Purdue University’s sports medicine team has reached out across campus to the mechanical engineering department to see if someone there can devise an elbow brace for Purdue center Isaac Haas that would be approved by the NCAA.
The Lafayette Journal and Courier in Indiana confirmed the news, but Purdue’s associate athletic director for sports medicine declined comment.
Haas fractured his right elbow on a rough fall during the Boilermakers’ first-round game in the NCAA Tournament. He was initially ruled out for the rest of the tourney, but reports Sunday indicated he tried to play the second-round game against Butler wearing an elbow brace.
However, the NCAA did not approve the brace under its standards for medical equipment.
Purdue is known as an engineering school, and some students or faculty may now be putting their know-how behind a beat-the-clock quest to get Haas back on the court. The Boilermakers, a No. 2 seed, face No. 3 Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 Friday night.
Purdue coach Matt Painter initially responded to a joking question about help from the engineering department by saying he heard “they might be trying to do that.” However, Painter is insistent on not getting anybody’s hopes up.
“He has the best brace you can possibly have on that they didn’t approve,” Painter said. “So if he has the best brace possible and he can’t shoot a right-handed free throw, this brace isn’t going to be better. It’s just going to be one that’s a little bit less (bulky) and it’s going to get approved. He still has a broken elbow.”
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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