No one on Purdue's roster had more to gain - at least individually - from A.J. Hammons leaving Purdue than Isaac Haas.
Had Hammons turned pro, Haas' minutes would have moved from 20ish a game on a good night to somewhere in the vicinity of as many as he can play without collapsing. And the sophomore big man likely would have stepped right into Hammons' role as a destination player for Purdue offensively, or at least had that role all to himself in the post.
But all that said, no one on Purdue's team was more averse to losing Hammons than Haas, his own individual interests be damned.
"I want that ring for myself, a Big Ten championship under my belt, for my name to be in the rafters," Haas said. "Obviously it's going to take some work to do that. He's going to be a key contributor to that and hopefully I can be too in helping us reach those goals."
Hammons' return, without question, made Purdue a better team, one that returns all but its point guard from a 21-win, top-four team in the Big Ten, a group that found itself midseason and now can, logic says, pick up next season where it left off, provided some things fall into place.
Haas wants to win, the central reason he wanted Hammons back on the team more than he wanted his minutes and role.
Understand this: When Haas signed with Purdue, he did so expecting Hammons to be gone <i>last year</i>. It will now be two years the 7-foot-2 goliath will have had to wait before having that central role all to himself. This isn't what he signed up for.
Doesn't care.
He wants to win and beyond that, he just wanted his friend back. He compared it an older brother going off to college.
"But he failed a grade so you get to have one more year with him," Haas said. "Obviously (Hammons) didn't fail a grade."
The two big men are nothing alike. There's nothing about their personalities, backgrounds, playing styles or pretty much anything else that makes for an apparent common bond.
Yet the two have grown close and, by every account, brought out the best in one another.
"I'm not getting married to him, obviously, but opposites attract," Haas joked. "You really learn from the other person like that, learn what it's like to be with a different sort and learn to appreciate all different aspects of life beyond basketball. I think that really carries over and helps you develop as a person and a player."
The relationship changes now, though, perhaps.
Last season, Hammons took responsibility for Haas and in so doing figured some things out about himself, it appeared. Taking responsibility for someone else taught Hammons to take responsibility for himself and that was the biggest key in him finally figuring it all out.
Now, Haas is a sophomore and may not need Hammons to be his guardian angel any longer.
"Now it's just about battling," Haas said, "just individual work."
This past season, Haas started about half the season before Hammons' pilot light got lit and he reclaimed the role and performed at the highest level of his career from there on out.
Haas likes to think that maybe he can unseat Hammons from the starting five again at some point and the two can again share the role.
It's not outside the realm of possibility, but the reality is that for the final half of last season, Hammons played like one of the best big men in college basketball. It is difficult to foresee him playing at anything close to that level and finding himself coming off the bench.
Regardless, Haas knows his role will be significant.
"My minutes are still going to be there," Haas said. "… Coach is going to play me and I feel like he trusts me and knows I'm going to play my (tail) off whenever I'm in the game. He knows I'm going to try to do everything he tells me to do and I think he respects that the same way I respect him for really trying to coach me. I think he can really depend on me and whether A.J. was going to stay or leave, I think my minutes would be relatively the same."
Perhaps.
Or perhaps had Hammons left Haas might have taken center stage, perhaps even as Purdue's marquee player in just his second season.
It didn't matter to Haas and maybe it shouldn't have all that much.
"It's not a lost opportunity for him," assistant coach Brandon Brantley said. "It's something good, something that helps with his development."
But that's not how young people think all the time.
Like Hammons, there's a better than good chance that Haas will have a chance to play professional basketball one day. Being in the upper 1 percent in his sport from a physical-dimensions standpoint, on its own, can probably earn him that chance someday.
For players in that position, the fastest track to max minutes and big numbers is often sought. And again, that track was what he signed up for in the fall of <i>2013</i>.
But Haas is different.
Out of high school, Haas was confident, so confident in fact that he talked of himself in a short-term professional-career context.
"Then you get here," Haas said. "I won't say I was young and stupid then. It's not stupid. You always want to go to the NBA as a college player. It's just not always as realistic as you think it might be. Now that I'm here, the best option for me is to get my education so I can do great things with that as well."
And Haas is different anyway, as he not only admits, but embraces. He talks of his ambition to play in the NBA but with just as much enthusiasm he talks of his dream of coaching for his high school in Hokes Bluff, Ala., one day.
"If you grew up a local," Haas said, "you'll understand that."
Then, Haas starts talking about mowing lawns and seems like he can talk all day about the topic, his "hobby" as he calls it. He chuckles at the thought of doing it for a living and being the "largest dude in the workforce."
It's doubtful that Hammons has ever mowed a lawn in his life. Maybe he has, I don't know. But here's guessing landscaping isn't one of his passions.
The two are total opposites.
Well, almost.
"They've got the biggest hearts in the world," Brantley said. "… I've seen situations where you have two really good guys at the same position and they're going to do whatever they can to step on the next guy to get somewhere, but we have the two nicest guys.
"They're the two nicest guys I think I've probably ever been around. They've got the biggest hearts. They'll give you the shirt off the back and always have an encouraging word to say."
