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Oregon basketball should be Pac-12 title favorite with De’Vion Harmon

By Connor Muldowney

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 01: Guard De'Vion Harmon #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners walks across the court during the second half of the college basketball game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at United Supermarkets Arena on February 01, 2021 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 01: Guard De'Vion Harmon #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners walks across the court during the second half of the college basketball game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at United Supermarkets Arena on February 01, 2021 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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While some Oregon basketball fans were sleeping, some big news broke for Dana Altman and Co. as the 2021-22 roster immediately got a boost with the addition of De’Vion Harmon.

After losing Chris Duarte and Jalen Terry this offseason, it was necessary for Oregon to add another guard to complement Will Richardson in the starting lineup.

It did just that with Harmon.

It looks like the hire of Chris Crutchfield as an assistant is immediately paying off as the former Oklahoma assistant under Lon Kruger played a big role in bringing Harmon to Eugene.

https://twitter.com/DeVionHarmon11/status/1385790988019326976?s=20

Harmon was considering a handful of top programs, including Kansas, but ultimately chose Oregon because of that familiarity with Crutchfield, the opportunity to play right big minutes, and the chance to win a conference title in year one.

Although the talented point guard is going through the NBA draft process and could decide to stay in, chances are he will withdraw his name and then he will officially be a Duck.

De’Vion Harmon immediately makes Oregon basketball better

It seemed like Oregon was only suffering tough losses this offseason, but the addition of Harmon changed the momentum. The 2021-22 roster got immediately better.

Harmon is a former four-star recruit who was ranked in the top 50 in the 2019 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He was one of the best point guards in his recruiting class and had an early impact on the Sooners, averaging 7.4 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 36 percent from the floor.

The Denton, Texas, native improved in every area as a sophomore, averaging 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 48 percent from the floor.

Harmon could afford to improve his 3-point shooting (around 34 percent for his career), but he’s a top-tier scoring option and he can be a solid facilitator. Plus, the competition he faced some of the best teams in the country in the Big 12 last season (Kansas, Baylor, Oklahoma State) and is more than battle-tested.

Oregon got a whole lot better on Friday night.

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