Unlike his counterparts, Harmon did not play at the NBA Summer League, but he still ended up joining Guerrier and Domask in the NBA G League. The G League season is split into two consecutive parts: the 16-game Tip-Off Tournament and the 34-game regular season.
The Tip-Off Tournament, set up similarly to the NBA Cup, concludes with each team playing two games in front of NBA scouts and front office executives at the G League’s premier scouting event: the Winter Showcase. After his first game at the Showcase, Harmon shared with The Daily Illini how he decided to start his career in the G League.
“I kind of considered going overseas at first,” Harmon said. “I had good talks with my agent, and we decided to go the G League route because it would be better for me in the long run.”
A few months after being a no-show at Summer League, Harmon was listed on the opening night roster for the Salt Lake City Stars, the NBA G League affiliate of the Utah Jazz. The 6-foot-4 guard didn’t enter the G League draft or sign an NBA training camp contract to join the team. Instead, he powered through the tryout process to make the roster.
“I got invited to a Stars workout at the beginning of September; that went really well for those two days,” Harmon said. “That went really well, and they decided to bring me back for training camp. And after training camp, I made the final roster luckily. Yeah, it was a crazy journey.”
The Stars were not the only team Harmon worked out for when looking for his first professional opportunity. The Chicago native also showcased his skillset to his hometown G League franchise: the Windy City Bulls.
“I worked out for the Stars and Windy City,” Harmon said. “Both workouts went well, but I just decided to choose the Stars because it was a better opportunity for me.”
Harmon has now been playing in the G League for the Stars for the last couple of months to start his professional career. Playing time has been tough to come by, as Harmon is fighting for minutes with Taevion Kinsey, Max Abmas and Utah Jazz two-way player David Jones Garcia, who are all taking most of the playing time in the guard positions. Throughout the 11 games he played in the Tip-Off Tournament portion of the G League season, Harmon averaged 3.0 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 8.5 minutes per game.
Every player in the G League is fighting for more playing time to impress scouts, land a two-way contract or attain a better monetary situation in a high-level overseas league. The stepping-stone nature of the league, combined with roster turnover and changing minutes on a night-to-night basis, can make the G League a tough adjustment for players leaving college.
“Professional is more like you’re focusing on yourself,” Harmon said. “At Illinois it was like a team effort. I feel like pro and college is way different.”
One thing that’s definitely different is the practices and coaching style. Harmon, coming off a year of intense Brad Underwood-led practice sessions and in-game coaching, was sure to point that out as a main stylistic change from the college to professional levels.
“Way different,” Harmon said about the coaching differences. “Brad’s my guy though.”
Harmon’s best game so far this season came on Nov. 20 against the Rip City Remix. In only nine minutes on the floor, Harmon scored 10 points on 3-3 shooting and added two assists, one block and one steal. However, he’s also had games where he’s played just a minute or not at all. Throughout the ups and downs, Harmon is focused on his development and adjusting to his role as a professional instead of worrying about his minutes or early results.
“Right now I’m just trying to improve my vision because I’ve been moved back to point guard, so I’ve been trying to get my teammates and myself involved more in the game,” Harmon said. “I’m really trying to work on my vision and my shot, being more consistent with my shot.”
Development is key in the G League, and most players don’t follow a linear or immediate path to success. It can take time for rookies to adjust. Some do quicker than others if their skill set translates more easily to the pro game or their team’s roster construction allows them to play early.
Guerrier has had a strong start to the G League season while playing a similar role to his time at Illinois. He’s been averaging 13.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in over 30 minutes per game during the Tip-Off Tournament.
Domask, like Harmon, is taking more time to adjust to playing a new role as a pro. He’s had both scoreless games and double-digit scoring nights while adjusting to playing as a standard wing instead of playing “booty ball.”
Harmon acknowledged all three of their paths are different, and over time, he’ll figure out to be the most effective in his role for the Stars. After all, it’s only been a couple of months, and Harmon still has a lot of time to learn and develop this season.
“(Marcus, Quincy and I) got to talk a little bit; they’re doing well. Quincy’s doing really good. Marcus, it’s (our) rookie year, but we’re going to find our niche.”
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