Texas Longhorns' Rori Harmon Reflects on First Five SEC Games

Rori Harmon felt that the Texas Longhorns' "welcome to the SEC moment" came in practice, not in games.

Jan 20, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) dribbles the ball upcourt against the Maryland Terrapins during the first half at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images / Chris Jones-Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- As the Texas Longhorns are nearly halfway through their first season of SEC play, the matchups keep getting bigger. But for senior point guard Rori Harmon, she doesn't feel like her team has been unprepared for the new level of physicality.

So far in SEC play, Texas is 4-1 with the only loss coming to No. 2 South Carolina. Texas has not shied away from ranked matchups, as it recently faced No. 8 Maryland in the Coretta Scott King Classic, winning by 38. Though Harmon only scored three points, her impact was felt in other ways and she knows she'll get back in the scoring column soon.

"I'm really hard on myself," Harmon said. "I mean, it was a great game don't get me wrong, it was very well executed. I do give myself props, and I'll always constantly be hard on myself. When things go well, and I'm proud of myself for that, but I don't think I took the best shots and they weren't going in, and, which probably makes sense, because they weren't the best shots to take."

Texas Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer presents a ball to guard Rori Harmon (3) ahead of the game against South Dakota State at the Moody Center on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. The ball is presented to commemorate 1,000 career points by Harmon. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Against Maryland, Harmon had two points, seven assists and three steals. While many would say that Texas' poor performance against South Carolina was the team's "Welcome to the SEC" moment, Harmon disagrees.

Head coach Vic Schaefer coached in the SEC at Mississippi State before coming to Texas and he knows what it takes to win in the league. Harmon said that the moment came in practice as Schaefer always prepares his team for the matchup ahead.

"I feel like it really wasn't like the 'Welcome to the SEC moment,' because I just think Coach Schaefer prepared us for that moment prior to the game, and I feel like we've had our welcome to the SEC moment in practice several times," Harmon said. "He came from there, he understands. So he wasn't going to let us come into that game and and not like be prepared. We just didn't respond accordingly. But I think, but in a way, yeah, you lose your first game and SEC. I guess you could say, 'Welcome to SEC.'"

In SEC play, Harmon and sophomore guard Madison Booker have led the team, with Harmon averaging 10.3 points per game, 6.1 assists and 2.5 steals. Booker averages 15.8 points per game and 5.9 rebounds.

The duo constantly learns from each other, and when Harmon was out last season with a torn ACL, she absorbed the coaching that Booker got from Schaefer. While unable to play, her impact was still felt on the bench, as she was often referred to as "Coach Harmon."

"When I tore my ACL, I was still a junior," Harmon said. "I still didn't know everything in the world, and so there's so much to grasp to and even now, I'm still grasping that information. But just being able to
hear what he had to say to her, just from a different perspective, and her being able to take that into action, I think it's not even just all about being a point guard, like sometimes it's being a wing player. One of the things is, when you see somebody else make that mistake, don't make the same mistake."

Now, Harmon and the Longhorns look to defeat Tennessee, another tough matchup and a historic rivalry. This Tennessee team is hungry to get back into the win column after suffering a close upset to Vanderbilt. The game will be on ESPN and tip off at 7 P.M. from the Moody Center on Thursday.

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