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Fans Speak Out Emphatically: They Don't Want Matt Haarms at Indiana

More than 86 percent of commenters said they wouldn't want Indiana to pursue former Purdue center Matt Haarms in the NCAA transfer portal. That's not surprising considering how fans have treated him the past three years.
Tom Brew|
Fans Speak Out Emphatically: They Don't Want Matt Haarms at Indiana
Fans Speak Out Emphatically: They Don't Want Matt Haarms at Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Matt Haarms and Indiana basketball fans had something in common on Monday night — neither want the 7-foot-3 Purdue transfer to play at Indiana.

Haarms told ESPN that he would look forward to hearing from more than two dozen schools, but Indiana wasn't one of them. Minnesota was the only Big Ten school on his list.

And when I broached the subject in a column about Indiana pursing Haarms in the NCAA transfer portal, Indiana's fan base gave me a resounding NO!

Through 11 p.m. ET Monday, more than 600 people responded in comments on Facebook and Twitter and only 14 percent or the people wanted to even consider the possibility of Haarms helping the Hoosiers next year. 

Those 86 percent were pretty emphatic, too. The vast majority had no interest in going there with the big man from Amsterdam who's had a pretty serious love/hate relationship with Indiana fans during his three years in West Lafayette.

Haarms told ESPN's Jeff Borzillo that "I needed a change of scenery to take my game to the next level,'' he said in a tweet sent out by Borzello.

He also had kind words about his three years at Purdue, and leaves with no regrets.

"(I) don't have anything but positive things to say about Purdue, but I just felt like it was time to move on,” Haarms told Borzello in the tweet.

Related Matt Haarms stories

  • HAARMS WANTS 'CHANGE OF SCENERY': Purdue center Matt Haarms said he's transferring because he needs a fresh start. CLICK HERE
  • BREAKING NEWS: Purdue announces that 7-foot-3 center Matt Haarms has entered the NCAA's transfer portal. CLICK HERE
  • CRAZY? HOW ABOUT INDIANA? What if Matt Haarms transferred from Purdue to Indiana? Heads would spin like Chucky dolls. CLICK HERE
  • WHAT ABOUT KENTUCKY? Big Blue Nation is already salivating over the big man from Purdue. CLICK HERE
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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew has been the publisher of “Indiana Hoosiers on SI’’ since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as an award-winning reporter and editor for more than four decades, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He operates seven sites on the “On SI’’ network. Follow Tom on Twitter @tombrewsports.

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