For greater than a yr, Isabelle Harrison wore a cumbersome brace on her left knee.
It was a continuing reminder of her surgically repaired torn meniscus that stored her out for the 2023 season.
“I hated looking at it,” Harrison mentioned Monday. “I hated seeing it in pictures; I didn’t want to post them on social media. I was just really over it.”
Harrison wasn’t fairly one hundred pc final season when she suited up for the Sky.
Even at Athletes Limitless this offseason, Harrison mentioned she was working her method again to full energy.
Two weeks in the past, although, Harrison felt it was time to take that subsequent step in her therapeutic.
Feeling as robust as she felt in years — each bodily and mentally — she ditched the brace.
She noticed it as an indication of not solely energy however enchancment.
“I just kind of took a leap of faith because sometimes it’s physical, but it’s also mental,” Harrison mentioned. “I missed the entire yr prior due to that, and I simply didn’t need to do something to danger it. However I’m at a degree now the place … I’ve been put in a extremely good program for my weights.
“Taking it off, it was a little scary. I’m not going to lie. When I went to rebound I didn’t want to step too far to the left. But again, over time, trusting myself, and it’s a process.”
Harrison already made peace with the actual fact she’ll by no means be the participant she was earlier than her most up-to-date knee damage.
Her focus now could be on being regardless of the Liberty want her to be.
The primary few weeks of coaching camp and this season have been overwhelming at occasions for Harrison.
The Liberty have quite a few layers to their movement offense.
And Harrison had by no means performed in a five-out scheme.
It took time for her to study her new teammates’ tendencies.
However Harrison mentioned she feels extra comfy with what’s being requested of her on daily basis.
“It’s like a light bulb. As soon as it turns on, you get it, you know where you need to be,” Harrison mentioned. “Every day I feel like we layer it more and more and we make it more complex the more we get our chemistry together with everybody. But I’ve always enjoyed it. I love position-less basketball because you don’t get stuck on one side of the floor, you’re not looking for one person to score, everybody’s pretty much involved and we have the personnel to really do that.”
Harrison stepped up when Jonquel Jones went down with an damage in Thursday’s win.
She’ll play an vital position, too, when Nyara Sabally and Leonie Fiebich depart later this month for EuroBasket.
Harrison has earned the belief of her teammates and coaches.
She’s dedicated to doing no matter it takes to win.
