Rori Harmon EMBRACING opportunity w/ Texas Longhorns | Longhorn Network | ESPN College Basketball

Rori Harmon EMBRACING opportunity w/ Texas Longhorns | Longhorn Network | ESPN College Basketball

[Applause] TJ Ford the best point guard in America Harman the junior guard makes Texas go on both ends of the floor look him go through traffic he’s there oh my goodness DJ for she is the best point guard in the nation she has played like it this afternoon Rory Harman one of the

Best point guards I ever seen here at the University of Texas it’s a pleasure to be able to sit down with you and have a great conversation with you today I can definitely say the same thing I’m here with the TJ Ford stories are very similar I had a coach that recruited me

I could have went anywhere in the country but I had a coach that really believed in me and and told me that I could be the face of something specially at the University of Texas the responsibility that you have at this university did you have those expectations did you feel like it would

Be happening the way that is happening for you did you feel like you you wanted all this yes and one of the one of the things was he actually told me exactly what you were telling me as he was recruiting me um he was very transparent

He was like I’m just letting you know you’re you’re going to have a lot of pressure on you as coming in as a freshman there’s a lot of pressure there’s a lot of opportunity I wouldn’t call it pressure it’s opportunity he he told me I’d be starting as a freshman he

Told me I would have to become a leader and mature and understand that yes I am an 18-year-old coming in and probably trying to tell like 22 23 year olds what to do but we’re all a team I’m the point guard of his team and he wants his point

Guards to be leaders like truthfully 100% I know I made the right decision I’ve learned so much outside of basketball even coming here and um at the University of Texas and just understanding that Elite is a choice and choosing to be elite here is something that you look forward into and outside of

Basketball I see that you’ve had some injuries with your spine and everything and I felt like I’ve been through a few injuries that have been pretty annoying and sickening honestly I missed my first five games of my sophomore season all of a sudden I get the call from my trainer

Is like you have a stress reaction in your foot and there’s nothing you can do about it you know so but but obviously there was something I could do about it like there was something I could do to continue to help my team so how did you help your team through these injuries

And um through your injury yeah when it comes down to injuries uh that’s the mental part right the mental part of still being engaged the mental part of saying I may not be able to move on my foot but there still other things that I can get better still ways that I could

Be supportive so for me when I was hurt it’s still being engaged and I still have to play that same role even though you know I’m not physically out there with with my teammates I still have to have that same leadership I still got to be able to kep that Next Guard that’s

Behind me that’s going to have to fulfill that role that is very difficult for him to do so now I really have to become that extension to the coach then when it comes to my myself it’s just being able to still mentally stay in shape mentally being engaged still be

Able to get your workout in right so for me no matter what injury you have it’s still something you can do with basketball if I can’t move I can dribble the ball in the chair I can still shoot it’s a lot of things that when you Hur I

Feel like people should continue to keep doing honestly it sounds pretty relatable and similar I felt hopeless I felt upset but at the end of the day they’re still going to play games they’re not going to be like oh we just let’s just stop the game so so when Mor

Gets better like we’ll start picking up playing games again that’s not how it works right and so my presence and my voice like you said how you did was still needed for my team like I’m the point guard we’re point guards of the team right that it’s very important

Aspect of the team and the game and how we’ll be successful and so I was on the sidelines I was sitting down the whole time the whole 2 hour two three hour practice I’m talking to everybody I’m continuously talking making sure that the person next in line like you said

Was ready and understood what it was going to take to be able to play point guard for Coach shaper like I’m telling them what he’s he’s going to say something about what you just did this is how you need to handle it this is how you need to respond it’s like I was

Constantly talking not just to like the point guard at the moment but like the whole team like how our energy looked it could you can tell at that time our energy started to fall but we honestly got through it you ready I’m the defender and you start coming towards

The middle to get back to the center this morning shot right here before every practice for about I come in about an hour before so roughly I started now yes an hour before I shoot 10 shots seven spots make 10 right okay have you ever flip-flopped going after practice yeah no I’m a

Routine person but I can flip-flop that and why would I flip flop if you got a long period let’s say if you got a 4 day period before you try it don’t don’t try it now stay in your routine the reason why because when it gets to the fourth

Quarter you’re not fresh right right so the whole thing is being able to mentally prepare yourself for when a game is on the line when right everybody’s feeling like you right which is tired legs are heavy shots are short right those are the times when Now you

Kind of get to lock in right because after practice nine times out of 10 mostly everybody’s leaving leaving right why did you choose to come to Texas well I chose to come to Texas because most of the schools that was recruiting me around the country wanted

Me to come out the bench or they was recruiting uh one of my other good friends that was a top Elite athlete as well coach bores came to me and he felt like uh the ball would be in my hands and the ultimate thing that he sold me

On was the fact that I can change the culture here in the state of Texas to make sure that people in the state of Texas could stay home so their parents and friends can watch them play um so for me being able to have my jersey retired and being the first player to

Get their jersey retired here uh that was the whole motivation for me to be the best that I could be and I didn’t want anybody to minimize that and this was the best place for me to maximize who I wanted to be of being the best basketball player to ever come out of

The state of Texas this my first jersey exchange ever wait really yeah we was doing this when I play it’s my first one too and it’s with TJ Ford I’m feel like I’m smiling like an idiot right now because one of the best point guards in the

World is signing a Jersey right now for me so wow greatness has no limits I’m glad we was able to spend some time today of just really getting to know as as a person off the court she’s a huge part of what Texas basketball culture is

When I look at at point guards I mean I see self in her all the time uh being able to watch her compete being able to watch how she uh keeps her composure and watch how hard she plays um those are the signs that when I when I watch her

Um that I I love and I I enjoy about her Elite is a choice that’s what’s up I watch her give her all in practice uh she practiced 10 times harder than I did she’s not the biggest young lady but she has the biggest game on the court at

All times no different than myself so from one great point guard to another I want to give you the honor of exchanging my jersey with the best point guard I ever played at Universal of Texas and I want to give you the honor of giving you my jersey you hopefully to

Be one of those oh you will here we go here we go so when I come to the game this is what we represent the greatest point guard here at the University of Texas

TJ Ford and Rori Harmon discuss what it means to be a Texas PG, dealing with injuries and the legacy of playing for the Longhorns.

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