Rori Harmon on MVP Ring, Injury Comeback, and Texas WBB's Style

Old-School Style of Play

• 🎯 Rori Harmon discusses Texas WBB's dominance with an "old school" style, emphasizing the mid-range game.
• 💡 Her father instilled the importance of the mid-range, which she now considers her best shot, providing a reliable option when driving to the basket is difficult.
• 🚀 The team embraces this style, finding it effective for their offense, contrasting with the league's trend towards threes and pace.

The MVP Ring and Coach Schaefer's Influence

• 💍 Harmon showcases her massive MVP ring from the Players Era tournament, describing it as hefty and unique.
• 🤝 She highlights her strong connection with coach Vic Schaefer, driven by a shared competitive nature and mutual hatred of losing.
• 🗣️ Schaefer's emphasis on defense is crucial, enabling the team to win even with shaky offensive performances.
• 🐔 Key "Vic-isms" include phrases like "that ain't it" for poor play and imitating a chicken for backing out of a charge, emphasizing playing hard and boxing out.

Leadership and Personal Growth

• 🧑‍🏫 As a senior, Harmon has embraced a teaching role for younger players, adapting her leadership style from leading by example to being more vocal.
• 🧠 This transition has helped her grow by focusing on others, learning to be vocal, and understanding the need for vocal leaders at an elite level.
• 💬 She describes her past as being a quiet person rather than shy, needing time to warm up to new people, but has learned to be more communicative.

Navigating Selfishness and Injury Recovery

• 💔 Harmon reflects on two instances of using the word "selfish": first, during her ACL injury recovery, where she initially focused on her own feelings, and second, after reaching the Final Four, where she felt a sense of personal pride for overcoming her injury.
• 🤝 She learned that while personal feelings are valid, her team needed her voice, and focusing on others helped her cope with her injury.
• 🥺 The emotional moment after the TCU game was about gratitude for overcoming her gruesome injury and reaching the Final Four, reflecting on every difficult day.
• 🏃‍♀️ Removing her knee brace was a significant mental and physical release, allowing her to feel like herself again and fully work on her game without limitations.

Offseason Development and Future Aspirations

• 📈 This past summer, Harmon worked with Coach Sydney Carter on playing against size and physicality, improving her pull-up threes, finishing with contact, and overall game speed.
• 🎯 She emphasizes constructive criticism and film study to identify specific moves and areas for improvement.
• 💯 Harmon identifies as a perfectionist, a trait she shares with her coach, and has learned to manage mistakes and strive for continuous improvement.
• 🎓 She completed her kinesiology and health degree in three years and her master's in sports management, indicating future aspirations in sports, potentially as a coach or GM.

NIL and Authenticity

• 💰 The advent of NIL has been life-changing, creating significant opportunities for players beyond stipends, transforming them into businesswomen and brands.
• 📱 Harmon has learned to engage with social media, understanding that authenticity and sharing her daily life, workouts, and journey (especially her recovery) attracts brands and builds connections.
• 🤝 She believes in sharing her story and being vulnerable, which fosters respect and allows others facing similar challenges to connect with her.
• 🏆 Regarding rankings, Harmon states that being ranked #1 or #2 makes no difference to the team's preparation or mindset, as they remain focused on their game and acknowledge that a higher ranking brings a bigger target.