September 25, 2025 • 13 mins
Today, we have Texas Women’s Basketball Head Coach Vic Schaefer before he practices with the team. He explains why it’s important to identify players with an excellent work ethic who play hard with toughness. He informed us of the status of Rori Harmon coming into this season. He lets us know his thought process in identifying and developing future leadership for the team. Lastly, he settles the score on the discussion about three-point shooting. You can hear it all here on “The Morning Kickoff Show!”
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the morning kickoff right here on sports
Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone. He has a career
record of forty five in two A and his record
at the University of Texas is one forty four and
thirty six. He's a four time SEC Coach of the Year,
including the twenty twenty five season where his team finished
(00:21):
in the final four and of course.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
They had a thirty five and four record.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
He is the head coach of your Texas Lady Longhorns.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
He is coach Vick Schaeffer. Good morning, coach. How you doing. Hey,
good morning man. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I'm rolling we got early workout this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I'm rolling along. How y'all doing.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
We're good, We're good. We're excited to talk to you.
And as always, we are huge, huge women's basketball fan.
And what you have been able to build here at
the University of Texas is something that I remember. The
very first you took the job, I was here at
this station. I had a different co host and we
(01:04):
talked about you taking over this job, and you said,
we're gonna guard you from the airport to the to
the baseline. And that's exactly what you built. Your team around.
You have got one of the best defensive teams. How
do you how do you go out and search those
types of players that aren't afraid to play defense.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Well, I think you you've got to find kids that
are all about the team. I think you've gotta find
kids that really put a value on it. And I
think you've gotta find kids that want to win, that
are really competitive.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I mean I say it all the time.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
If somebody describes your team, I don't care what team
it is. It could be Sark's team, mind s losses, Shawn's.
But if they say you've got a tough, physical, aggressive team,
you'd like that As a head coach. That doesn't say
anything about your skill set, doesn't say anything about your
jump shot, doesn't say anything about how far your quarterback
(02:02):
can throw a football or how fast your pitchers thrown
it on the mound. But if you if your team
was described as tough, physical, and aggressive, you probably like that.
And in basketball that usually describes a team on the
on the defensive end. And so I think for us,
(02:23):
my staff does a great job. We identify kids that
are ultra competitive, that play really hard. I said all
the time, I don't want to coach your heart, I
want to coach your mind. And so you got to
have kids that really play the game really hard. And uh,
if you do that, and if it can be something
(02:45):
a lot of fun to watch, I think our fan
base has really come to appreciate how hard our kids play.
And again, when you talk about how hard your kids play,
it's usually on that end.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Coach talking about how hard somebody plays.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
There's always a lot of friendly banter between me and
Danny Davis, who I'm sure you get plenty of interviews
with and and the subject is always Rory Harmon because
I'm I'm a big Rory fan. And I asked a
lot of questions to Danny because he gets the media availabilities. Uh,
what's the what's the the Rory Harmon report? Right now?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
She looks good.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
She's playing with out her brace back again and it's
just really comfortable, and uh, you.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Know, she looks good.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
She's always say it's that I haven't had that many
of those kinds of injuries, very very few. But it's
been my experience, either with kids that have or even
in recruiting kids that have had them, it's that second
year where they really kind of get back to looking
comfortable and normal. Although I will say Rory looked pretty
(03:57):
dang comfortable last year and pretty normal. I think the
thing that you're focused so much on your recovery with
your injury, sometimes it takes away with your ability to
train and get your skill set back. And so I
think right now Rory looks really good, both health wise
(04:20):
and with her skill set.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
She's probably the last two weeks she's just.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Been really really good, finding people, finding them at the
right time, delivering the pass in the pocket where it
needs to be. She's looked really good. So the report
on Rory is she looks great. And you know, going
back to that whole the old question that you ask
(04:45):
about defense, I mean, it helps when you've got you've
got a Rory Harmon who picks up ninety four feet,
who gets in the press as soon as the ball
goes through the net, who loves to play.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Hard on that end, takes great pride in playing on
that end.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
And we've been really fortunate to have a player like
that here at Texas for now going on five years.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
We're talking to the head coach of the Texas women's
basketball team, Coach Vick Schaeffer as he's rolling along trying
to get the practice. But Coach, I wanted to ask
you this because you know, you talk about Rory and
the leadership and what she brings. Obviously, Madison Booker has
been in the program going on her third year now,
and she's had a lot of experience, but you lost
(05:31):
a lot of those types of players that brought an
edge and brought that accountability as we like to say,
what is the next step for Vic Schaefer and identifying
those other types of players because all more than likely
this is Rory's last year and Madison will be a
senior after this.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Again, we've got a good you know, we've got a
good young group of.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Kids and in.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Justice Carlton, Jordan Lee and Brianna Preston. Those three sophomores,
you know, all had big moments last year. Uh some
played longer than others, but you know, you're hopeful that
