{"id":698075,"date":"2026-04-04T16:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T16:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/698075\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T16:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T16:52:14","slug":"what-rori-harmon-built-at-texas-transcends-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/698075\/","title":{"rendered":"What Rori Harmon built at Texas transcends basketball"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 There are a lot of things one might say about Texas guard Rori Harmon<\/a>. That much was clear as Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer led Harmon, Kyla Oldacre<\/a> and Madison Booker<\/a> in to speak to reporters on Friday night, after Texas suffered a 51-44 loss to UCLA in the Final Four.<\/p>\n

Schaefer, known for his sometimes intense behavior in press conferences<\/a>, was initially reticent. After congratulating UCLA, he hit the dozens of reporters packed in tight rows lining the room with a zinger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we feel like, in our locker room, we let one get away,\u201d he said of the game. \u201cI think this one will haunt me, as the coach, for probably until the day I die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schaefer later found his voice and launched into the kind of tirade that one becomes accustomed to \u2014 even fond of \u2014 over the course of a college season. He\u2019s brash and passionate, always ready to defend his team even as he simultaneously denigrates it.<\/p>\n

But on this Friday night, Schaefer clearly had one player at the front and center of his mind and heart: Harmon.<\/p>\n

His point guard, who spent all five seasons of her collegiate career in Austin, spent that time doing things no one else has ever done, Schaefer insisted. \u201cI want you guys to understand something,\u201d he implored, his voice rising as he began to find a rhythm. \u201cI want everybody in the room to write this down. This is a crying shame.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you hear me good,\u201d Schaefer continued, now confident in his mission. \u201cRori Harmon has scored 1,616 points, 977 assists, 659 rebounds and 388 steals. Not one agency has ever voted her All-American. There\u2019s not another player in the history of our game \u2014 you hear me, not another player in the history of our game \u2014 that has had those stats, those four statistics. Not one. She\u2019s won 137 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might as well get rid of whatever awards you got if she ain\u2019t good enough to get one of \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Harmon led the Longhorns<\/p>\n

To say recruiting Harmon to Texas was a boon for the program is an understatement. She was a four-star recruit in 2020, pursued by then-Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey and others. At 5\u20196, Harmon has always had to prove herself to detractors, but that has never been a problem.<\/p>\n

Schaefer told reporters he remembers \u201ceverything\u201d about Harmon back then. He started recruiting her when she was in ninth grade and he was coaching at Mississippi State, and he would fly to Houston to recruit her. He\u2019d had experience with guards like her with Jazzmun Holmes<\/a> and Morgan William<\/a>. They were \u201cfast, electric [and] quick\u201d; played defense; and \u201ccould really set the tempo in transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harmon\u2019s decision to join the Longhorns was a fast one. With Schaefer and associate head coach Elena Lovato at Mississippi State, she told the \u201cGood Game with Sarah Spain\u201d podcast<\/a> last month, \u201cit just felt right.\u201d That feeling intensified when Schaefer got hired at Texas, and the pair began building \u201cthis great, winning, elite program together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The duo has been comrades in arms in pursuit of elevating women\u2019s college basketball and building a championship program at Texas. But Harmon and Schaefer have also developed a relationship that seems something like father-daughter and something like friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen somebody like Vic Schaefer talks about you like that in that manner, speaks about how tough you play, how much I impact a basketball team and a program, it really does [mean] a lot from the bottom of my heart,\u201d Harmon tearfully told reporters following Schaefer\u2019s comments about her.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the stuff I did this season \u2014\u00a0obviously, you think about your career, your university, you do it for your teammates and everything, but I\u2019ve been here for five years with Coach Schaefer,\u201d she continued. \u201cI really wanted to do it for him. It stings a lot, but I\u2019m just super grateful to have been put in this position, to have started the foundation with him at this university and this program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schafer had no reason to believe the Harmon he met as a ninth grader wouldn\u2019t be anything other than the player she is today. That player emerged as a quiet but steady leader for the team. That wasn\u2019t always something that came naturally to her, she told The IX Sports<\/a> in October, but it\u2019s certainly something she grew into.<\/p>\n

Her teammate and fellow senior Kyla Oldacre<\/a> told reporters Friday that Harmon \u201cis one of the greatest teammates I\u2019ve ever played with.\u201d That\u2019s not lip service; Oldacre\u2019s sincerity was etched into her face. \u201cFrom the first day I showed up on campus, from my first-ever workout, she was the main one keeping me positive and encouraging me, even though I felt like it wasn\u2019t my best day and the workout wasn\u2019t going great. She kept lifting me up, encouraging me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even as Schaefer was explaining what went wrong and why, Harmon noted the team only had 12 turnovers. Against any team, that number isn\u2019t anything to be disappointed in, but against an elite team like UCLA, it\u2019s impressive.<\/p>\n

