When it comes to University of Texas junior point guard Rori Harmon this season, it’s not a matter of what she does for the 10th-ranked Longhorns.
The real question is what doesn’t she do?
“I’m open to anybody who wants to show me another player across the country who plays as hard, plays as long and does what Rori does. There are lots of great offensive players across the country. There are guards that are averaging more points than Rori. But they are not guards who are doing the points, assists, steals and defensive assignments she gets every night.”
ut women’s basketball coach vic schaefer
The Longhorns’ 5-foot-6 athletic floor leader is doing it all this season. When a key basket is needed, Harmon is there to knock it down. She can anticipate her teammate getting open for an assist and she will clamp down and come up with the big steal on the defensive end. And don’t dare think because of Harmon’s stature that she won’t crash the boards, because she will.
Just call this season the evolution of Rori Harmon.
“I just feel like a completely different person,” said Harmon during an interview with The Defender. “I feel like a different person than my freshman year. Completely more mature, just understand the game.”
It’s not like the potential wasn’t always there with the former Cypress Creek standout. UT coach Vic Schaefer saw it when he recruited Harmon and promptly put the ball in her hands to lead his team on the floor as a barely 18-year-old true freshman two years ago.
And Harmon, the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and last season’s Defensive Player of the Year, is not just living up to the lofty expectations, but by all accounts, she is exceeding them in many ways as one of the most dynamic and versatile point guards in the country.
Harmon is the only Division I player averaging at least 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals per game. Her 60 assists also led the nation, while she had just eight turnovers in the first eight games of this season.
Harmon is coming off an incredible performance in which she scored 27 points and dished out 13 assists to lift the Longhorns (9-0) to their first win ever against No.11 UConn, 80-68.
“I’m open to anybody who wants to show me another player across the country who plays as hard, plays as long and does what Rori does,” Schaefer said. “There are lots of great offensive players across the country. There are guards that are averaging more points than Rori. But they are not guards who are doing the points, assists, steals and defensive assignments she gets every night.”
Improved body, improved game
Changing her body, adding muscle and paying closer attention to her nutrition have all been keys to her success this season. Zack Zillner, the team’s sports performance coach, has helped Harmon add 10 pounds of muscle while improving her endurance and durability.
“I definitely took a lot of time to focus on that,” said Harmon, who is averaging 27 minutes per game during the non-conference portion of the schedule. “I really didn’t think about that in high school. All I did in high school was train and dribble the basketball; drinking whatever, was drinking juice, orange juice, Powerade, Gatorade. Just everything that was sweet. I wasn’t even drinking water.
“But you come here and the game has changed. I was playing almost 40 minutes a game last year. I just think having that injury my sophomore year with my foot kind of switched everything around for me. I was completely locked in on just trying to take care of myself.”
A Closer Look at Rori Harmon
University of Texas point guard
Class: Junior
Height: 5-foot-6
Accolades: Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year; 2022-23 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year; 2022-23 All-Big 12 First Team, AP and WBCA All-America honorable mention in 2022-23; Texas Basketball Association Player of the Year; 2022 Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Quote: “There is a time and place for everything when it comes to being a point guard. As a scoring-first point guard, the first thing I need to do is run my team. I love assists so I’m fine with getting 13 assists a game and four or five points.”
Harmon says she can see the difference in her game after putting more focus on her body during the offseason while also working tirelessly on her game.
“Just longevity honestly. At the moment it’s great,” said Harmon, who is an applied movement science major and is set to graduate in May. “I can get knocked around a bit and I can still stand in place and won’t get knocked off course completely. I’m sure taking shots in the league right now; every game I’m pretty sure somebody is hitting me. So being able to finish through that.
“Gaining more muscle just helps with health in general, bone health and all of that.”
Looking to repeat as Big 12 champs
The hope is that it will help take the Longhorns even further this season as they look to repeat as Big 12 champions in their final season before heading to the SEC. They also look to go deeper in the NCAA Tournament this season.
Harmon believes the Longhorns have the talent, depth and chemistry to go far this season.
“We have a lot of potential,” she said. “We just have to stay focused, go game by game and just take our preparation as seriously as possible. Our preparation here is primary; it’s key. That’s something we take seriously, and we need to understand these coaches work a lot to come up with scouts [scouting reports on opponents], come up with drills, come up with offenses and defenses to make us the best players we can be as a team. So we just need to be grateful and play hard and listen to what they say.”
