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62 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED ward/center who can handle the ball and shoot from the perimeter on offense and move his feet uncom- monly well for a player of his size on defense, while also possessing length enough to impact games on D that way also. The key for him, clearly, will be develop- ing his body while continuing to acclimate to Ameri- can basketball. "His biggest thing is he's going to gain some weight and get stronger in order to play in the physical Big Ten," said Luke Barnwell, Haarms' coach at Sunrise. "But with his size and length and skill, I see him be- ing a guy who can play on the perimeter and with his length, he should be able to do some things on the block as well. With his versatility, being able to score in different ways, and pass from the perimeter or the block, I think you can use him in pretty much any area on the court." Haarms chose Purdue over Washington State, Colo- rado and Vanderbilt, among others. "I really trust the coaching staff to be able to go get another (true) big and for that to create real match- up issues, for people to have to guard me and anoth- er big," Haarms said. "That could be a real matchup problem and I feel like we could be able to win a lot of games like that." Aaron Wheeler: The wiry 6-7ish scoring wing from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire projects as a player who can man — and guard — a number of positions, due to his athleticism, size and excellent length, a common denominator among Purdue's first two recruits for 2017. "He has the God-given tools to be spectacular," said Vinny Pastore, Wheeler's Mass Rivals grassroots coach this summer. "They're off the charts. His length, his size, his athleticism, it's crazy. And the way his body moves. The thing he does best, though, is that he can really shoot the basketball for a guy of that size and length. And he puts it on the floor pretty good, so when he gets stronger, he's going to be a problem. "As he continues to improve, I think he can be a real offensive weapon, and then on the defensive end, he can be a kid who can cover multiple positions. You're not going to have to make a whole lot of switches with him." Purdue offered Wheeler this fall after first seeing him this summer, then continuing to track him as he moved to Brewster for his senior season. Among the many others who offered the Connecti- cut native: Pittsburgh, Providence, St. Joe's, Temple, Charlotte and others. Virginia, Northwestern, Michi- gan, Creighton and Arkansas were among those get- ting serious about the late-emerging prospect. He committed to Purdue the morning after return- ing from his first and only official visit. "It was a great fit all around," Wheeler said of Pur- due, prior to committing. "It's a great school, and also a great basketball program, top-10 nationally. You're going to play great competition every night. I just think it's a great fit." NOW WHAT? Purdue is awaiting a decision from Chicago guard Nojel Eastern, a four-star, top-100 recruit who visited at the end of August but has been determined to play out the recruiting process, making for a quiet past few months. He's also visited Michigan State and Seton Hall and continued to be targeted by Ohio State, West Virginia and others. The Boilermakers will also host Chilean big man Felipe Haase for a visit in late October. The 6-9, 250-pounder, who's now settled in Miami, backed out of an early commitment to Colorado State and is now considering offers from Purdue, Louisville, Missouri, South Carolina and Pittsburgh, all of which are ex- pected to get official visits prior to the early signing period. Purdue has also offered junior college forward Eden Ewing, officially visited the weekend of Oct. 21. He is also considering LSU and Iowa State. Boilermaker coaches have continued to recruit in- state shooting guard Sasha Stefanovic, as well, and he might be an offer-caliber player if Purdue feels com- fortable having him, Dakota Mathias and Ryan Cline all on the roster together, because they're similar play- ers. j