Big 12 Basketball: 5 biggest takeaways from 2019 recruiting classes
5. De’Vion Harmon will be needed to make a big impact
Head coach Lon Kruger and Oklahoma also quietly had a good recruiting class, bringing in seven new players while being ranked exactly at No. 25 overall. Some notables include top-200 prospects Jalen Hill and Victor Iwuakor, while they hope to find diamonds in the rough with JUCO commits Corbin Merritt and Alondes Williams.
But the star of the class is DeVion Harmon, a top-50 overall prospect and elite point guard out of high school. The Texas product committed to the Sooners nearly two years ago and never wavered on wanting to play for them. He’s a pure passer who can make his teammates better while being a scoring threat when the ball is in his hands.
It’s reminiscent of a former Oklahoma point guard star in Trae Young, who singlehandedly carried the team to the NCAA Tournament. Harmon isn’t that good right now but he’s an upgrade over both Aaron Calixte and freshman Joel Bieniemy, who shared the point guard duties for the Sooners last season.
Next. Winners/losers of 2019 recruting classes. dark
Oklahoma loses four of their top six scorers, including their best player Christian James. Both Brady Manek and Kristian Doolittle will return but will need much more help to avoid the bottom-tier of the Big 12 next year. The best bet is Harmon, who has a legit shot at being the Conference Player of the Year in 2020. He’ll certainly have the opportunity to do so.