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PROVO — BYU basketball received a pleasant surprise Thursday via the NCAA transfer portal.
Purdue center Matt Haarms announced his commitment to second-year coach Mark Pope and the Cougars via Instagram on Thursday, joining the program as a graduate transfer next year.
"No words can express how excited we are to welcome Matt to our BYU family," Pope said. "Clearly with his size, athletic ability, versatility and skill set he has the potential to emerge as one of the premier bigs in college basketball. His passion for the game and intensity on the court are inspiring. There’s a reason he was one of the most sought-after transfers this offseason. And most important, he is one of the most intelligent, engaging, self-aware and giving players I have ever met.
"BYU fans are going to love this Matt Haarms. He has an extraordinarily bright future in the game."
Haarms will join BYU after graduating from Purdue with a degree in political science. The 23-year-old native of Amsterdam, Netherlands, will have one final season of eligibility for the Cougars.
BYU held off a final-three grouping that included Kentucky and Texas Tech to secure Haarms, who also had interest from Arizona, Boston College, Gonzaga and Memphis, among others.
The 7-foot-3 center averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game for the Boilermakers in 2019-20, appearing in 29 games with 15 starts and averaging 20.5 minutes per contest. A 52.4% field-goal shooter, Haarms connected on 10 of 32 3-pointers on the year — which may have contributed to his desire to join BYU, the nation’s top 3-point shooting team last year.
The news comes just days after Georgia Tech transfer center Evan Cole signed with Utah Valley over an offer from BYU, among others. The Cougars have also been chasing several other transfers, but the only signees of the current Class of 2020 are high school products Dallin Hall from Fremont and Richie Saunders of Wasatch Academy, as well as JUCO products Spencer Johnson (Salt Lake CC) and Gideon George (New Mexico JC), in addition to recently returned missionary Hunter Erickson, a Timpview product.
Most of that recruiting has transpired in a day when the Cougars, like the rest of the country, can’t leave campus. The NCAA instituted a recruiting dead-period to combat the spread of COVID-19, but have allowed schools to continue to recruit via phone calls, text messaging, social media and video conferencing like Zoom and Skype.
"I think the biggest thing is we can’t get these kids on campus," BYU assistant coach Cody Fueger told KSL.com of the team’s recruiting efforts. "Nothing is more important than getting them eye-to-eye, on-campus and seeing them.
"A lot of these kids need to get on campus and get a feel of what campus is."
Of course, that helps schools like BYU handle most of their recruiting obligations — the Cougars were already using technology wherever possible to find prospects and secure commitments. The coronavirus restrictions just make it a little more difficult to finalize a commitment.
"The Zoom calls let us do some virtual tours, and that’s great," Fueger said. "But at BYU, we just need that type of kid that can fit this environment and all the great things BYU has."
In Haarms, the Cougars add another big body to an oversized returning group, including Orem High product Richard Harward. The 6-foot-11, 255-pound transfer from Utah Valley averaged 10.8 points and 7.1 rebounds as a sophomore for the Wolverines two years ago before redshirting due to NCAA transfer regulations.
Gavin Baxter, the long-armed 6-9, 210-pound junior-to-be forward from Timpview High, is also set to return after missing much of the 2019-20 season with a shoulder injury, as well as 6-10 redshirt sophomore-to-be forward Wyatt Lowell and 6-9 post junior-to-be Kolby Lee.
