Where Matas Vokietaitis can improve as a junior

Mar 19, 2026; Portland, OR, USA; Texas Longhorns center Matas Vokietaitis (8) keeps the ball from BYU Cougars center Keba Keita (13) in the second half during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images When Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller is asked about rising junior center Matas Vokietaitis, there’s one reliable anecdote Miller often falls back on to describe the 7’0, 255-pounder. When Miller was at Arizona and the late, great Bill Walton was around, Walton liked to remind Miller that big men come in two categories — those who play the game because they’re taller than everyone else and that’s what people told them to do, and those who play the game because the love it, a binary perspective perhaps influenced by Walton’s own growth spurt from 6’1 to 6’7 between his sophomore and junior years of high school.

“What I would say with Matas, if he were 6’2, he would play basketball, like, he loves it, and that’s a real gift for a seven-footer, and you can see it in his work ethic every day,” Miller said in November. It’s a story that Miller recounted during a Monday appearance on the Field of 68 after host Jeff Goodman apologized for previously calling Vokietaitis “the dirtiest player in college basketball” for his frequent hook and holds, going on to recall a story told to him about Vokietaitis picking up 10 technical fouls the season before coming to the United States to play at Florida Atlantic. Goodman asked the Texas head coach what it’s like coaching Vokitaitis, prompting the Walton anecdote and a note about the six-percent body fat of Vokietatis before addressing the issues with managing his style of play.

“Once you get in the game, he is incredibly physical and then he has the next level, where sometimes that physicality can get away from him,” Miller said. In getting to the free-throw line 7. 9 times per game, Vokietaitis got drew fouls at a high rate as a sophomore — as often as former Purdue standout Zach Edey in his senior season, Miller noted — but also dished out a lot of punishment to opponents, ultimately leading the SEC in fouls while averaging 5.

3 fouls per 40 minutes and getting whistled for five technical fouls and one flagrant foul. “One of the things we’re trying to teach Matas is you don’t want the spotlight to be on you on every play, you just have to pick and choose your your battles, and your physicality can be a gift. Don’t weaponize it every time, don’t be in the fray every time,” Miller said.