Minutes later, she interjected as Booker attempted to answer another question about what went wrong on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got to realize, she\u2019s human. She\u2019s a basketball player. We want her to take those shots. There is another player on the other team that is 6\u20197,\u201d Harmon said, referring to UCLA\u2019s Lauren Betts<\/a>. \u201cAll eyes go to Madison Booker. Obviously, UCLA, they got their win tonight. I truly told Maddy, \u2018I don\u2019t care. I don\u2019t care what your statistics look like.\u2019 There was plenty of other things that caused us to lose the game, not just because Madison missed her money midrange.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team will \u201ccontinue to go back to her,\u201d Harmon added. \u201cWe\u2019ll continue to look for her. We\u2019ll continue to tell her to take her shot. So she\u2019s going to sit here and be like, \u2018This is on me.\u2019 No. It\u2019s not. It\u2019s just not, so \u2026 please give her a break.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harmon, who may have forgotten in the moment that she may not ever have another opportunity to look for Booker on the court, then politely added, \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women\u2019s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women\u2019s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women\u2019s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s not pressure; it\u2019s opportunity\u2019<\/p>\n

Like a lot of players, Harmon has faced plenty of adversity and low moments, including a torn ACL in December 2023. That season-ending injury got her another year with Texas, which meant another opportunity, but it came at a price.<\/p>\n

It was difficult to immediately know what to do or what she should hope for, Harmon explained back in October. But over time, her confidence returned. The Longhorns made the Final Four in 2024-25 in large part due to Harmon\u2019s ability to rise above.<\/p>\n

Harmon told reporters in Phoenix that broadcaster Debbie Antonelli once gave her advice she still holds on to: \u201cIt\u2019s not pressure; it\u2019s opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it was time to battle back to a mental state that would help her team win, Harmon drew on Antonelli\u2019s words.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of took it like that,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is the role I\u2019ve had for quite some time. Obviously, it\u2019s been very difficult and challenging, but just throughout the course of my years, this team especially, they made me feel like I didn\u2019t have to carry the load all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harmon\u2019s presence will be missed, Booker said through a fresh wave of tears. \u201cThat\u2019s my sister,\u201d she said. Harmon\u2019s injury meant Booker\u2019s first season \u201cdidn\u2019t go as planned,\u201d but her ability to fight back was inspiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned so much from her,\u201d Booker said. \u201cImpact on and off the court. Our relationship we built, there\u2019s not many words to describe it. I mean, I will always root for Rori no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s ahead for Harmon<\/p>\n

The chance to keep rooting for Harmon on a basketball court could come soon enough. The WNBA Draft is on April 13, and if Schaefer was calling the shots, she\u2019d be \u201cthe first one I\u2019d go get,\u201d he said. \u201cShe can run your team.\u201d<\/p>\n

That WNBA team will need to be the right fit, he added, \u201cbecause if you\u2019re going to ask her to play zone or back off and play positional, man, that ain\u2019t it for her. Her body will go into shock. But if you want somebody that\u2019s going to set the tone, is going to bring it every day \u2014 \u2018[I] don\u2019t care if you\u2019re a 12-year vet or a rookie, I\u2019m going to guard your ass\u2019 \u2014 you go get her, because she\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Texas head coach Jody Conradt, who won 900 games over 38 years with the program, didn\u2019t seem worried about Harmon\u2019s future on Friday, either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she\u2019s a unique player and really an outstanding woman,\u201d she told The IX Sports after the game. \u201cShe went through a very difficult time with an injury, and a lot of players don\u2019t have the ability to fight through that and come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harmon, she added, not only did that, but she came back \u201cbetter than she was before the injury. And I think that says everything about her work ethic and her commitment to the game. She loves this game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe lives for playing the game,\u201d Conradt clarified. \u201cAnd her competitive spirit is really extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A common thread for the Longhorns<\/p>\n

The Longhorns\u2019 season ended in a way that will sting for quite some time, but no one involved has reached the end of the road. In addition to Harmon and Oldacre, the team will also graduate Sarah Graves<\/a>, Ashton Judd<\/a> and Teya Sidberry<\/a>. Their paths will splinter and separate, but a common thread will keep them woven together: Texas basketball.<\/p>\n

Harmon didn\u2019t get the end she wanted on Friday, but in every other way that counts, she got everything she needed from the Longhorns. She gave it back in spades, too. It\u2019s a two-way gift that can\u2019t really be quantified and, if the team\u2019s response to its last game together was any indication, can only be felt.<\/p>\n

In a sport where so much plays out in the open on the hardwood, the strongest work is sometimes the quietest. It\u2019s what happens behind the scenes. For Harmon, that\u2019s something that may ultimately be even more special than any trophy or title could be.<\/p>\n

Looking for more March Madness stories?\u00a0Read all our NCAA Tournament coverage<\/a>\u00a0at The IX Sports.<\/p>\n

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