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BYU Basketball Recruiting: Cougars among three finalists for Purdue Transfer Matt Haarms

Penn State v Purdue Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

BYU got some good news — and maybe even surprising news — Tuesday morning with the announcement that they made the cut of three finalists for Purdue 7-foot-3 big man grad transfer Matt Haarms. The Cougars made the final cut with Kentucky and Texas Tech. He is expected to announce his decision this week.

BYU initially made the first cut of 10 schools last week, but they weren’t considered to be a serious contender. BYU has been in “heavy contact” with Haarms and showed him the campus via a virtual call.

Haarms is one of the top transfers in the nation and will be immediately eligible next season. He averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2 blocks per game last season at Purdue. At 7-foot-3, he is an intimidating presence at the rim and arguably the best rim protector in college basketball.

Many consider Kentucky to be the favorite, but the fact that BYU is in the mix shows that coaches have made a huge impression on Matt. If BYU were to land Haarms, he would join an already solid frontcourt and give BYU one of the biggest front lines in the nation along with Richard Harward, Gavin Baxter, Kolby Lee and Wyatt Lowell.