Seton Hall basketball was hoping Zion Harmon, a onetime child prodigy, could contribute at point guard this season after transferring in from the low-major level.
It didn’t work out.
Harmon “is no longer with the program,” Hall coach Shaheen Holloway said Saturday in response to a reporter’s question about his status after the Pirates’ 79-51 loss to St. John’s.
After transferring in from Bethune Cookman in the offseason, the 6-foot junior played sparingly in the Pirates’ first three games and did not attend any games after that for what Holloway had termed as personal reasons.
When asked about Harmon’s absence earlier in the season, Holloway declined to elaborate on the situation in an effort to protect his privacy. His departure is not believed to be basketball- or academics-related.
A Maryland native, Harmon played two years of high school ball while still in middle school, participated on the U.S. under-16 national team and was a consensus four-star, top-75 recruit in the Class of 2021. Seton Hall was among his suitors back then, and Harmon took an official visit to South Orange at that time before choosing Western Kentucky. His other official visits as a high schooler: Kansas, Maryland and Louisville.
He never played at Western Kentucky, though, dropping out of school midway through the 2021-22 season before transferring to Bethune-Cookman. “Personal reasons,” Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury said at the time.
Over two seasons at Bethune-Cookman, Harmon averaged 14.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.9 turnovers per game. He shot 39 percent from the field, .299 from 3-point range and .876 from the free-throw line.
Harmon’s inability to catch on in South Orange, coupled with sophomore Garwey Dual’s struggle to take the reins as a playmaker, left the Pirates vulnerable at the most important position. That’s one of the biggest reasons they are 6-12 so far this season.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
