Former Purdue Center Matt Haarms Narrows List of Schools to 10

Matt Haarms, the 7-foot-3 center from Amsterdam who told Purdue coach Matt Painter on Monday that he wanted to transfer, has narrowed down his list of potential suitors.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Former Purdue center Matt Haarms announced his intentions to transfer earlier this week, and on Saturday morning, he narrowed his list of schools to 10.

The 10 schools, in alphabetical order, are Arizona, Arkansas, Boston College, BYU, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Memphis, Minnesota, Texas Tech and North Carolina-Greensboro, according to a tweet from John Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Purdue grad transfer Matt Haarms tells me he has cut his list to the following programs:

Arizona
Arkansas
Boston College
BYU
Gonzaga
Kentucky
Memphis
Minnesota
Texas Tech
UNCG

Immediately eligible.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 11, 2020

Haarms has played three years at Purdue, and started most of the season before losing his job to Evan Boudreaux. He played in 29 games this season, and averaged 8.6 points per game. He shot 31.3 percent from three-point range. 

Purdue coach Matt Painter told reporters on Monday that he was surprised by Haarms' decision, and that when Haarms told him he was leaving on Monday that it was the first time he had brought up transferring.

Since the season ended when the Big Ten tournament was cancelled on March 12, Painter said Monday that he had a meeting with Haarms for about 20 minutes in late March to talk about next season and that the two have exchanged text messages about academics since then as well. 

Haarms told him in person on Monday that he wanted to leave.

“He just simply said he wasn’t happy, and he wanted more,” Painter told reporters on Monday. “We didn’t elaborate from that. That’s his choice. You have the right if you’re not happy to go somewhere else.

“If you’re not happy, I don’t want people to be in our program who aren’t happy. It doesn’t work that way.”

Haarms is scheduled to graduate in May, so he will be eligible to play immediately at his new school.

His departure leaves the Boilermakers shorthanded up front. Trevion Williams returns, but Evan Boudreaux, who took Haarms' starting spot, has graduated. Incoming big man Zach Edey is expected to be a project who would probably best be served by redshirting for a year.

Related Matt Haarms stories

• CHANGE OF SCENERY: Matt Haarms said he that needed "a change of scenery'' in deciding to transfer from Purdue. CLICK HERE
• BREAKING NEWS: Purdue announces that center Matt Haarms has entered the NCAA transfer portal. CLICK HERE
• CRAZY? HOW ABOUT INDIANA? What if Matt Haarms transferred from Purdue to Indiana? Heads would spin like Chucky dolls. CLICK HERE