BYU Basketball: Matt Haarms is a sure bet for frontcourt in 2020-21

Grad transfer Matt Haarms will be joining BYU Basketball for the upcoming season. Here’s why he’s a more important pickup than Cougar fans may think.

When Purdue grad transfer center Matt Haarms decided to enter the portal and come out with a top-10 list, BYU Basketball wasn’t even considered as a contender to land him. Teams such as Gonzaga, Arizona, Texas Tech and Kentucky all were perceived to have better shots than the Cougars, with the Wildcats viewed as a big favorite.

It looked that way when the final three was announced (BYU, Kentucky and Texas Tech), with the Cougars looking as the outside team standing. However, momentum starting to leave the Wildcats Wednesday night, with insiders saying that it was in fact, BYU gaining steam to land the former Boilermaker big.

Then on Thursday, it was made official.

Even though his career stats are 7.5 ppg and 4.4 rpg in 20 mpg on 40/102 games started, this is still a big pickup for BYU Basketball. They’ve been all over the transfer portal this offseason and have struck out up to this point and now landed one of the biggest known players in all of NCAA Basketball. He was a key piece on the 2019 Elite Eight team and is a rare grad transfer for the Cougars program.

His specialty is on defense, averaging over two blocks per game in each of the last three seasons. At 7’3, Haarms has good footwork and positioning and can even defend on the perimeter and in pick and roll situations. BYU was below average last season in frontcourt defense and got exposed at times inside with a lack of overall size. For as great as Yoeli Childs was offensively, he’s not a good defender at the five-position. Same With Kolby Lee, who slow feet made him a target on pick and rolls.

There are going to be some Cougar fans who question the need for Haarms to join the team next season. Although Childs is gone, Lee comes back, along with junior forward Gavin Baxter, a former top-100 prospect who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury. He’s a solid power forward with promise but isn’t a true center either.

The intrigue comes with a pair of sit-out transfers, Richard Harward and Wyatt Lowell. Both followed head coach Mark Pope from Utah Valley and sat out last season. Harward averaged 7.0 ppg and 5.3 rpg as a backup in 14 mpg and has a lot of promise, while Lowell is a 6’10 stretch forward who was WAC Rookie of the Year after averaging 4.6 ppg and 2.6 rpg while making 41/109 three-point attempts (37%).

These two will be important rotation players next season but it’s far from a guarantee what kind of production they’ll have with 20-25 minutes per night and with opposing teams able to scout them. Jake Toolson was able to go from the WAC to the WCC without issue but he was a former Conference Player of the Year. What Haarms provides is a stable option at the center position, allowing the other bigs to develop on both ends of the court. He’ll play around 25 mpg and his defense will be needed against the vaunted Gonzaga frontcourt of Filip Petrusev and Drew Timme.

BYU still isn’t likely done, with a need for a lead ball-handler to allow Alex Barcello to excel playing off the ball as he did last season. If the Cougars can find the right fit in what’s left in the transfer portal, they’ll be in position to be an NCAA Tournament team again in 2020-21. But for now, the Pope era momentum continues rolling, this time landing a key power conference transfer.