De'Vion Harmon's dreams coming true as Oklahoma starts its tournament march
Participating in March Madness is a basketball player’s dream. It's been front and center for Oklahoma's De’Vion Harmon as long as he can remember.
“I've been playing basketball since I was 3, watching the NCAA Tournament with my dad. My mom, too. My brother. But me and my dad would watch it every year in March, and now I got a chance ... now I'm in it,” Harmon said in a video press conference Sunday. “Now I'm here. I get to play in it. My parents are going to be there. They get to watch their son go compete for a national championship, and I'm just ready.”
It took a little longer for Harmon to get here. He was slated to play in his first NCAA Tournament last year before the postseason was shut down.
This season, Harmon averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game, helping the Sooners land an 8-seed in this year’s tournament, where they'll play 9-seed Missouri at 6:25 p.m. Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Oklahoma dispatched Missouri 77-66 last season in Kansas City. Though OU came out on top, the Tigers made life difficult on Harmon, holding him to four points on 2-of-4 shooting, two rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes of action last year.
“The game was a 40-minute ball game, it was tough. We kinda separated from them, towards the end of the game. I definitely know I remember that. But they're a good team. Big, strong, fast, and they compete, man,” Harmon said. “They compete on both sides of the floor. They got really good guards, really good bigs and they've got a great team. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be fun for us to compete.”
As with any team during tournament time, the load will be shared amongst the squad, and Harmon will have plenty of help to try and finish the season on a high.
All-Big 12 guard Austin Reaves will take the court in the NCAA Tournament alongside Harmon, and he will be representing Oklahoma for the first time. Reaves missed OU’s last trip to the Big Dance, as he was ineligible after transferring from Wichita State.
“I think it’s exciting for everyone. Certainly Austin is a guy who is competitive and I know he’ll be looking forward to it,” Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger said. “Especially this year, nothing can be taken for granted. Playing in an NCAA Tournament, everyone expected to do that last year and all the sudden, the plug was pulled and no one played. Everyone appreciates the opportunity to do that.”
Reaves said he remembered Oklahoma’s last tournament run, in which the Sooners beat Ole Miss in the 8-9 game before playing No. 1-ranked Virginia, who went on to win the national championship.
“We played two years ago in the tournament first round and came out with a lot of energy and a lot of fire and really showed what we were capable of that year. And then ran into a really good Virginia team,” Reaves said. “It’s definitely something we can build on, just seeing what kind of basketball it is in the tournament, playing a Virginia team that won the national championship and playing them in a close game.
“You’re not going to see too many blowouts in the tournament. They’re all going to be games that are grimy, one- or two-possession games that come down to the last minute or so of the game.”
Brady Manek is the only remaining carryover from Oklahoma’s last tournament run, in which he hit Ole Miss for 18 points before dropping 13 on the Cavaliers. Kruger said it’ll be good to lean on his experience, because any advantage is valuable in March.
“The older guys, having experience of having played there, is always important,” he said. “Anything you draw on at this time is beneficial. But still it comes down to this group understanding the value of each possession, lining up and competing like it’s the only game that remains and understanding you have to win to go on.”
Manek can’t beat Missouri by himself, and he certainly won’t be asked to try. Reaves hopes to return to his mid-January form, or maybe it will be Harmon who plays hero and pushes Oklahoma to the second round — where barring the extraordinary, the Sooners will again play the No. 1 overall seed, this time in the form of Gonzaga.
OU is a 2-point favorite over Mizzou, per FanDuel, but would be a heavy underdog to the Zags. Hey, every tournament needs a memorable upset. That's one way to make March magic.
Harmon said one moment of magic in particular stood out among all his March Madness memories: In the 2015 National Championship game, where Duke downed Wisconsin.
“My favorite one was probably Tyus Jones against Wisconsin in the national championship, when he went off,” Harmon said. “Ah, it was crazy. He hit that big shot top of the key. That was the magazine cover right there.”
Now Harmon is ready to create his own shining moment.
“I’m ready to get to work,” Harmon said. “I’m ready for the moment.
“I’ve always been built for moments like this and I can't wait for Saturday.”
