SWAC Basketball: Zion Harmon can make Bethune-Cookman special

BCU Basketball struck recruiting gold with the addition of highly touted 4-star recruit and WKU Transfer Zion Harmon. The Wildcats could be special.

Bethune Cookman’s basketball fortunes in the SWAC got a lot brighter with the commitment of Zion Harmon. The Western Kentucky transfer and former 4-star recruit is the highest-ranked player ever in the history of the school. Let’s take a closer look at what this means for the Wildcats, as well as other factors that could make them a serious contender for this year’s top spot in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

When head basketball coach (and Bethune Cookman AD) Reggie Theus took on the job of revamping the BCU hoops program, one could imagine that he was looking for recruiting gems like this one to vault the Wildcats to contender status in the parity-laden SWAC landscape.

Harmon’s body of work coming into the collegiate ranks is impressive, with his talents being on full display during his last year at Marshall County (Ky.), often going up against the country’s best prep guards. including current NBA pro LaMelo Ball. He was definitely projected to be a legit difference maker for Western Kentucky.

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BCU already has a budding star in the 2019-20 MEAC All-Rookie team and 2021-22 All-SWAC 2nd team guard Joe French Jr. The addition of Harmon could form one of the SWAC’s most potent backcourt duos. Bethune also returns the rest of their top 4 scoring core with Kevin Davis, Marcus Garrett, and Dylan Robertson all returning. The versatility of that returning group of players gives Coach Theus and staff a degree of flexibility that may be hard to match in the conference.

As well as that bodes for Wildcat fortunes in the upcoming 2022-23 Southwestern Athletic Conference basketball season, there’s a lot more to Bethune Cookman than just a single high-profile transfer and prominent returnees. Bethune inked an equally intriguing recruiting class.

This class has a good blend of size, athleticism, and toughness, with transfers DJ Carter-Hollinger (Montana) and Donovann Toatley (Monmouth) looking to make an impact on an already guard and wing rotation. However, the “x-factor” for this class could be 6’9 point forward and Lithuanian native Lukas Gudavicius:

Gudavicius’ skill set could present a dynamic that’s rarely seen in SWAC competition, and his international experience could prove to be invaluable in his acclimation to Division 1 College Basketball. The Wildcat roster is looking to be a deep, big, athletic, and talented one. A roster that could potentially be the most talented in the conference on paper.

It’s going to be interesting to see how BCU’s coaching brain trust integrates these pieces into this year’s squad. Zion Harmon and Joe French Jr. are definitely the marquee guys, but this roster depth could be the narrative for BCU all season, and it could be a foil for Texas Southern’s hold on conference dominance.

The pieces for contention are definitely there. Will Harmon and French mesh well? Will the infusion of size and length make the Wildcats a formidable defensive team? How will this recruiting class make an impact? Those are some of the questions SWAC opponents will find out firsthand this season.

For Wildcat nation, those are good questions to have.