Since signing with BYU men’s basketball last April, Matt Haarms was sure about one thing: he’d only play in Provo for one year. That is, until the season came to an end.
The Purdue transfer was adamant he wouldn’t change his mind throughout the entire season, even after the NCAA essentially made this year a freebie, and froze eligibility for fall and winter athletes due to the pandemic. But something changed after the Cougars were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round.
However, it seems he’s now made up his mind for good.
“... while my year here at BYU was one I will never forget, it is time for me to move on into the next chapter of my life,” Haarms said in an Instagram post on Friday. “After many conversations with those I trust, I have decided to forgo my final year of eligibility and enter the NBA Draft.”
In his lone year at BYU, the 7-foot-3 center averaged 11.3 points on 54.6% shooting from the field, five rebounds and 1.1 assists, while averaging 23 minutes on the court. Haarms was the third-best shooter on the team, behind seniors Alex Barcello and Brandon Averette.
Averette previously shared his own goodbye to Cougar fans, along with Utah Valley and Oklahoma State fans, thanking them for supporting him on his collegiate career.
Barcello has yet to announce if he’ll be coming back.
On April 3, Haarms teased BYU fans with an instagram post that stated he was “weighing [his] options.”
It seems the opportunity to start his professional career outweighed coming back.
“I could have never imagined how hard it would be to say goodbye to the BYU community,” Haarms said. “From the day I committed here I was embraced by both my teammates and the community as a whole and I will be forever grateful for my year spent in Provo.”
