Could Purdue’s crack engineering department create an elbow contraption that allows its star to play in the NCAA Tournament?
No, says Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter.
But that doesn’t mean they’re not trying.
Painter has ruled out center Isaac Haas returning this season after the 7-foot-2 senior fractured his right elbow in No. 2 Purdue’s March Madness-opening win over Cal State Fullerton. Haas tried giving it a go with a bulky brace Sunday, but the NCAA would not allow him to suit up because it didn’t meet its safety standards.
Purdue survived✨ Butler, 76-73🤪, without Haas and will play Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 on Friday night.
With the brace, Haas, who had been the team’s second-leading scorer at 14.7 points and No. 2 rebounder at 5.7 per game, was milling about the rim, working on catching balls and putting up left-handed shots in pregame warmups. He told reporters he cannot straighten his arm in fear of the fracture poking out.
Is there a device that can both pass the NCAA’s standards and allow him to function?
“He had the best brace you can have and he couldn’t shoot right-handed free throws with it,” Painter said Monday. “He wants to play. But at the end of the day, you have to put people out there who can help you.”
Perhaps, says the engineering department.
that Purdue sports medicine has talked with the school’s mechanical engineering department about coordinating to discover a solution. The sports medicine department declined comment to the newspaper, citing student-athlete medical privacy laws.
“I think they’re working on something, a class project or something,” Painter said. “But I really don’t know.”
Matt Haarms, a 7-3 redshirt freshman, replaced Haas in the starting lineup while 6-10 Jacquil T𒉰aylor, who had been used spar🙈ingly this season, joined the rotation.
–With AP