Purdue Basketball: 2017-18 season preview for the Boilermakers

4 of 5

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 2: Purdue’s Cline (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Key reserves

Ryan Cline, Junior

A very capable sixth man, Ryan Cline will bring experience to an otherwise fairly young bench. Much like the players in the starting lineup, Cline is very efficient as a 3-point shooter. On 3.5 attempts per game, Cline shot 41.3% from deep last season while averaging 5.4 points per game. Cline also knows his role on the court, as 81.3% of his shots came from beyond the arc.

Matt Haarms, Freshman

Haarms might be the most important part of Purdue’s team this season. As mentioned earlier, Purdue is accustomed to having two very solid centers (Hammons/Swanigan and Haas). Haarms will be a freshman this season, but he will be expected to come in and be the main backup for Haas. A 7’2″ three-star recruit, it will be interesting to see how big of an impact Haarms will make.

Nojel Eastern, Freshman

Another freshman, Eastern was a very highly-rated recruit. Ranked at No. 68 by 247Sports, Eastern chose Purdue over several other high-profile schools, including Michigan State. He will be expected to come in and be a valuable contributor off the bench. Eastern is a 6’6″ wing who can create like a point guard. Watch out for him to make a major impact.

Jacquil Taylor, Eden Ewing, Grady Eifert, Aaron Wheeling, and Sasha Stefanovic will fill out the remainder of the bench for Coach Painter and the Boilermakers.

Home/Purdue Boilermakers