're going to Disneyland this week and just chill,” Miller said. “But there's a difference between playing a game and not, and I think that we recognize that. (But) we also have to work; our practices have to be great. This is a week where you can really get sharp. There’s a few things we can change, there's a number of things we can work on collectively to improve. The teams that keep getting better in February are the teams that play in March, and we want to be one of those teams.
“The week off is only off from the perspective of a game. What we're trying to accomplish is a lot, but I do think part of what we're trying to accomplish is to really allow (Swain) to get his legs under him for a stretch run.”
Texas enters this week in ninth place in a tightly packed SEC but only half a game out of a tie for fourth place.
Category: General Sports
