TORONTO — It took 10 games into the Toronto Tempo’s inaugural season before Isabelle Harrison saw the floor.
So, after recovering from the thumb injury she sustained in training camp that sidelined her for a month, it’d be fair to expect a couple of slow shifts and stuttered plays as she ramped up to her ninth season in the league.
But when the veteran checked in on Sunday for her first minutes with the expansion squad, she had the opposite of a rough start. The first shot she took, a 23-foot 3-pointer, swished in, and Harrison was back.
Harrison was immediately up to speed on the floor, something she predicted would be the case when she spoke with the media before her debut.
“I think this is just a testament to if you are injured, don’t fade into the background,” Harrison said.
“I just made sure I just never faded. My voice was always heard, my leadership was always well, and they were able to see the work I was putting in, because it’s like, y’all not practicing, but I feel like when we rehab, you’re doing 10 times more work. So, I hope they see all the effort and the work I’ve been putting into getting back out there.”
Even the one Tempo player with a longer WNBA tenure than her, Brittney Sykes, saw how locked into the season Harrison remained despite the injury.
“It’s just a testament to her as a human being, she was out really early in the season, and then was never apart from us,” Sykes said.
The only fading the Tempo big showed in the 85-68 win over the Chicago Sky came after she’d hit a jump shot. Harrison had 14 points on the night, good for the third-highest on the Tempo, along with six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“Just having her back on the floor, man. Just having another rebounder, another bumper, another person who could shoot the three and space out the defense, but also somebody with the IQ that can read the defense and make plays for us on and off the ball. But yeah, it’s always great to have your teammates back, but for sure, we are really happy to have Is back,” Sykes said.
Harrison shared after the game that her main area of focus had been defensive rebounding, that part of the game was her “biggest thing,” and “anything else was a plus.” Her additions on defense paid off in this one. The last time the Tempo beat the Sky, they had to score 111 to do so against an offense that managed 104. On this occasion, though, Toronto held Chicago to just 68 points.
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As Harrison rejoined practice last week, her leadership became obvious. She was quick to jump in and help some of the younger players, like Teonni Key, with spacing reminders. The veteran brought a renewed energy to some of the elements the team has been working on for a while, like speed and pace.
“Forget the game,” Sykes said after the win, “we was happy to have Izzy back in practice.”
Sitting out for so long wasn’t an easy task for the veteran leader, but, she tried to make the most of her position on the sideline. After Sunday’s win, she shared about how she’d taken on a quasi-coaching role through the first quarter of the season, and how helping only from the bench wasn’t cutting it anymore.
“I was a coach for a little too long on and I was getting a little FOMO to just be out here with the girls and just be a part of the process of building, and you know, it’s one thing to say, but when you’re out there physically helping and doing it’s another thing.”
Head coach Sandy Brondello was quick to joke about Harrison’s help as a coach and how it might impact her own job security. Brondello has been a long-time part of Harrison’s WNBA journey. She drafted the 6-foot-3 forward 12th overall in 2015 from the University of Tennessee, back when she was coaching the Phoenix Mercury.
“She’s great. I drafted Izzy back in the heyday, coached her last year, so it’s good for us to be back in a really good spot. She’s a bit more of an experienced player, and she’s had many journeys along in her career, but you just see she just sees the game in the right way, and she knows what she’s capable of doing,” Brondello said.
“Not being a new team, you need those experienced players in the locker room. We have a lot of first timers, and she [leads] with empathy and compassion.”
The Tempo signed Harrison for her size and versatility, along with her postseason experience. For a team flush with guards, her skillset would be the complement the perimeter players needed. On Sunday, that vision was finally realized.
“I think what she brings is just veteran leadership, I think the energy, the communication, the way she talks on court, it builds trust for the rest of the players around her,” Brondello said pregame on Sunday. “She’s another big body, so rim protection helps. It’s the screening and the rolling and finishing at the rim, but I think it’s just the overall presence.”
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Of all the Toronto firsts Harrison had in her debut on Sunday, one of the things she was most looking forward to was playing in front of the Canadian fans.
“It’s been cool because I’ve been able to just be a spectator along with like a coach and also a fan here at Coca-Cola [Coliseum], because this crowd is amazing, and I’ve been waiting to play for that,” she said pregame.
The sold-out stadium in Toronto didn’t disappoint.
“The crowd is lit,” Harrison concluded after the game, beaming.
“I’ve been seeing you guys, the fans, talk to me on social media, and just the energy I’ve been feeling here since day one, it’s been amazing.”
