Justin Harmon has the grit and toughness to help the Wolverines claim a WAC tournament title
Justin Harmon is a sophomore guard out of Chicago, Illinois. In his first season with the Wolverines, he has shown the grit and toughness that is needed to help this team make their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
Harmon attended Currie High School, where he led his squad to a Chicago City Championship. Coming out of high school, Harmon was recruited by Barton Community College, where he would play for two years averaging 16 ppg, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists. In 2021 Harmon transferred to Utah Valley University. This season for the Wolverines he has averaged 12 points, four rebounds and a steal per game. Most notably, Harmon had a key performance in the overtime win against No.12 BYU where he dropped 24 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Playing a key role as a perimeter defender as well as a secondary scorer for the Wolverines, Harmon has emerged as a major contributor on a Wolverine squad with conference championship aspirations.
Recently, the Wolverines traveled to Chicago to face WAC opponent Chicago State University. In a homecoming game for Harmon, he said that the community that showed out for him was huge.
“It was real fun because I didn’t play for about 12 games and my first game back I’m back home in front of my family…for me having that big crowd there was crazy”
The Wolverines would go on to defeat the Cougars in that matchup 101-87 as Harmon notched 12 points, four assists and three rebounds in his return, shooting 63% from the field in an offensive clinic by Utah Valley.
Harmon has a lot of fun being on the court and something that is very meaningful to Harmon is black history. He says that he is grateful for the black historical figures who have made it possible for him to enjoy the game as he does.
“It means a lot to me…what people did for me back then to make things right, now, is really special because a lot of the stuff that we are doing now wasn’t allowed back then.”
One historical figure that Harmon says has helped him, in particular, is “The People’s Champion,” Muhammad Ali.
“Muhammad Ali really did a lot for me…he showed that you can do a lot of things and still be able to make things right at the same time.”
Harmon said that he admired Ali, especially his ability to, “…have fun and be an activist and still be able to do the right thing for your people”
When asked about his experience as a minority at UVU, Harmon had only positive things to say about the university and its students.
“It’s been a very positive experience…the people here just welcomed me with open arms. The families that come to the games…they are happy to see me play. It’s just been fun playing in front of the fans and the families here because they treat me like family…so that’s been very fun.”
Wolverine fans will continue to watch Harmon this season as he and his squad attempt to claim the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament bid at the Hercules WAC Tournament in Las Vegas. The first round of the tournament tips off on March 8 at 12 p.m. MT and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Sports Editor and Senior Staff Writer
Senior at Utah Valley University majoring in applied communications.