Illinois Basketball Double Dips in the Portal

After losing both guards from the 2022 class and RJ Melendez to the portal, Illinois needed a reload on the perimeter. Marcus Domask committed first. Then in the evening Utah Valley’s Justin Harmon pledged his last year of eligibility to the Illini. The two mid major alumni will provide experience to a currently very young Illini roster. They can also slide alongside Coleman Hawkins and Terrence Shannon Jr. if they return.

1. The Player

Harmon fits the Illini’s desired profile of a true combo guard. At 6’4″ he has the size to guard multiple positions on the perimeter. He uses his length and athleticism to bother ball handlers, but can have defensive lapses. As I mentioned in his Into The Portal profile, I got to watch UVU when they came up by me to play Seattle U in WAC conference play. Harmon didn’t stand out much offensively, finishing with 10 points on 4-12 shooting. However, he finished the game off with two massive dunks, and was part of a smothering defense that held Seattle U to 30% shooting.

UVU played three guards alongside two non-shooting bigs. They put Harmon and the other guards in constant ball screens with a good roll man, but Harmon had to do a lot of self-creation. Illinois will provide better offensive spacing, which could allow Harmon to cut down on his turnovers and increase his overall efficiency. With a likely decreased role, Harmon may be able to spend more energy and focus defensively. He is a tough driver and can play above the rim, especially in transition. Harmon had 16 dunks last year, which actually would’ve been the most on the Illini out of their perimeter crew last year according to Synergy Sports. He also has a respectable jump shot and can punish defenders for going under a ball screen. At 6’4″ he can rise up over smaller defenders in that 5-10 foot area.

2. The Resume

After moving up from the community college ranks, Harmon was an instant double digit scorer in Orem. After averaging 11 points per game in his debut season, he led the Wolverines with 14 per game last year. He bumped his three-point shooting percentage, going from sub-30% to a respectable 34% on about three attempts per game from deep. Curiously, his free throw rate and percentage dropped from year one to two at UVU, as did his attempts.

Perhaps the improved jump shot led to less drives to the basket, but Harmon is at his best attacking the basket and getting to his leaners and floaters in the lane. He is really good at getting downhill and can score in a variety of ways off ball screens. Harmon had 175 possessions of Pick and Roll per Synergy Sports. For reference, Shannon Jr. and Jayden Epps combined for about 200 possessions. He was in the 41st percentile nationally in pick and roll. As I mentioned above, UVU’s two big setup also wasn’t extremely conducive to open lanes to the hoop. Hopefully better spacing will help iron out some of his turnover problems (career negative assist to turnover ratio).

Despite being the leading scorer on the second-place team in the conference, Harmon didn’t garner as many individual accolades as Domask. UVU had an impressive squad that made a run to the NIT semifinals. They could’ve easily made the Big Dance if not for a game winning four-point play by Illinois legend Tevian Jones in the WAC tournament semi-finals. That NIT charge was spearheaded by Harmon. He averaged over 20 points per game on over 50% from the field, and 40% from three. He probably won’t be that guy at the Illini, but much like Domask, those instincts and experiences will be useful even in a smaller role.

3. The Fit

Unlike Domask, Harmon’s specific fit on next year’s Illini isn’t as easy to call right now. With two open scholarships to go with two players who are in the draft process (although Shannon Jr. has not technically announced) with eligibility, I think Harmon’s role will vary on the personnel moves in the next few weeks. There are traits that he has that will fit any roster construction, however.

Last year for the Wolverines, Harmon had 175 possessions of pick and roll per Synergy Sports. While he certainly can score as you will see below, he was also pretty good at looking for the roll man:

He is really strong going to his right hand. Mark Madsen did a great job of running sets to get Harmon downhill to that strong hand. Brad Underwood has done a lot of similar concepts for Shannon Jr. and before him Trent Frazier, Ayo Dosunmu, and Andres Feliz:

Of those four Harmon reminds me the most of Feliz. He has a similar ability to stop before getting all the way to the cup and finish with a leaner or floater in the lane as well as finding tough angles to finish with his right hand. His height gives him a nice boost to these shots:

Harmon can punish defenders for going under the screen. While his release isn’t lightning quick, the threat of the drive gives him room to get it off:

With Domask and Harmon there is a clear theme: old, productive players who have experience being the focal point of an offense. Last year Illinois had underclassmen to fill the role spots on the team. Two freshmen point guards, and their two defensive stoppers were freshmen. Their two projected smaller role shooters were sophomores. Their eventual starting center entered the year with nine total minutes played before this year. Now Domask and Harmon step in, with 3,700 and 1,500 Division One minutes respectively.

Illinois has two open scholarships left. They will likely get one more ballhandler, and probably a purer point guard. If Shannon Jr. returns Harmon may get pushed to the bench, likely running the second unit while mixing in with some starters to provide ball handling. The usage of the last scholarship will be interesting. If Hawkins returns, they will return the same frontcourt they had last year. Will they look to add another big to the mix? Underwood has talked about liking mid-season transfers, so they may also keep it open.