Purdue Basketball: 2017-18 grades for the Boilermakers
By Shane Skeary
Matt Haarms (B-) – 4.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 blocks
Hey! Did you guys see that Haarms loves to fix his hair?
The 7-foot freshman from Amsterdam had himself a solid first season and those of us who watched him every night, you couldn’t help but get fired up by his unrelenting energy. In addition to his flailing, skinny-armed fist pumps, Haarms provided much needed bench depth behind Isaac Haas.
He also solidified himself as a defensive stalwart, finishing third in the Big Ten with 2.1 blocked shots per game.
Haarms was asked to be the main big once Haas went down and he played the starting role admirably against Butler and Texas Tech, but Purdue basketball fans knew those size-22’s were too big for him to fill (pun intended).
With Haas’ departure, Haarms will now have to put on some weight and develop on the other side of the ball. He tends to get pushed out of the post too often and needs to develop some softer hands to catch passes on the move, which this B- reflects. Purdue basketball fans will forever be spoiled by Haas’ incredible free-throw percentage for a big, but Haarms should spend some time at the stripe this summer, with the number of fouls he’ll accumulate.
Haarms will be a Purdue fixture for years to come and we know for sure, if anything, it will be entertaining.