those kids can continue to develop, which I think they
(06:21):
they have. I think all three have really had good
summers and so you hope that those kids can step
up and you know, continue the continue the legacy that
we've established here at Texas and developing kids you know,
(06:41):
books going to be a junior. She's still got two
great years, an incredible talent, unbelievable kid, humble and hungry
every day. And so I think, you know, with those kids,
those three aphomores, and then you know you've got to
(07:02):
continue to recruit. Well, we recruited the number five kid
in the country and Eliah Crump last year didn't really
get too many you know, we didn't get anyone else
in the early period. We signed Grace Late kid from Ireland,
and shoot it, we took Levis side of the portal
six six kid that'll be a sophomore. But we really
(07:25):
hope we can regishirt Her if we can get Bray
and Kyla to kind of be that two headed monster
that we've always had.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Year in and year out.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
So you know, that's where we're at right now. So
in recruiting, you know, it's it puts a real premium
on this year's class and we're after you know, we're
in the we're in the homes and we're after some
of the best players in the country right now, and
so you know, it's, uh, it's.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
What you do.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
You know, you reload and I'll believe in recruiting young kids,
trying to retain them and develop them.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I mean, that's.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Always been the secret to our success both at Mississippi
State and here.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
You recruit to a fit, you retain them, and.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
You develop them, and I know, it gets harder and
harder to retain them, and then you can't retain them,
then it's.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Hard to develop them.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
But and it's really hard when you're taking kids out
of the portal and they only got one year left,
where you know, you're trying to develop someone who's really
you better get what you want because they're pretty much
developed at that point, they're ready to have a senior year.
So it's you know, it's just it's kind of where
(08:44):
we're at, and it puts a real premium I think
on this year's recruiting class, coach.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
The scouting report always says what you said earlier, Texas
plays fears, tough, competitive. It also says they're consistent. They
have players that can score at a very consistent rate.
But the knock was there wasn't a lot of a
lot of three point shooting. How is the development of
(09:10):
the three point shooting?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
What's going on? I think I know what comes about.
Let me have it.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Yeah, let let me, let me have it.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
You know, I love you. Don't hurt me too bad. No,
it's all good.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I mean, it's just you know, it's the topic of conversation.
And and look, I've had some really good three point
shooting teams. I can remember Blair's senior year at Mississippi State.
We have a we have a drill called Longhorn. It's
it's a four minute scrimmage. You're trying to score as
(09:50):
fast as you can. You're pressing after every bucket and whatever.
The shot clock resets at twenty four on every shot,
and so you're trying to score fast.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
You're not running any offense.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
You're just trying to get the ball down and score
as fast as you can. And I can remember that
team standing there on the sideline just about every day
going wild. This must be what it feels like to
coach the Golden State Warriors, because my entire, my entire
roster could really fill it up and shoot the three.
(10:29):
Vivian's Rashonda Johnson, Blair Schaeffer, Morgan William, Rakia Jackson, later.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Chloe Bibby, my four player.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
I mean, they all had the green light anywhere anytime
didn't matter, time and place, Time and place was open.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Coach drop, Oh man, that was so good.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Yeah, I knew he was about to get you. I
knew he was. Let's see what we get.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Come consistently, and I'm not going to sit there and
be bang my head in the wall twenty every night.
You guys in the media are happy because we're shooting
twenty threes and we're getting our butt beat.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
You know, it just don't make sense if you can't
make a three.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Okay, go to your get to your spot, as we say, and.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Go make it two.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
And so you know, last year, like I said, you
win thirty five games, go the file four and I
had to answer that question, you know, once a week
about our three point shooting. And again, it's not about shots, man,
it's about makes.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
You know. I tell a kid that all the time.
It's not about shots, it's about makes. And we're all
about making shots. And so, you know, the.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
For us last year, we just weren't real consistent out there.
I don't know that you know, Booker shot forty percent
out there, but Booker.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Also knows, yeah, that's a good shot.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
For her, but she knows there's a better one that
she can go hunt too, and so for her she
you know, she just she'd rather than my roster. I
(12:39):
mean Shay Holly and and ror.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Man oh Man.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Yeah, we got through the streets.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
We ain't driving a parking garage. Yeah, you started to
lose it.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Well, we're thankful for the time that we got from
coach Shaffer.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Sorry for the technical difficulties.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
I'm sure we'll get him on again as he continues
to make his way.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
But he might not want to come back on if
I'm on.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Well, especially if you're gonna ask about three point shooting.
