The Seven Footer Wasn't the Purdue Logjam
In an unprecedented era of no sports Purdue sports stayed the same with some annual bad news. This week Matt Painter's squad lost a senior for the 2020 season when West Lafayette was shocked with the announcement of Matt Haarms entering the transfer portal, leaving the Boilers without one of their most experienced players for next season.
Before Haarm's transfer the logjam was well noted with the full 13 scholarships set to be used in the 2020 season. I speculated we could see a transfer but I expected it to be rarely used center Emmanuel Dowuona or forward Aaron Wheeler who had a forgettable sophomore season. Instead Painter will be with out the one the best blockers in Boilermaker history and a key rotation piece.
While shocking the decision makes sense for the seven foot Dutchman. Haarms lost his starting spot to Trevion Williams and was likely to overtake him after Williams showed his ability to take over games offensively. Dowuona is on the roster and Zach Edey is another incoming 7'3” center for 2020. There was depth, not that Haarms wouldn't get minutes, but the will be senior wants to to be featured for scouts in his last season to try and make the jump to the NBA.
The loss of Haarms really encapsulates what the year was like for the Purdue Boilermakers. A transition year for the roster with a tough schedule was really up and down and it was hard to see who the new alphas would after Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline left West Lafayette. Eric Hunter and Williams seemed to establish themselves as the two heads of the offensive task, but Sasha Stefanovic was inconsistent away from home, Nojel Eastern lost his offensive game and Wheeler was a non-threat. Now it'll be back to the drawing board for the ball coach with the five combined freshmen and redshirt freshmen to figure out who will contribute.
Losing a senior who has been a solid contributor is never a good thing but Matt Painter has 12 scholarship players and will return six other major contributors. There's depth at center but behind Williams, who has struggled with fouls in games, is now untested as opposed to unquestioned what will be done.
Forward Mason Gillis and guard Brandon Newman come off their redshirt years with Edey and guards Ethan Morton and Jaden Ivey joining the mix. Edey seemed like a forgone conclusion to sit out a year with potentially one of the guards, but now Edey will definitely have a chance to earn back up minutes.
With Stefanovic, Eastern, Hunter and Thompson in place the back court is quite crowded, granted it will likely be a three guard, forward and center starting lineup for Painter. Will there be minutes for the three freshmen to see time? I like Newman and Morton to be part of a five player rotation for 2020.
The real spot to watch is forward with Wheeler really needing a bounce back season and hopes the redshirt year will have Gillis ready to step it up should Wheeler be unable to shake his funk. With Evan Boudreaux and Haarms Painter had the flexibility to put them at forward with a center in 2020 the coach will have three true centers just putting more pressure on the two forwards to really step up.
It seemed pretty likely Purdue wasn't going to get in to March Madness but there were some highs to build on. Several new faces were asked to step up in should be in position to take the reigns for the 2020 and get back to the tournament. However, being a Purdue fan is being a cynic. For 2021 Painter got a big recruit in Caleb Furst, who should unquestionably walk in to the starting lineup, but you gotta worry a bit about the effect this next season could have on his recruitment.
Haarms was a big part of this Purdue program taking another step forward for Matt Painter and I wish him well but after a season with some unanswered questions the Boilermakers head in to another season with a few more. Can the young kids step up once again so that Elite 8 appearance isn't a one off?