Charles Matthews (basketball)

Charles Matthews
No. 1 – Michigan Wolverines
Position Shooting guard
League Big Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (1996-11-15) November 15, 1996
Chicago, Illinois
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight 180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school St. Rita of Cascia High School
(Chicago, Illinois)
College
Career highlights and awards

Charles I. Matthews (born November 15, 1996) is an American basketball player for the Michigan Wolverines who is sitting out the season for the 2016-17 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. He played his freshman season for the 2015–16 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team after attending St. Rita of Cascia High School. As a high school senior he was a 2015 Jordan Brand Classic All-American selection.

Early life

Matthews was raised near 79th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue,[1] which is on the borderline between the Chatham and Greater Grand Crossing Community areas of Chicago on the South Side. In his youth basketball took a backseat to the trombone and skateboard, but he began to take basketball seriously the summer before his high school freshman year.[1] He committed to John Calipari and Kentucky on February 26, 2014 during his junior year. At the time, he was rated as the number 11 player and number 3 shooting guard in the national class of 2015 by Rivals.com and number 12 player by ESPN.[2][3] Among his other offers at the time were Illinois, Kansas, Marquette and Michigan State.[4] Matthews was the first commit for Kentucky's 2015 class.[5] On June 1, Matthews won the 2014 USA Basketball 3–on–3 Under-18 National Championship Tournament with teammates Braxton Blackwell, Tim Delaney and Kipper Nichols. Matthews earned tournament MVP.[6] He officially signed his National Letter of Intent on National Signing Day, November 22, 2014.[7] During Matthews four-year high school career at St. Rita's, he led the team to 82 wins and four straight Chicago Catholic League South championships, including a 26–4 record as a senior.[1] As a junior, he averaged 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds for the 21–8 St. Rita's team that was eliminated from the 2014 IHSA Class 4A playoffs by the Jahlil Okafor-led Whitney M. Young Magnet High School team.[8][9] As a senior, Matthews averaged 21.3 points and 6.2 rebounds and a 47 field goal percentage.[1][10] Following his senior season, he was a first team Associated Press Class 4A All-state selection.[11] Matthews' national ranking fell significantly from the time he committed to Kentucky to the end of his high school career.[12] Although his final rankings were 42nd by ESPN[13] and 48th by Rivals.com,[14] he graduated as the 59th ranked player according to 247Sports.com's composite ranking.[15] Nonetheless, Matthews was selected to play in the 2015 Jordan Brand Classic.[16] At Kentucky, he joined fellow Chicagoan and former AAU teammate Tyler Ulis in the Kentucky backcourt.[3]

College

Matthews played in 36 games (including 3 starting assignments) for the 2015–16 Kentucky Wildcats, posting averages of 1.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 10.3 minutes.[17] Matthews three starts included the season opener against Albany and the December 26 rivalry game against #16 ranked Louisville.[9] His season highs were 11 points against South Florida (November 27) and 7 rebounds against Boston University (November 24).[9] He played 34 minutes against Louisville when Isaiah Briscoe injured his ankle in pregame warmups and sat out.[9][18]

Following the season he had a medical procedure on his hip. Matthews was granted his release from the team on May 18, 2016.[17] On June 20, 2016, reports confirmed that Matthews, who would have to sit out the 2016–17 season, had visited both Xavier and Michigan and selected Michigan.[19][20] Michigan confirmed the story on July 1.[10]

Personal

Matthews' older brother, Dominique, was a St. Rita's teammate until he graduated in 2014.[1] Dominique went on to play for the UIC Flames. His younger brother, Jordan, is a member of St. Rita's class of 2018. His parents are Nicole and Charles Matthews.[9][21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Disabato, Pat (2015-03-27). "St. Rita's Charles Matthews, Daily Southtown Boys Basketball Player of the Year". Daily Southtown. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  2. ↑ Hettinger, Johnathan (2014-02-25). "Five-star shooting guard Charles Matthews to make decision Wednesday". The Daily Illini. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  3. 1 2 "Kentucky Lands 2015 Five-Star SG Charles Matthews". SLAM Magazine. 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  4. ↑ Quinn, Brendan F. (2016-06-01). "Report: Kentucky transfer Charles Matthews, a former top-100 recruit, considering Michigan". MLive.com. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  5. ↑ Borzello, Jeff (2014-02-26). "Comprehensive breakdown: Charles Matthews commits to Kentucky". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Youth Olympic Women's Team Named After 3x3 U18 National Championship Ends". USA Basketball. 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  7. ↑ "Signing Day: Chicago-area basketball signees". Chicago Sun-Times. 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  8. ↑ Helfgot, Mike (2014-03-14). "Jahlil Okafor, Young too much for St. Rita". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Charles Matthews 1". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  10. 1 2 "Michigan Adds Matthews, Wright-Jones to Roster". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Lots of stars, fewer spots on 3A/4A all-state teams". Peoria Journal Star. 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  12. ↑ "Though his stock has declined, skills of UK signee Matthews haven't, high school coach says". Kentucky.com. 2015-04-16. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  13. ↑ "Charles Matthews". ESPN. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  14. ↑ "Charles Matthews". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  15. ↑ "2015 Top Basketball Recruits". 247Sports.com. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  16. ↑ "2015 All-American Boys Team Bios". Jordan Brand Classic. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  17. 1 2 "St. Rita grad Charles Matthews requests transfer from Kentucky basketball". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. 2016-05-18. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  18. ↑ "Tyler Ulis scores 21 as Kentucky holds off rival Louisville". ESPN. 2015-12-26. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  19. ↑ Johnson, Raphielle (June 20, 2016). "Michigan lands former Kentucky guard Matthews". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  20. ↑ Goodman, Jeff (June 20, 2016). "Charles Matthews picks Michigan as transfer spot, source says". ESPN. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  21. ↑ "#4 Charles Matthews". UKAthletics.com. Kentucky Wildcats. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
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