Matt Haarms
Haarms in 2023
No. 3 – Skyliners Frankfurt
PositionCenter
LeagueBasketball Bundesliga
Personal information
Born (1997-04-22) 22 April 1997 (age 26)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Listed height7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High schoolSunrise Christian Academy
(Bel Aire, Kansas)
College
NBA draft2021: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–presentSkyliners Frankfurt
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-WCC (2021)
  • WCC Defensive Player of the Year (2021)

Matt Haarms (born 22 April 1997) is a Dutch professional basketball player for Skyliners Frankfurt of the Basketball Bundesliga. He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers and the BYU Cougars. Haarms also plays for the Netherlands men's national basketball team.

Early life

Haarms is the son of Martine van Hoorn and Peter Haarms. He was born and grew up in Amsterdam. He initially played soccer and judo before taking up basketball. Haarms purchased an outdoor hoop at the age of 14 so he could practice more.[1] Haarms joined a club team, the Harlemlakers, and admittedly was very poor at first but soon developed into one of the top talents in the country. Haarms then moved to Spain and played for Joventut Badalona's junior team. He helped the team reach the championship game of the tournament and hit 5-of-7 three-point shots in the semifinal against Real Madrid. He was offered a professional contract in Spain but declined the invitation. Instead, Haarms moved to the United States to complete a postgraduate year at Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas.[2] He started to receive collegiate attention when he joined the Chauncey Billups AAU Elite team.[1] Haarms committed to playing college basketball for Purdue over offers from Colorado, Vanderbilt and Washington State, becoming the Boilermakers' sixth international player since 1952.[2] He chose Purdue because he liked coach Matt Painter and the program's record of developing big men.[3]

College career

Purdue

Haarms enrolled at Purdue a semester early and redshirted the second half of the 2016–17 season because the NCAA ruled he would have lost a season of eligibility had he stayed at Sunrise Christian.[4] As a redshirt freshman he averaged 4.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game in 37 games.[5] His 79 blocked shots were the second-most by a Purdue freshman. Haarms started against Butler and Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament after Isaac Haas injured his elbow and had a combined 11 points and nine rebounds in the two games.[1] He averaged 9.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.1 blocks per game as a redshirt sophomore.[6] On February 19, 2019, Haarms hit a last-second shot to defeat Indiana after being taunted by Indiana fans all game.[7] Haarms suffered a head injury in a loss to Nebraska on December 15, and missed the following game against Ohio.[8] On January 2, 2020, Haarms scored a career-high 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting in a double-overtime win against Minnesota.[9] He suffered a hip injury in a double-overtime loss to Michigan on January 9.[10] As a junior, Haarms averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game.[11] Following the season, he transferred from Purdue.[12]

BYU

On April 23, 2020, Haarms announced that he would transfer to BYU over offers from Kentucky and Texas Tech, gaining immediate eligibility as a graduate transfer.[13] He averaged 11.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. Haarms was named the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was selected to the All-WCC second team. Following the season, he declared for the 2021 NBA draft, forgoing the additional season of eligibility the NCAA granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

Professional career

On 13 July 2021, Haarms signed his first professional contract with German club Skyliners Frankfurt of the Basketball Bundesliga. He signed a two-year contract.[15]

National team career

Haarms competed for the Netherlands under-19 team at the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B in Austria and averaged 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.[16]

Haarms was selected for the Netherlands senior team for the first time in November 2021.[17] On November 26, 2021, Haarms made his debut in a loss against Iceland.[18] He played at EuroBasket 2022, coming off the bench and averaging 3.3 points and 3.8 rebounds as a back-up center.[19]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Purdue Redshirt Redshirt
2017–18 Purdue 37 2 17.1 .585 .143 .542 3.2 .6 .3 2.1 4.8
2018–19 Purdue 36 23 22.8 .632 .280 .695 5.4 1.1 .2 2.1 9.4
2019–20 Purdue 29 15 20.5 .524 .313 .634 4.6 .9 .2 2.0 8.6
2020–21 BYU 25 24 23.0 .546 .194 .803 5.0 1.1 .2 2.0 11.3
Career 127 64 20.7 .572 .253 .674 4.5 .9 .2 2.0 8.2

References

  1. ^ a b c Katz, Andy (September 18, 2018). "College basketball: How 7-footer Matt Haarms made it to Purdue after an Amsterdam childhood". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Baird, Nathan (March 16, 2018). "Matt Haarms' improbable journey to Purdue". Journal & Courier. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  3. ^ Baird, Nathan (October 5, 2016). "Matt Haarms commits to Purdue basketball". Journal & Courier. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Purdue 2017 signee will enroll early". Journal & Courier. December 15, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Purdue's Matt Haarms wants his new style to extend big man tradition". Journal & Courier. October 30, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  6. ^ Miller, Travis (October 5, 2019). "32 Days to Purdue Basketball: Matt Haarms". HammerAndRails.com. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  7. ^ Doyel, Gregg (March 28, 2019). "Doyel: Hair-flipping, fist-pumping, shot-blocking Matt Haarms is Purdue's thermometer". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  8. ^ Dopirak, Dustin (December 18, 2019). "Purdue can function without Matt Haarms, but it's going to require some alterations". The Athletic. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "Haarms scores 26 points, Purdue beats Minnesota 83-78 2OT". ESPN. Associated Press. January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  10. ^ Bartley, Casey (January 9, 2020). "Purdue 78, Michigan 84 - Double-Overtime (Again)". HammerAndRails.com. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  11. ^ Miller, Travis (March 15, 2020). "2020-21 Purdue Basketball Homework: Matt Haarms". Hammer and Rails. SB Nation. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  12. ^ Carmin, Mike (April 6, 2020). "Purdue basketball's Matt Haarms enters transfer portal". Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  13. ^ Gonzalez, Norma (April 23, 2020). "BYU lands Purdue center Matt Haarms, the biggest name in college basketball's transfer portal". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  14. ^ Judd, Brandon (May 7, 2021). "Matt Haarms officially says he won't return to BYU: 'It's time to move on into the next chapter of my life'". Deseret News. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  15. ^ "2,21 METER PURE BASKETBALLLEIDENSCHAFT – FRAPORT SKYLINERS VERPFLICHTEN MATT HAARMS". Fraport Skyliners (in German). 13 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Matt Haarms". FIBA. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  17. ^ "Matt Haarms kan 'eindelijk' uitkomen voor Nederland". Basketball.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Basketbalmannen beginnen WK-kwalificatie met nipte nederlaag tegen IJsland". nos.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Matt HAARMS at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2022-09-16.

External links

Fraport Skyliners current roster
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