With a newfound confidence in her shot, Rori Harmon gets set for her junior year at Texas

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Throughout the day Tuesday, 41 athletes sat on a stage that was set up inside of the T-Mobile Center for the Big 12's Women's Basketball Tipoff event.

Kansas guard Holly Kersgieter talked about the momentum gained by her program after winning the 2023 WNIT. West Virginia standout JJ Quinerly discussed how her speed will mesh with what new coach Mark Kellogg wants to do on defense. After playing in just eight games after her transfer last year from Missouri, Baylor's Aijha Blackwell got a chance to describe her game. Oklahoma State newcomer Chandler Prater said appearances by coach Jacie Hoyt's new puppy lightens the mood at practices, and Iowa State's Nyamer Diew explained how the Cyclones got longtime coach Bill Fennelly to participate in a TikTok dance.

Texas' Rori Harmon also participated in Tuesday's event. The junior point guard's appearance was no surprise. She's entering her third year as a starter, and being a team spokesperson is part of the job description for that position under head coach Vic Schaefer.

Harmon also enters this winter as the Big 12's preseason player of the year. She's the first Longhorn to earn that honor. No pressure, right?

"I wouldn't call it pressure, I would call it opportunity," Harmon said. "I feel like I have very high expectations for myself. First, I would say I'm completely honored to receive that award and you can't do it by yourself."

A force on both ends of the floor

As a sophomore, Harmon averaged 7.4 assists per game. That ranked fourth nationally behind only the dynamic Caitlin Clark of Iowa (8.6), UConn's Nika Muhl (7.9) and Drexel's Maura Hendrixson (7.8). That average also bested the school record of 7.3 that Kamie Ethridge established during the 1983-84 season and matched the following year.

Harmon also was named the Big 12's defensive player of the year. She led the Longhorns with 72 steals, and she was the anchor of a defense that allowed a Big 12-low 57.4 points per game.

Harmon averaged a respectable 11.2 points per game, but within that statistic lay a noticeable weakness in her game. Harmon shot just 36.8% from the field. She knocked down eight 3-pointers the entire season.

At various points, Texas liked to compare Harmon's stats — at least the points and assists averages — favorably to Clark since not many players were averaging 11 points and seven assists per game. Clark, though, averaged 27.8 points and shot 47.3% from the field. As Iowa reached the NCAA championship games, Clark made eight 3-pointers in two of her final three contests.

Now, Texas doesn't need Rori Harmon to be Caitlin Clark to be successful. The Longhorns need Rori Harmon to be Rori Harmon. But she knows that the best version of herself must shoot better.

"It can be a confidence issue, but also it's just spending more time in the gym," Harmon told reporters last month. "I'm not saying I didn't get in the gym last year at all, but it wasn't an important focus for me. We were able to win games with me not shooting that well anyways.

"I think sitting down and talking to coach Schaefer and (assistant coach Elena) Lovato at the end-of-the-year meeting and explaining that this is what exactly I want to do this summer to work on my game and work on my shot. I've always been a good shooter anyways, but you can always be better."

Putting the work in at practice

Harmon said she has been working on her shot on a daily basis in the gym. Schaefer has credited Harmon and guard Sarah Graves as the reason he saw more dedication from the Longhorns during offseason workouts.

For Harmon, that meant showing up an hour before a practice if Texas had one. Or coming into the gym for an hour on the weekend. If she was working out with a teammate, she'd get up between 200 and 250 shots. If she was by herself and didn't have to share the basketball, she'd shoot 400 times.

"You can get a lot of shots in one hour if you're really locked in," Harmon said. "When you work on something like that your confidence gets better and you just let it go without even thinking."

Harmon said her shooting is "noticeably so much better." She feels there's less hesitation in her form and she's comfortable with using a catch-and-shoot approach on the floor. When UT graduate assistant Ryan Yablonsky, team manager Brett Haden and teammates defend Harmon, "they know not to go under screens anymore, they know they have to chase me off the line ... they understand that I'm going to shoot the ball. You can't sag off me anymore, and I will make it."

"That's what you want to see with your players. You don't want to see them come to the gym and work on the things that they're really good at and they're comfortable with, you want to see them come in here and work on those things that they're really uncomfortable at," Schaefer said. "She's really worked hard on a shot. I know she's got a lot of confidence in it, and I certainly do as well. I'm really happy for her and pleased with our progress."

On the list of top point guards

Earlier this week, Harmon was named as a preseason candidate for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award. There were 20 names on that watch list. Four of those players — Baylor's Sarah Andrews, Iowa State's Emily Ryan, Kansas State's Serena Sundell and Zakiyah Franklin of Kansas — will battle Harmon in the Big 12.

Why does Harmon belong on that list? On Tuesday, Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk applauded Harmon's leadership, effort, lack of turnovers and on-court command and presence.

"I don't know if there is anybody better in the country, and I don't mean just in our league," Baranczyk said. "She's not afraid of anybody, she's not afraid of any challenge. What we've been able to see in the last couple of years, she's missed big shots, she's made big shots, she's missed big plays, she's made big plays.

"Now as an upperclassman, that experience is so invaluable. You're going to be able to see her really not just elevate her own team, but she's going to be someone that's going who continues to elevate our sport."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball standout Rori Harmon works to improve her shooting