The West Virginia University basketball program received a commitment from 6-7 Tacoma, Washington guard/forward Emmitt Matthews last Saturday. It was known that WVU was pursuing Matthews who decommitted from UCONN in March. The addition of Matthews adds some clarity to the departure of Teddy Allen who announced his intention to transfer from WVU over a week ago. Allen has since cast his lot with Wichita State.
Matthews is rated a four (out of five) star recruit and a Top 150 player by Rivals. West Virginia thought they had a shot at Matthews before his commitment to UCONN, but a coaching change in Storrs allowed Matthews to reopen his recruiting. Matthews’ had developed a good relationship with Kaukauna, Wisconsin point guard and WVU recruit Jordan McCabe on the AAU circuit over the last several years. That relationship appears to have been a factor in Matthews’ decision.
Matthews, who visited West Virginia last weekend, said of his commitment, “It is the perfect situation for me. They believe in me which is the greatest value,” he said. “With Teddy Allen leaving, I have the chance to start on the wing the day that I get onto campus and they want to get out into transition more.” Matthews is now a member of a six-man group that will enroll at the Big 12 program this fall. Besides junior college prospects Jermaine Haley and Andrew Gordon, Matthews will be joined in the freshmen class by fellow Rivals150 guards McCabe and Trey Doomes, along with talented big man Derek Culver, creating a strong four-man 2018 class that should uphold the culture set into place in Morgantown.
Of course the remaining piece of the 2018-2019 Mountaineer basketball team is whether center Sagaba Konate returns for his junior season. Konate is set to participate in the NBA combine this week in Chicago. Most couch potato types agree that Konate is at least a season away from being a first round NBA pick. Many with a better grasp of the situation feel similarly, but it only takes one NBA general manager to like Konate’s current skill set to entice the native of Mali away from Morgantown.
