With around 40 seconds left against Oregon in the Round of 32 game on Sunday night, fifth-year point guard Rori Harmon checked out of her final game at the Moody Center.
When she checked out, Harmon walked to the bench, but head coach Vic Schaefer stopped her on the floor so she could take in the moment and reflect on her journey at Texas — a five-year tenure that included a venue change, a plethora of records and an ACL tear and recovery.
The packed crowd in burnt orange rose to its feet. It was the loudest it had been all night. Harmon made a heart with her hands toward the fans, then buried her face in her hands, overcome with emotion.
After the final buzzer, she took the microphone, and before she could speak, the crowd began to chant: “Rori, Rori, Rori.” The fans cheering were also in tears, knowing Harmon’s chapter as a Longhorn is coming to an end.
But they, her teammates and Harmon herself, are not ready to say goodbye.
Because they know what she means to this team and the impact she’s had on the program as it has flourished under Schaefer, Harmon is the epitome of Texas women’s basketball.
“Coach Schaefer recruited me here … That’s kind of where it all started,” Harmon said. “He told me on the phone when he was recruiting me that — he’s like, ‘I want you to be able to leave a legacy here,’ and to that day that’s honestly stuck with me every single day. My loyalty remains here and to him. So I’m super grateful.”
One could talk day and night about the program records she has shattered, becoming the program’s all-time leader in assists and steals. But above all, she is the heart and soul of this team.
When she came to Texas, Schaefer was in his second year at the helm, and Harmon was part of his first recruiting class. She watched crowds of about 2,000 at the Frank Erwin Center transform into more than 10,000 at the Moody Center.
She has built the foundation of the program’s standard, both on and off the court. When recruits and teammates see how hard she plays and her fight against adversity — including missing an entire season and clawing her way back — it makes them want to work just as hard.
As a result, Schaefer has a team full of athletes who play with as much heart as Harmon does.
“I can go on and on about Rori Harmon, honestly, and just the legacy she has here at Texas,” junior forward Madison Booker said. “When I first got here, I didn’t realize what hard work was until I (saw) Rori Harmon in the gym every day before our practice, after practice, getting shots up. … People want to play defense because they see her play defense. … And everybody sees that, and we all want to play hard. We want to play like her, basically. She’s (made) a big impact for this team, and I’m going to miss her, miss her dearly.”
Going into the season, Harmon knew this would be her last, but she hasn’t spoken much about it, like anyone else, not wanting to confront the reality that an era of her life is ending. She also didn’t want the emotions to overtake her basketball. There was still a game to be won.
But after the final buzzer, when she embraced her teammates, her coach and the doctor who performed her ACL surgery, she allowed herself to shed a few tears — well-deserved tears for a legendary career at Texas.
And while all good things must come to an end, Harmon has no plans for her season to be over just yet. She wants her final memory in a Texas uniform to come with confetti falling around her in April. The job isn’t finished.
