PROVO — Though the Netherlands produces, on average, the tallest men on Earth, basketball is not exactly popular in the small European nation of 17 million inhabitants.
For the Dutch, soccer and field hockey rank ahead of basketball.
But the country did produce 7-foot-3 Matt Haarms, who has proved himself as one of the best rim-protectors and shot-blockers in college basketball. His hair-flipping and fist-pumping antics drew ire from opponents around the Big Ten but endeared him to Purdue University fans.
Haarms’ circuitous, and improbable, hoops sojourn will continue this season at Brigham Young University.
“If I could go back in time and see myself now and how my game has taken me around the world, I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Haarms without any hint of an accent. “I’ve realized a lot of my dreams and I still have more I want to achieve. But it’s already taken me so far. I’m just really grateful for the opportunity to be able to play. It’s been an amazing journey so far, you know?”
“We think he’s got an impact on this game in every single way. What I’m most excited about is, he plays with such unbridled passion on the court, it overflows all over everybody. He can’t contain himself, he plays so hard.” — Mark Pope, on Matt Haarms
In a sweeping conversation with the Deseret News, Haarms talked about why he didn’t take to soccer, how he found his way to the United States and a transfer/recruiting process that he called “absolutely ridiculous.”
The left-hander didn’t discover basketball until he was 11 years old, though maybe it was basketball that discovered him. The discovery was sparked by his mother’s insistence that he not while away his time in the house and find something productive to do.
As Haarms grew — and grew and grew and grew — so did his passion for basketball.
The sport has carried him from the U-18 Dutch National Team to a youth team in Spain, then to Wichita, Kansas, where he played one year of high school basketball, and then, for the past few years, to West Lafayette, Indiana.
Last week, as a graduate transfer from Purdue, he committed to BYU coach Mark Pope over elite programs like Kentucky and Texas Tech.
Haarms, whose hometown is Amsterdam and whose home country is known for windmills, tulips and canals, is a human windmill, possessing a 7-6 wingspan. He wears a size 15 shoe, which is big but not close to the shoe size of 7-1 former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, who wears a 22.
“I credit that to being able to run,” he said of his size 15s. “I don’t have to drag size 22s around.”
What’s next for Haarms? He is hoping a banner season in Provo will propel him to another prestigious destination — the NBA.
Leaving home
Haarms’ mother, Martine van Hoorn, wanted her son to be active.
“I lived under a rule from my mother that I needed to go out once a week and do something outside of the house,” Haarms recalled. “I thought it was a tyrannical rule at the time.”
According to van Hoorn, her son “was a friendly, intelligent and gentle child. He was really into books and loved reading and video games and had a big interest in dinosaurs.”
Haarms tried several sports over the years, including swimming and soccer. Considering his height and long arms, he would have been an ideal goalkeeper. But there was a problem.
“I didn’t like diving to the ground so I was done before I started,” he said. “If they kicked anything low, I wouldn’t go get it.”
Haarms took judo lessons but those didn’t take either. His mom told him that he could quit judo if he found a different pursuit. A classmate, whose dad coached basketball, wanted Haarms to give it a try. At age 11, Haarms showed up at basketball practice — and he liked it right away.
By age 16 he was beginning to fill those size 15 shoes. That’s when he was invited to move to Spain to play for Joventut Badalona, a renowned club team that produced former Utah Jazz guard Ricky Rubio. Haarms accepted and while his parents visited often, he lived by himself and didn’t speak Spanish.
Haarms not only established a reputation as a defensive stopper but also as an adept 3-point shooter, evidenced by his 5-of-7 performance from beyond the arc in a tournament game.
When an opportunity to turn professional in Spain was presented, he decided instead to come to the United States and attend Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas.
“We never, ever thought that his basketball career would bring him to the other side of the world,” his mother said. “We are very happy and proud that he had the courage to pursue his dreams and goals, although this meant that he had to move to the other side of the world.”
“Going to Kansas was a little different. That was tough,” Haarms said. “I was homesick and I was playing a different style of basketball, something I needed to adjust to.”
But Haarms developed into a three-star recruit at Sunrise Christian and scored a 30 on his ACT.
Though Haarms speaks Dutch and English is his second language, he speaks without any hint of an accent, which he attributes to the school system in the Netherlands teaching English to young children.
Several schools offered him scholarships before he decided to play for Purdue and coach Matt Painter.
“I had a dream to go to college in the United States. I learned about college basketball and I realized I could combine the two by being a student-athlete, playing college basketball,” Haarms said. “Playing my senior year, it felt like the perfect path to that dream.”
Not long after arriving in West Lafayette, Haarms grew an inch and added 20 pounds. He passed up his teammate, 7-2 Isaac Haas, who now plays for the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League.
