3 Players to Watch in Texas Longhorns Home Opener vs. Lafayette

The Texas Longhorns will play the first home game of the Sean Miller era against the Lafayette Leopards.

Texas Longhorns guard Simeon Wilcher brings the ball down court against the Duke Blue Devils during the second half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- After falling to No. 6 Duke in the season opener, the Texas Longhorns will begin a four-game home stand on Saturday at the Moody Center against Lafayette before heading to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational before Thanksgiving.

The contest marks the first home game for Sean Miller as Texas' head coach, as he will be introduced to the fans for the first time.

Here are three Texas players fans should keep an eye on in the matchup after Tuesday's loss to Duke:

Simeon Wilcher

Texas Longhorns guard Simeon Wilcher fights for position with Duke Blue Devils forward Maliq Brown defending during the second half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

The Longhorns finished the 75-60 loss to the Blue Devils with just six assists, as Texas' guard simply didn't live up to Miller's offensive standards.

Simeon Wilcher, a St. John's transfer, had two assists, but didn't score in 15 minutes of action his Longhorns debut. He will be a player to watch in this one after struggling in the opener, as Texas will need him and the rest of the backcourt to get on track over the next few games before heading to Hawaii.

Lafayette certainly doesn't have the level that Duke has, but it will be important to show he can provide the 3-point shooting and perimeter defense that Miller brought him to Texas for. Last season at St. John's, Wilcher had 13 double-digit scoring games.

John Clark

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller reacts to a play against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

A four-star freshman from Link Academy, the same program that Tre Johnson attended, John Clark offers a ton of upside in the frontcourt but didn't play in the season opener.

With Saturday's game likely to be lopsided in Texas' favor, it's possible that Miller gives Clark a chance at making his college debut against Lafayette.

Texas will lean on Matas Vokietaitis, Lassina Traore and Nic Codie in the frontcourt but Clark could provide key depth later on in the season if he can impress during non-conference action.

Tramon Mark

Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark drives the ball down court against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

Texas fans are certainly familiar with Tramon Mark after delivering some big-time plays and performances last season, but like Wilcher, he disappeared in the season-opening loss to Duke.

After scoring the first points of the game on a jumper in the paint, Mark didn't have another bucket for the remainder of the contest, finishing with just two points, one assist and three rebounds in 24 minutes.

Mark will play a vital role on this year's team as the lead initiator on offense while also providing a scoring punch that saw him reach double figures 16 times last season. He will be a player to watch on Saturday to see if he can bounce back and start building some momentum during the softer portion of non-conference play.