Midseason, it seemed like Matt Haarms' move from the starting five back to a role coming off the bench brought out the best in the Boilermaker big man.
It was just a mirage.
"I just figured out it's not about starting or coming off the bench at all," Haarms said. "It's just about my role on this team, and just what I can offer this team — a lot of energy, just being a presence in the post as best I can, setting great ball screens, really diving hard, playing good defense, blocking shots and altering shots. Those are things I do and things I'm good at, and you don't become a different player just because you're coming off the bench. It's not like you turn into a spot-up shooter. I've just had to focus on my role and what I do best."
After coming off the bench in 12 of 13 games from Dec. 20 to Feb. 9, Haarms has started the last five, after freshman Trevion Williams fell ill and sat out most of a game in Mackey Arena against Penn State.
In that span, Haarms has been outstanding, averaging 14.8 points on 74-percent shooting, seven rebounds and three blocks per game. And in his worst statistical game of the bunch — he was plagued by foul trouble at Indiana — he won the game with a late tip-in, the defining play of Purdue's season to this point.
Purdue's won all five games, positioning it in first place in the Big Ten with only two games left. It can clinch at least a share of the title with a win Tuesday night at Minnesota.
Haarms has been maybe the biggest piece of it.
And while he absolutely trended upward while coming off the bench, his play in a starting role has been something even more, belying his periodic struggles at times earlier in the season while starting.
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Matt Painter said that earlier in the season, Haarms seemed to wear down physically quickly, as if burning out. Recently, he's observed different.
“He looks different to me when he starts a game," Painter said after Purdue's win over Illinois two games ago. "It’s not two or three minutes into a game and you have to get him out just based on his appearance. Before, it was like he ran a marathon in the rain.”
Asked about that prior phenomena, Haarms believes now he might have simply been trying too hard.
"I think that was me asking too much of myself, thinking my role did change just because I was starting, that I had to do everything and be everything and be everywhere," Haarms said. "I've just calmed down, settled into games better. Starting off games now feels more natural, because I'm just going out there knowing I'm just going to provide everything I can to this team the way I know how."
Painter's overseen the careers of many outstanding big men at Purdue, and may be seeing Haarms joining their company.
"I think he has a chance to be a great player," Painter said, while discussing the 7-foot-3 center's three-point shooting, of which he's 5-of-10 for the conference season. "You can see the improvement during his sophomore year, and that's what you want, for him to not just keep adding things to his game but also keep getting better at the things he already does well."
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