Haarms redshirted as a freshman. He played in all 37 games as a redshirt freshman in 2017-18, highlighted by starts in the NCAA Tournament against Butler and Texas Tech as the Boilermakers reached the Sweet 16. He averaged 4.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while shooting 58.5% from the field.
As a sophomore, he averaged 9.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while shooting 63% from the floor.
During that season, he etched a place in Purdue basketball lore with a game-winning tip-in off a Carsen Edwards miss with 3.9 seconds remaining in a 48-46 win at rival Indiana.
“It was an awful game for me. I didn’t play well. But the ending was a crazy moment,” he remembered. “It quieted that whole building down. It was awesome.”
Throughout that game at Assembly Hall, the Hoosier student section yelled expletives directed at Haarms.
“I’ve always taken on that (villain) role. People don’t like me for whatever reason,” he said. “Indiana is our big rivalry. They took to hating me right away. BYU probably experienced it with Zac Seljaas last year — a guy that looks a little different, it’s easy to hate on. With me, my hair and being really tall, it’s an easy focal point for a lot of people.”
Haarms typically sports a short-cropped cut with a wavy shock of hair on top. “That’s my signature,” he said. “People notice that I touch it a lot to get it out of my face during games.”
Someone has created Twitter account named “Matt Haarms’ Hair.”
Later that sophomore season, Haarms scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds in a second-round NCAA win over Villanova. The Boilermakers advanced to the Elite Eight before falling in a thriller to eventual national champion Virginia.
As a junior, this past season, Haarms suffered a concussion in practice before the year tipped off. In December, he sustained another concussion against Nebraska, forcing him to miss two games.
“They were freak accidents,” he said. “I feel good now. But they disrupt your rhythm.”
Haarms played in 29 games with only 15 starts. He averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while playing 20.5 minutes per game.
Purdue finished with a lackluster 16-15 record.
After the season, which was cut short due to the spread of COVID-19, Haarms decided it was time to move on. He put his name in the transfer portal.
“I was just looking for a bigger opportunity somewhere. I really felt like I could be a bigger part of a winning team. That’s why I left,” Haarms said. “That was my No. 1 criteria — a big opportunity to develop my game and showcase myself. It sounds selfish, but with that, I feel like I can be a winning player. I can play efficiently and have a bigger role.”
As a graduate — he’s earning a degree in political science from Purdue — he has one year of eligibility remaining and is immediately eligible.
BYU and the recruiting battle
As soon as Haarms announced he was transferring in early April, he received a deluge of interest from schools all over the country. Some identified Haarms, who turned 23 on April 22, as the No. 1 grad transfer in the nation.
The first day, he received around 40 to 50 text messages and 20 to 30 e-mails. He started getting so many phone calls from recruiters that he stopped answering his phone.
“It was absolutely ridiculous,” he said. “That night, I started to reply to people. That first week is a blur. I was on the phone all day, every day. I wanted to talk to everybody. I was determined to find out what the best place was for me.”
One of those who reached out was BYU assistant coach Nick Robinson. At the start of the process, BYU wasn’t necessarily on Haarms’ radar, though he knew about the Cougars. He knew about former consensus All-American Jimmer Fredette hitting 3-pointers from all over the court in 2011. And he also took notice of Pope’s first season at the helm of BYU.
“I never placed any school on a pedestal above another. I valued them all equally. Every single time, BYU came out on top for me, the place that it would be the best fit.” — Matt Haarms
Because no campus visits were allowed due to the coronavirus, the courting of Haarms took place virtually via computers and Zoom meetings.
“I really never had a problem with the virtual process. In fact, I preferred it to the regular process. Visits are fun. But as a guy that’s 23 now, I was just looking for the place that was the best fit basketball-wise for me,” Haarms said. “Thankfully, that can all be communicated through a video call. If this was the 1980s, I’d be in trouble.”
A week after announcing his intention to transfer, Haarms narrowed down his list of schools to 10, including Gonzaga, Arizona and Memphis. A week or so later, he whittled it to a final three — Kentucky, Texas Tech and BYU.
Many were surprised that BYU was being seriously considered by Haarms. When he picked the Cougars on April 24, it made national headlines.
What does Haarms say to those who wonder why he’d pick BYU over schools from Power Five conferences?
“The key to it for me was never seeing BYU as anything lesser. It was placing everything on an equal playing field and then listing off pros and cons,” he said. “Every time I thought about it leading up to my commitment — I was down to my final three of Kentucky, Texas Tech and BYU — and every time I even considered another option, it came down to me saying, ‘Yeah but then I would miss out on playing for coach Pope’ and how excited I was for that and how great of an opportunity it felt like for me.
