Vic Schaefer never has to tell his team to up its intensity. In practice, when he senses that his players have mastered a skill or concept — especially on defense — he often cuts the drill short. It’s his way of tempering the near-boiling point in which his players operate.
“They are so tough and so physical, and they are always competing at such a high level,” Schaefer told Hoops HQ. “Once they are locked in on something I have to be really careful and make sure no one is sore or too tired, or hurt, because they will just keep going.”
It’s rare to coach a team that can be too competitive, but in his 38th year of coaching, Schaefer has found such a team in his Texas Longhorns. Now those Longhorns are poised to garner the program’s first No. 1 ranking in 24 years. Texas is in the midst of a 10-game winning streak heading into Monday night’s game at Georgia, a stretch that includes victories over six teams ranked in the AP Top 25. The streak has come in response to a 67-50 beatdown at the hands of then No. 2 South Carolina on Jan. 12 and includes a 66-62 revenge win over the Gamecocks at home a month later. Now, the Longhorns are not only atop the rankings but also in first place in the SEC ahead of South Carolina and LSU.
“They have shown themselves to be a tough, resilient group,” Schaefer said. “This team has a really competitive spirit. Typically on a team you have few kids who are like that, with some variation, but every one of these kids is like that night in and night out.”
The win over South Carolina brought Texas back into the national title conversation, but it was a few weeks earlier that Schaefer saw a pivotal shift.
With five minutes remaining in a Jan. 26 game against Ole Miss, the Longhorns were down eight points before mounting a defensive-focused comeback. It led to a Madison Booker game-winning jump shot with 13 seconds left and a steal by Booker on the following possession to seal the victory. Schaefer watched as his team struggled to score the ball for 40 minutes, shooting just 39.3 percent from the field and 9.1 percent from beyond the arc. But the resilience his players showed in pulling off the win told him everything he needed to know.
“It’s how you respond in times of trial and tribulation that defines you,” he said. “It ain’t when it’s 70 and sunny outside. Anyone can be great when it’s 70 and sunny.”
The Longhorns are in control of the SEC with three games left in the regular season, but Schaefer isn’t celebrating. Not even close. He’s focused on those three games, then the SEC tournament, and then the NCAA Tournament. Schaefer admits that his group has been special.
“Up until this point,” he said, emphasizing the word point. “Because special in February doesn’t mean much. All it means is the opportunity for a group of 18-to-22-year olds to get off track.”
Despite his hesitancy to look too far ahead, Schaefer knows his team has the tools to make a deep run. It starts with Rori Harmon and Booker, who make up a unique backcourt duo. Harmon, a true pass-first point guard, was always supposed to head up the Texas offense, but when she went out last season with an ACL tear, the Longhorns moved Booker, a forward, to the point guard spot. Now, the duo can both handle the ball, run the offense and create shots for themselves and their teammates. Harmon still does more playmaking, leading the team with 6.1 assists per game, while Booker is a scorer, averaging 16.6 points per game. But Schaefer sees a lot of similarities in his star players.
“They want to be great,” he said. “They’re in the gym every day. They’re pros in terms of their preparation and they understand what it takes. They are a great place to start when you’re building a team.”
Playing alongside Harmon and Booker is another talented duo, one that prowls the frontcourt and was a bit more unexpected. Fifth-year forward Taylor Jones and junior transfer Kyla Oldacre provide two different options at the post position. Jones has always been skilled, but this season the stretch-four has improved her toughness. In the loss to South Carolina, Jones was held scoreless while grabbing just two rebounds. When the teams met again, she finished with 11 points, 6 boards and 4 steals. In the Ole Miss game, where Schaefer saw the shift in his squad, Jones was the driving force, going 7 of 11 from the field for 24 points, while grabbing 6 rebounds and recording 3 blocks.
The Texas staff took a bit of a risk on Oldacre, a former McDonald’s All-American, who averaged 4.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game over two seasons at Miami. But as a Longhorn, Oldacre is starting to thrive, upping her numbers to 9.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.0 block per contest. Both she and Jones are shooting over 60 percent from the floor.
“That’s my two-headed monster,” Schaefer said. “Both kids are dynamite. They bring different things to the table, but both are very efficient, both can rebound and both are great defenders.”
That defense is what Schaefer is most proud of, not just for Oldacre and Jones, but for the entire Longhorns team. When Texas beat LSU last week, the Longhorns scored just nine points in the second quarter, a performance that Schaefer jokingly said “set basketball back 30 years.” But like they’ve done all season, the Longhorns responded. It started on the defensive end, and to close out the game, it was LSU that scored nine points in the fourth quarter.
It’s those kinds of moments that have defined Texas so far this season. Now that they’re at the top of the rankings, Schaefer is confident they won’t forget what got them there. “Our kids embrace the grind,” he said. “They love the toughness that it takes to get a stop. That’s how they bounce back and put together a run. We have more games in front of us, so much more to play for, but so far they’ve been special.”