Had Hammons turned pro, Haas' minutes would have moved from 20ish a game on a good night to somewhere in the vicinity of as many as he can play without collapsing. And the sophomore big man likely would have stepped right into Hammons' role as a destination player for Purdue offensively, or at least had that role all to himself in the post.
But all that said, no one on Purdue's team was more averse to losing Hammons than Haas, his own individual interests be damned.
"I want that ring for myself, a Big Ten championship under my belt, for my name to be in the rafters," Haas said. "Obviously it's going to take some work to do that. He's going to be a key contributor to that and hopefully I can be too in helping us reach those goals."
Hammons' return, without question, made Purdue a better team, one that returns all but its point guard from a 21-win, top-four team in the Big Ten, a group that found itself midseason and now can, logic says, pick up next season where it left off, provided some things fall into place.
Haas wants to win, the central reason he wanted Hammons back on the team more than he wanted his minutes and role.
Understand this: When Haas signed with Purdue, he did so expecting Hammons to be gone <i>last year</i>. It will now be two years the 7-foot-2 goliath will have had to wait before having that central role all to himself. This isn't what he signed up for.
Doesn't care.
He wants to win and beyond that, he just wanted his friend back. He compared it an older brother going off to college.
"But he failed a grade so you get to have one more year with him," Haas said. "Obviously (Hammons) didn't fail a grade."
The two big men are nothing alike. There's nothing about their personalities, backgrounds, playing styles or pretty much anything else that makes for an apparent common bond.
Yet the two have grown close and, by every account, brought out the best in one another.
"I'm not getting married to him, obviously, but opposites attract," Haas joked. "You really learn from the other person like that, learn what it's like to be with a different sort and learn to appreciate all different aspects of life beyond basketball. I think that really carries over and helps you develop as a person and a player."
The relationship changes now, though, perhaps.
Last season, Hammons took responsibility for Haas and in so doing figured some things out about himself, it appeared. Taking responsibility for someone else taught Hammons to take responsibility for himself and that was the biggest key in him finally figuring it all out.
Now, Haas is a sophomore and may not need Hammons to be his guardian angel any longer.
"Now it's just about battling," Haas said, "just individual work."
This past season, Haas started about half the season before Hammons' pilot light got lit and he reclaimed the role and performed at the highest level of his career from there on out.
Haas likes to think that maybe he can unseat Hammons from the starting five again at some point and the two can again share the role.
It's not outside the realm of possibility, but the reality is that for the final half of last season, Hammons played like one of the best big men in college basketball. It is difficult to foresee him playing at anything close to that level and finding himself coming off the bench.
Regardless, Haas knows his role will be significant.
"My minutes are still going to be there," Haas said. "… Coach is going to play me and I feel like he trusts me and knows I'm going to play my (tail) off whenever I'm in the game. He knows I'm going to try to do everything he tells me to do and I think he respects that the same way I respect him for really trying to coach me. I think he can really depend on me and whether A.J. was going to stay or leave, I think my minutes would be relatively the same."
Perhaps.
Or perhaps had Hammons left Haas might have taken center stage, perhaps even as Purdue's marquee player in just his second season.
It didn't matter to Haas and maybe it shouldn't have all that much.
"It's not a lost opportunity for him," assistant coach Brandon Brantley said. "It's something good, something that helps with his development."
But that's not how young people think all the time.
Like Hammons, there's a better than good chance that Haas will have a chance to play professional basketball one day. Being in the upper 1 percent in his sport from a physical-dimensions standpoint, on its own, can probably earn him that chance someday.
For players in that position, the fastest track to max minutes and big numbers is often sought. And again, that track was what he signed up for in the fall of <i>2013</i>.
But Haas is different.
Out of high school, Haas was confident, so confident in fact that he talked of himself in a short-term professional-career context.
"Then you get here," Haas said. "I won't say I was young and stupid then. It's not stupid. You always want to go to the NBA as a college player. It's just not always as realistic as you think it might be. Now that I'm here, the best option for me is to get my education so I can do great things with that as well."
And Haas is different anyway, as he not only admits, but embraces. He talks of his ambition to play in the NBA but with just as much enthusiasm he talks of his dream of coaching for his high school in Hokes Bluff, Ala., one day.
"If you grew up a local," Haas said, "you'll understand that."
Then, Haas starts talking about mowing lawns and seems like he can talk all day about the topic, his "hobby" as he calls it. He chuckles at the thought of doing it for a living and being the "largest dude in the workforce."
It's doubtful that Hammons has ever mowed a lawn in his life. Maybe he has, I don't know. But here's guessing landscaping isn't one of his passions.
The two are total opposites.
Well, almost.
"They've got the biggest hearts in the world," Brantley said. "… I've seen situations where you have two really good guys at the same position and they're going to do whatever they can to step on the next guy to get somewhere, but we have the two nicest guys.
"They're the two nicest guys I think I've probably ever been around. They've got the biggest hearts. They'll give you the shirt off the back and always have an encouraging word to say."