I was thinking to myself. I was like, he's about
to let Mark have it because they went thirty five
and four and made it to the final four.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
I'm not the enemy. I'm just doing the scouting report,
sir
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Hey, and the scouting reports say we went to the
final four and was thirty five and four.
Welcome back to the morning kickoff right here on sports
Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone. He has a career
record of forty five in two A and his record
at the University of Texas is one forty four and
thirty six. He's a four time SEC Coach of the Year,
including the twenty twenty five season where his team finished
(00:21):
in the final four and of course.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
They had a thirty five and four record.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
He is the head coach of your Texas Lady Longhorns.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
He is coach Vick Schaeffer. Good morning, coach. How you doing. Hey,
good morning man. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I'm rolling we got early workout this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I'm rolling along. How y'all doing.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
We're good, We're good. We're excited to talk to you.
And as always, we are huge, huge women's basketball fan.
And what you have been able to build here at
the University of Texas is something that I remember. The
very first you took the job, I was here at
this station. I had a different co host and we
(01:04):
talked about you taking over this job, and you said,
we're gonna guard you from the airport to the to
the baseline. And that's exactly what you built. Your team around.
You have got one of the best defensive teams. How
do you how do you go out and search those
types of players that aren't afraid to play defense.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Well, I think you you've got to find kids that
are all about the team. I think you've gotta find
kids that really put a value on it. And I
think you've gotta find kids that want to win, that
are really competitive.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I mean I say it all the time.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
If somebody describes your team, I don't care what team
it is. It could be Sark's team, mind s losses, Shawn's.
But if they say you've got a tough, physical, aggressive team,
you'd like that As a head coach. That doesn't say
anything about your skill set, doesn't say anything about your
jump shot, doesn't say anything about how far your quarterback
(02:02):
can throw a football or how fast your pitchers thrown
it on the mound. But if you if your team
was described as tough, physical, and aggressive, you probably like that.
And in basketball that usually describes a team on the
on the defensive end. And so I think for us,
(02:23):
my staff does a great job. We identify kids that
are ultra competitive, that play really hard. I said all
the time, I don't want to coach your heart, I
want to coach your mind. And so you got to
have kids that really play the game really hard. And uh,
if you do that, and if it can be something
(02:45):
a lot of fun to watch, I think our fan
base has really come to appreciate how hard our kids play.
And again, when you talk about how hard your kids play,
it's usually on that end.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Coach talking about how hard somebody plays.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
There's always a lot of friendly banter between me and
Danny Davis, who I'm sure you get plenty of interviews
with and and the subject is always Rory Harmon because
I'm I'm a big Rory fan. And I asked a
lot of questions to Danny because he gets the media availabilities. Uh,
what's the what's the the Rory Harmon report? Right now?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
She looks good.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
She's playing with out her brace back again and it's
just really comfortable, and uh, you.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Know, she looks good.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
She's always say it's that I haven't had that many
of those kinds of injuries, very very few. But it's
been my experience, either with kids that have or even
in recruiting kids that have had them, it's that second
year where they really kind of get back to looking
comfortable and normal. Although I will say Rory looked pretty
(03:57):
dang comfortable last year and pretty normal. I think the
thing that you're focused so much on your recovery with
your injury, sometimes it takes away with your ability to
train and get your skill set back. And so I
think right now Rory looks really good, both health wise
(04:20):
and with her skill set.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
She's probably the last two weeks she's just.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Been really really good, finding people, finding them at the
right time, delivering the pass in the pocket where it
needs to be. She's looked really good. So the report
on Rory is she looks great. And you know, going
back to that whole the old question that you ask
(04:45):
about defense, I mean, it helps when you've got you've
got a Rory Harmon who picks up ninety four feet,
who gets in the press as soon as the ball
goes through the net, who loves to play.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Hard on that end, takes great pride in playing on
that end.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
And we've been really fortunate to have a player like
that here at Texas for now going on five years.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
We're talking to the head coach of the Texas women's
basketball team, Coach Vick Schaeffer as he's rolling along trying
to get the practice. But Coach, I wanted to ask
you this because you know, you talk about Rory and
the leadership and what she brings. Obviously, Madison Booker has
been in the program going on her third year now,
and she's had a lot of experience, but you lost
(05:31):
a lot of those types of players that brought an
edge and brought that accountability as we like to say,
what is the next step for Vic Schaefer and identifying
those other types of players because all more than likely
this is Rory's last year and Madison will be a
senior after this.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Again, we've got a good you know, we've got a
good young group of.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Kids and in.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Justice Carlton, Jordan Lee and Brianna Preston. Those three sophomores,
you know, all had big moments last year. Uh some
played longer than others, but you know, you're hopeful that
those kids can continue to develop, which I think they
(06:21):
they have. I think all three have really had good
summers and so you hope that those kids can step
up and you know, continue the continue the legacy that
we've established here at Texas and developing kids you know,
(06:41):
