NEWARK, NJ — Rori Harmon’s influence on Madison Booker was evident as the two constantly sat next to each other on the Texas bench. Harmon sat in business attire, pen and paper in hand, leaning over to guide and reassure her while she was out for the season due to injury. Booker, a freshman transitioned from small forward to Harmon’s starting point guard role, soaked it all up en route to All-America honors.
What went unnoticed a year ago was how that influence cut both ways.
“That’s what people don’t understand,” Harmon said. “Yes, she learned a lot from me. But I was on the sidelines and watching her play, so I learned a lot from her. And I think now we both combined what we learned and are now producing on the field and beating a top-eight team.
A year and three days after surgery to repair the ACL injury she suffered during game practice, Harmon guided Texas (18-2, 4-1 SEC) Monday to its most lopsided victory against a top 10 team in program history. Although she only made one basket, she had seven assists to go with two turnovers, led a suffocating press and ensured the ball got to Booker for 28 points in as many minutes for the forward . The No. 7 Longhorns are Final Four contenders, with which few in the country can say.
“There aren’t many teams across the country that start with two All-Americans like those two,” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said, pointing to Harmon and Booker on either side of him after their 89-51 victory over No. 8 Maryland.
The duo played just 32 games together in a season and a half, the equivalent of an NCAA season with a deep tournament run. It is the 26 matches they have spent, divided according to their state of health, which have shaped their current domination.
Texas was undefeated at the time with a win over UConn in which the two combined for 47 points. Harmon’s play on both ends drew rave reviews from Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma, and she became a distant contender for National Player of the Year.
After the 5-foot-6 point guard and two-time honorable mention All-America tore his ACL in late December 2023, Schaefer turned to the 6-1 Booker to handle the ball that same night.
“She had to grow up really fast,” Harmon said. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we have to wait until next year.’ No, she had to do it immediately.
With Harmon in his ear, Booker kept the momentum going and carried the Longhorns to a first-place finish in the NCAA tournament, where they lost to NC State in the regional final. Booker earned All-America honors from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, became the first freshman to win Big 12 Player of the Year and was named Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year.
“I always told myself when I was away that she did better than any other point guard in the country last year,” Harmon said. “She was put in that position as a freshman, and she did better than anyone I’ve seen.”
Back on the field together, they integrate what they experienced and give Texas more versatility. Harmon played more minutes on the wing, taking into account Booker’s perspective at each position. She averages 10.3 points, 6.1 assists (100th percentile) and 2.5 steals (99th percentile) per game. And Booker is proud to describe her game as cutting edge, averaging 15.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals.
“From this position I can see things too,” Booker said. “I kind of help him and I think it works well. We go hand in hand.
The win over Maryland was growth for them, Schaefer said, with Booker getting everyone’s best shot.
“She’s seeing different things that she didn’t see last year,” Schaefer said.
And Harmon is still recovering from his injury while carrying the burden of running Texas’ offense and spurring its defensive pressure. Schaefer said he had to remember to give him grace.
“Tell me another point guard in the country who does what she does,” Schaefer said. “Picks up 94 feet. As soon as the ball passes, it’s on you-know-what, it stinks on you-know-what. You tell me who else in the country does this? Person.”
Booker and Harmon are not only learning to play together again, but they and the Longhorns, who sit second in the NET rankings, also face new competition in conference realignment.
“The SEC is a lot different than the Big 12,” Schaefer said last week. “I think all my players see it now, after five (conference) games. More length, more athleticism, more quickness, more speed.
Texas is scheduled to face defending champion South Carolina, winner of eight straight SEC regular season titles, twice this season. They were eliminated earlier this month on the road, 67-50, in a game that was never close. They will meet in Austin on February 9. This marks the start of a three-game stretch that includes Kentucky and LSU.
The first priority is No. 17 Tennessee (8 p.m. Thursday, ESPN), a team led by first-year head coach Kim Caldwell that wants to press, run and hit 3s at high volume. In a league featuring some of the best in the country, Harmon and Booker’s influence can’t go unnoticed if Texas plans to reach its first Final Four since 2003.
