The 5-foot-6 Harmon’s bouncy speed, playmaking, and defense were being balanced by the 6-foot-1 Booker’s stature, creativity, and shot-making. On December 3, they combined for 47 points in a win over UConn.
That was before Harmon’s season was cut short by a knee injury, forcing Booker, one of the top 2023 recruits in the country, to take over as band leader for the No. 10 Longhorns.
In the three games since Booker moved from her natural position at forward to point guard, Texas is 2-1 with Booker averaging 19.6 points and 7.6 assists. The Longhorns (14-1, 1-1 Big 12) play at No. 24 West Virginia (13-0, 2-0) on Saturday.
She has the ball-handling and passing skills. Now comes the leadership part. The learning curve is steep and short.
“The point guard position is the hardest on the court,” Booker said. “Watching Rori do it, she makes it look easy.”
Booker can do the same. After a rough start in her Big 12 debut against Baylor that saw her briefly benched by coach Vic Schaefer, Booker scored 25 points and had nine assists in a tough 85-79 loss.
“It’s one thing to hang out on the wing and let Rori deal with it. It’s another thing to be in the middle of the flame. That’s where she was,” Schaefer said.
Booker settled down when Harmon approached her on the bench. Harmon told her to take a deep breath and relax.
“She showed maturity and an incredible competitive spirit,” Schaefer said of Booker. “That’s what it takes to play for me.”
Booker said she came out of the loss a better and more confident player.
Leave a Reply