Johnnie Harris Discusses Renewed Approach at SEC Media Days
When Auburn women’s basketball head coach Johnnie Harris first arrived on the Plains in the summer of 2021, the first-time leader of a program embraced a difficult challenge. In years prior, the Tigers had established themselves as a lackluster group that was banished to the depths of SEC-bottom feeding for the foreseeable future.
Fortunately for fans of the orange and blue, Harris was determined to reverse the narrative; it did not take her long to earn the trust of the Auburn faithful.
In her first season at the helm, the Tigers pulled off a trio of top-25 upsets, doubled their win total from the previous year, and continued to keep the rest of the SEC honest on a nightly basis.
When Harris took the podium in Birmingham, Ala. on Wednesday afternoon, the renewed sense of confidence and optimism within the program was evident. The Tigers are poised to take even bigger strides in their 2022-23 campaign.
According to coach J, the continual progress began in the weight room.
“I feel like we addressed that in the summer and in the postseason,” Harris said. “We had to get bigger, faster, and stronger.”
The overarching theme carried over into recruiting.
“I feel like we addressed that in recruiting,” Harris said. “I had to get some depth, so mostly bigger, faster, and stronger. We’re teaching our kids to finish, we’re trying to get smarter on the floor.”
Between a revamped approach to preparation and the addition of athletes who are new to the program, Harris believes that the group is competing at a higher level in the gym.
“Trying to make our practices harder,” Harris said. “They’re more competitive now. Now that we have more bodies and better talent, now that it’s more competitive. Just that consistency — starting in practice — I think that will carry over into the game.”
The second-year head coach noted that retaining the likes of Honesty Scott-Grayson and Aicha Coulibaly has provided a necessary sense of leadership among a young group.
“With having some kids that played for us last year, we have a little bit of leadership there,” Harris said. “All of that will play a part.”
Coach J hopes that the returning athletes will provide insight regarding taking down high-level opponents, much like they did against Tennessee, Georgia, and Georgia Tech in 2021.
“It’s what we do,” Harris said. “We play hard, we pressure the ball and we try to get people to do things they’re uncomfortable doing. That’s what we were able to do in those games, so we go back and watch those films.”
Although visibly excited to begin her second year, Harris expressed her eagerness to enjoy efforts that expanded beyond the ongoings within the program; setting program-high numbers of season tickets was the perfect place to start.
“I think it’ll be very good for us,” Harris said. “We just sold more season tickets than the history of Auburn women’s basketball and I think that’s big for us. Our players have been out, we have the jungle and our students have been very supportive. I really believe that the atmosphere will help us, especially having a young team.”
Auburn women’s hoops will have the opportunity to fine-tune its skill set when the group plays host to Tuskegee on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. CST.
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