“I never placed any school on a pedestal above another. I valued them all equally. Every single time, BYU came out on top for me, the place that it would be the best fit. When BYU first reached out I was pretty excited to talk to them because of how successful coach Pope had been in his first year. The coaching fit was a great fit for a player like me. It’s a true family atmosphere. That’s something I really like as well. I was amazed to find out that BYU has a 19,000-seat arena. It’s not something I expected. Then to see it and see the energy like they had when they hosted Gonzaga, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen and I’m coming from a place with a 15,000-seat arena. It’s amazing to see the amount of people coming out to support the team.”
His mom is glad to see he’s found a new home.
“We always will be very grateful for all the love and support Matt got at Purdue. It is a fantastic program with fantastic people and we are proud that Matt has a Purdue degree and is a Purdue alumni,” van Hoorne said. “This is something we will cherish for life, also the support of the community in West Lafayette and the Purdue fans was really special. But after 31⁄2 years it was time to make a new step in his career and we are extremely happy that he get’s the chance to do this at BYU.”
BYU and beyond
During the recruitment of Haarms, Pope and his staff delved deep into advanced analytics to show him how he could be a more effective and efficient scorer and defender.
“We dove into the analytics and that was huge for me. I didn’t feel like anybody else was doing that,” Haarms said. “That was special, looking at those numbers. Coach Pope told me what I would be evaluated by. He said, ‘We’re giving you the answer to the test.’ That was really interesting.”
“We think he can make a significant jump, especially playing the way we do and coaching the way we coach. He has a really high ceiling there. He’s been coached really well by Matt Painter. He’s been well-coached to seal, to post, to catch first, to protect the ball.” — Mark Pope, on Matt Haarms
How will the addition of Haarms in the lineup affect BYU?
“We can start with rim-protection. When he was in the game at Purdue, their field goal percentage defense at the rim went from 49% when he was in the game to giving up 59% when he was out of the game. That is staggering,” Pope said. “That’s on a team with depth. He obviously has a huge impact at the rim. We think that he can really, really shoot the ball (from 3). He has a really pure stroke. He shot 30% as a sophomore and 31% as a junior.
“We think he can make a significant jump, especially playing the way we do and coaching the way we coach. He has a really high ceiling there. He’s been coached really well by Matt Painter. He’s been well-coached to seal, to post, to catch first, to protect the ball.”
Of course, much is made of his influence on the defensive side — and BYU can’t wait to put opponents in Haarms’ way — but he also made 10 of 32 from 3-point range last year at Purdue. That’s a skill he wants to hone at BYU.
“In the modern game, for a center to stand out, it’s something you almost have to have in your game. The center of old is kind of dying,” he said.
Haarms will provide veteran leadership to the Cougars. He and guard Alex Barcello are the only seniors on the roster.
“I see myself as someone that can be a really important player. I love the game,” he said. “I came to BYU because I really saw the opportunity to be on the floor for the vast majority of the game and be out there in the closing minutes of the game and help BYU win basketball games. That’s really it for me. I can’t speculate on what I’ll be able to do. At this point, I need to earn my spot.
“That’s where I get my energy from. Offensively, I’m looking to really develop my game. That’s where coach Pope and his staff come in. I’ve been working on stepping out and shooting the 3 and being more of a playmaker on the perimeter. Coach Pope talked about providing me with the opportunity to be a decision-maker on the perimeter for them.”
During the recruiting process, Haarms has learned a lot about BYU as well as its sponsoring institution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The honor code isn’t something that bothered me. As an athlete, a lot of those things I recognize as I already adhere to — making sure you’re doing the right things,” he said. “I see it as an awesome family environment. People stick together and are there for each other. That’s what I’ve seen and I see that reflected in the basketball team as well. All of those guys and alums are very tight-knit. That was cool for me to see.”
During the pandemic, Haarms has spent a lot of time reflecting and going through an intense recruiting process. But he hasn’t been playing much basketball. He’s running on a track at West Lafayette High near his house and he does yoga. He volunteers his time walking dogs for a nearby dog shelter. But with no gyms available, the closest he’s come to playing basketball lately is shooting on his roommate’s Little Tikes hoop in his apartment.
“Right now, I’m figuring out that I thought I had hobbies like playing video games or reading a book,” Haarms said. “But not having basketball made me realize that having limited time, those things seemed appealing to me. Now that I have the time to do that stuff, I’m not enjoying myself at all. I’m really hoping to be able to get back to basketball as soon as possible. My other hobbies aren’t cutting it.”
His passion for basketball will be on display this season at the Marriott Center. After that, the 7-3 bundle of energy aspires to play in the NBA. He’s hoping that BYU can help him accomplish that feat.
“That’s the ultimate goal. That was a big part of my decision. Coach Pope has been through it. He said that if I’m willing to work your hardest, he’d be there every step of the way to guide me through the process and help me have the most successful year possible so I can take that next step.”
Haarm’s circuitous, and improbable, hoops sojourn, which started in his homeland of the Netherlands, continues this season in Provo.