If you whacked Vic Schaefer across the face with a 2×4, he’d still be smiling. That’s how happy the Texas women’s basketball coach is to see Rori Harmon back on the floor for the Longhorns.

“Praise the Lord and Hook ’em Horns,” Schaefer normally says at the end of his press conferences.

He feels the same way about sophomore Madison Booker.

Booker’s efforts after Harmon suffered a season-ending knee injury should earn her a permanent spot in UT lore. Just as Schaefer said Wednesday at SEC media day, Booker “didn’t just get us through a season. She didn’t just lead us to an OK.” No.

Booker led the Horns to the Big 12 tournament title and the NCAA’s Elite Eight playing point guard. The SEC coaches sure took notice. They voted the 6-foot-1 Booker as one of the three Preseason Players of the Year. Booker garnered the recognition along with LSU teammates Flau'Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow.

“We wouldn't have had anything close to that if it hadn’t been her embracing a role that she didn't come to Texas to be the point guard, yet she was thrown into that role,” Schaefer said in Birmingham, Ala. “Man, she just embraced it, ran with it, did an unbelievable job.”

Rori Harmon’s megawatt smile is back and so is the energy running through Texas women’s basketball

After rebounding from an ACL tear in December, Harmon ran a 6:05 mile this preseason. The Horns are now running toward the Women’s Final Four.

Booker was the Big 12 Player of the Year as a freshman last season in UT’s swan song in that league. She was also named a WBCA first-team All-American and the honored as the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year. Booker averaged 16.5 points per game while shooting 45.7% from the floor.

With Harmon’s return, Booker is expected to go back to the wing, “back to my regular position,” she said.

Asked about playing mostly forward this season, Booker said, “Amazing, I’m so happy. Also having a veteran point guard back, Rori Harmon one of the best point guards in NCAA.

“I think it’s going to help me improve my wing scoring mentality, also making decisions in the game in from the wing,” she added. “It helped me grow a lot last year and I can take what I learned from that segment to this segment where I feel more comfortable in, and I’ll be a lot better than I have ever been.”

Harmon excited about Michigan transfer Laila Phelia

Now that she’s back, Harmon isn’t going to sneak past anybody in the SEC. Coaches tabbed the 5-foot-6 dynamo as a preseason All-SEC second-team selection.

Harmon and Booker can grow together alongside Michigan transfer Laila Phelia, who started 33 games last season and scored 1,243 in three years with the Wolverines.

“Sitting there watching, being on Laila’s team, and sometimes not on her team in practice, she’s just so incredible,” Harmon said. “She’s so fast when she puts her head down, there’s no stopping her. I’m just glad that we got that pickup.

“As soon as she got into the transfer portal, I was like ‘please we need we need her,’” Harmon added.

Harmon is also excited for freshman guards Jordan Lee and Bryanna Preston. “They’re doing so good,” Harmon said. “They learn so fast, and they’re so coachable. I like to see the younger generation and how coachable they are, I'm so excited for them.”

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Schaefer knows full well what SEC is about

Booker noted Wednesday how the Big 12 was a post-oriented league while the SEC is guard oriented. She’ll need time to learn all the new teams, new coaches and new players.

“We’re new, there are going to be new plays, new things to remember, new opponents and to play with different types of play styles,” Booker said.

Schaefer doesn’t need any learning curve. He was an assistant at Arkansas (1997-03) and Texas A&M (2003-11) before becoming the head coach at Mississippi State for eight seasons.

When Schaefer got to Starkville, the Bulldogs had perhaps the worst program in the SEC. During his time, MSU would win 221 games, play in five NCAA Tournaments and reached the NCAA championship game twice. Schaefer was the SEC coach of the year in 2018 and 2019.

“In our league right now on any given night, if you're not ready to play, you won't get beat, you'll get embarrassed,” Schaefer said. “We have Hall of Fame coaches, future WNBA players night in and night out. I think leaving the league that I just left to come to this one, all I did was jump out of the frying pan and into the grease. It’s a monster. You have to prepare for that.”

Now Schaefer faces Auburn’s Johnnie Harris

One game Schaefer will not be excited about is Jan. 16 at Auburn. The Tigers are led by Johnnie Harris, Schaefer’s longtime assistant at Mississippi State and his sidekick for the entire Bulldogs’ program ascension. Harris was at A&M with Schaefer as assistants under the legendary Gary Blair, too.

True story: when Schaefer and Harris first got to Starkville, the recruiting files had been cleaned out. There was nothing. They had to literally start building files from scratch. Three seasons later, the Bulldogs were in the NCAAs and were off and running.

Fair to say Harris isn’t looking forward to that night, either.

“He put me out there from the time we were assistants,” Harris said on SEC Network. “I was just telling someone that I was hired to be a recruiter, but Vic Schaefer knew I wanted more. He embraced that.

“You know, I used to do my scouting reports, and he would grade them and he would mark them up with a lot of red. A lot of red,” Harris said. “I kept at it, and I would watch film with him, and it went from him marking it up to him using the reports that I made. I wasn’t looking for credit. I was looking to get better, and he helped me get better.”