books going to be a junior. She's still got two
great years, an incredible talent, unbelievable kid, humble and hungry
every day. And so I think, you know, with those kids,
those three aphomores, and then you know you've got to
(07:02):
continue to recruit. Well, we recruited the number five kid
in the country and Eliah Crump last year didn't really
get too many you know, we didn't get anyone else
in the early period. We signed Grace Late kid from Ireland,
and shoot it, we took Levis side of the portal
six six kid that'll be a sophomore. But we really
(07:25):
hope we can regishirt Her if we can get Bray
and Kyla to kind of be that two headed monster
that we've always had.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Year in and year out.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
So you know, that's where we're at right now. So
in recruiting, you know, it's it puts a real premium
on this year's class and we're after you know, we're
in the we're in the homes and we're after some
of the best players in the country right now, and
so you know, it's, uh, it's.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
What you do.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
You know, you reload and I'll believe in recruiting young kids,
trying to retain them and develop them.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I mean, that's.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Always been the secret to our success both at Mississippi
State and here.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
You recruit to a fit, you retain them, and.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
You develop them, and I know, it gets harder and
harder to retain them, and then you can't retain them,
then it's.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Hard to develop them.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
But and it's really hard when you're taking kids out
of the portal and they only got one year left,
where you know, you're trying to develop someone who's really
you better get what you want because they're pretty much
developed at that point, they're ready to have a senior year.
So it's you know, it's just it's kind of where
(08:44):
we're at, and it puts a real premium I think
on this year's recruiting class, coach.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
The scouting report always says what you said earlier, Texas
plays fears, tough, competitive. It also says they're consistent. They
have players that can score at a very consistent rate.
But the knock was there wasn't a lot of a
lot of three point shooting. How is the development of
(09:10):
the three point shooting?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
What's going on? I think I know what comes about.
Let me have it.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Yeah, let let me, let me have it.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
You know, I love you. Don't hurt me too bad. No,
it's all good.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I mean, it's just you know, it's the topic of conversation.
And and look, I've had some really good three point
shooting teams. I can remember Blair's senior year at Mississippi State.
We have a we have a drill called Longhorn. It's
it's a four minute scrimmage. You're trying to score as
(09:50):
fast as you can. You're pressing after every bucket and whatever.
The shot clock resets at twenty four on every shot,
and so you're trying to score fast.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
You're not running any offense.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
You're just trying to get the ball down and score
as fast as you can. And I can remember that
team standing there on the sideline just about every day
going wild. This must be what it feels like to
coach the Golden State Warriors, because my entire, my entire
roster could really fill it up and shoot the three.
(10:29):
Vivian's Rashonda Johnson, Blair Schaeffer, Morgan William, Rakia Jackson, later.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Chloe Bibby, my four player.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
I mean, they all had the green light anywhere anytime
didn't matter, time and place, Time and place was open.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Coach drop, Oh man, that was so good.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Yeah, I knew he was about to get you. I
knew he was. Let's see what we get.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Come consistently, and I'm not going to sit there and
be bang my head in the wall twenty every night.
You guys in the media are happy because we're shooting
twenty threes and we're getting our butt beat.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
You know, it just don't make sense if you can't
make a three.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Okay, go to your get to your spot, as we say, and.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Go make it two.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
And so you know, last year, like I said, you
win thirty five games, go the file four and I
had to answer that question, you know, once a week
about our three point shooting. And again, it's not about shots, man,
it's about makes.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
You know. I tell a kid that all the time.
It's not about shots, it's about makes. And we're all
about making shots. And so, you know, the.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
For us last year, we just weren't real consistent out there.
I don't know that you know, Booker shot forty percent
out there, but Booker.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Also knows, yeah, that's a good shot.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
For her, but she knows there's a better one that
she can go hunt too, and so for her she
you know, she just she'd rather than my roster. I
(12:39):
mean Shay Holly and and ror.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Man oh Man.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Yeah, we got through the streets.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
We ain't driving a parking garage. Yeah, you started to
lose it.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Well, we're thankful for the time that we got from
coach Shaffer.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Sorry for the technical difficulties.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
I'm sure we'll get him on again as he continues
to make his way.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
But he might not want to come back on if
I'm on.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Well, especially if you're gonna ask about three point shooting.
I was thinking to myself. I was like, he's about
to let Mark have it because they went thirty five
and four and made it to the final four.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
I'm not the enemy. I'm just doing the scouting report,
sir
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Hey, and the scouting reports say we went to the
final four and was thirty five and four.
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