NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Western Kentucky lands top-50 guard Zion Harmon
Rick Stansbury of Western Kentucky is at it again on the NCAA Basketball recruiting trail, landing talented point guard Zion Harmon in the 2021 class.
When it comes to the best pure NCAA Basketball recruiters in the game, Western Kentucky head coach Rick Stansbury is right at the top of the list. Even at a mid-major program in Conference USA, he’s been able to land multiple top-100 prospects. He landed another one today in consensus top-60 overall recruit Zion Harmon.
Originally from the state of Kentucky, the 5’10 guard is considered to be one of the best point guards in the class of 2021. He’s very athletic and plays on both ends of the court and has the strength of a 21-year old veteran. Harmon possesses good handles and has a decent jump shot, although that’s an area for improvement.
Western Kentucky won the battle for Harmon over the likes of Kansas, Maryland and Seton Hall, all of whom could’ve used a ball-handler for the 2021-22 season. There was talk about this guard reclassifying but for now, Harmon has remained committed for 2021 class. That’s good news for Coach Stansbury, who won’t have to worry about a possible logjam on the perimeter for next season.
Although there were five players who averaged double figures for the Hilltoppers last season (6 if you include the injured Charles Bassey), the offense for the team had their ups and downs. A big part of that was that the team had no true facilitator, with Taveion Hollingsworth leading the team with 2.7 apg. Western Kentucky was a top-40 scoring offense but bottom-30 is passing, which showed in games where iso-ball wasn’t getting it done.
In the team’s defense, the lead guard was supposed to be former top-100 recruit Dalano Banton before he transferred last offseason to Nebraska. The hope for next season is that Jordan Rawls, who started in 16 of 30 games this past season, can become a lead-ball-handler. He and Harmon could fit together when both are on campus for the following season, as the ladder has the ability to play off the ball.
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As long as Hollingsworth doesn’t go pro this offseason, the Hilltoppers will have enough to compete for a Conference USA title next year. But there will be a ton of production leaving after next year, meaning that Coach Stansbury will have to make even noise on the recruiting trail soon. But landing a top-50 capable guard in Harmon is as good a start as one can ask for.