MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University men's basketball coach Bob Huggins has announced the signing of Emmitt Matthews Jr. to a grant-in-aid for the 2022-23 academic year.
Matthews, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward from Tacoma, Washington, will return to West Virginia after spending last season at Washington. He spent the first three years of his collegiate career at WVU.
For his four-year collegiate career, Matthews has scored 954 points and grabbed 471 rebounds. He has played in 123 career games with 98 starts.
"We are extremely excited to have Emmitt back as a Mountaineer," Huggins said. "He is a great teammate who made countless big plays at crunch time during his three years here. We look forward to having his athleticism and shot-making ability around the perimeter in addition to his rebounding at both ends of the floor. His experience will be invaluable."
At WVU, Matthews played in 92 games with 67 starts, averaging 21.0 minutes per game. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds, while shooting 40.2% from the field and 73.7% from the free throw line. Matthews was a three-time selection to the Academic All-Big 12 Team (Rookie Team in 2019, First Team in 2020 and Second Team in 2021).
As a junior at WVU, Matthews averaged 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while averaging 25.9 minutes per game. He started 25 of 29 games played and helped lead the Mountaineers to a No. 6 ranking in the Associated Press poll. Matthews matched his season best with 14 points against Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.
During his sophomore season that was cut short due to COVID-19, Matthews started 30 of 31 games, averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 21.3 minutes per contest. He posted a season-high 18 points in his final game of the season in the win over No. 4 Baylor. That season, he had his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Austin Peay. Matthews had 17 points in the win at Pitt.
As a freshman, Matthews played in 32 games, starting 12, while averaging 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He shot 40.9% from the field and 80.9% from the free throw line. Matthews had a career-high 28 points and eight rebounds in the win against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship. His 28 points were the second-most points scored by a Big 12 freshman in 2018-19. Matthews had 21 points and eight rebounds in the final game of the season against Coastal Carolina.
Last season at Washington, Matthews started 31 of 31 games played, averaging 32.0 minutes per game. He averaged 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.4% from the floor and making 40 3-point field goals. Matthews had a season-high 25 points against Oregon, had 20 points at USC and had three double-figure rebounding games (Seattle, Colorado and Utah). The Seattle (17 points and 11 rebounds) and Colorado (15 points and 11 rebounds) games were double-doubles.
Matthews attended Woodrow Wilson High, where he led his team deep into the state playoffs for three consecutive seasons. He was The News Tribune's 2017-18 All-Area Player of the Year, the 3A Pierce County league MVP and the 3A senior state player of the year from the state coaches' association. Matthews finished his career with 1,614 career points and 744 rebounds. He ended his career as Woodrow Wilson's all-time winningest player with 80 victories.
Matthews, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward from Tacoma, Washington, will return to West Virginia after spending last season at Washington. He spent the first three years of his collegiate career at WVU.
For his four-year collegiate career, Matthews has scored 954 points and grabbed 471 rebounds. He has played in 123 career games with 98 starts.
"We are extremely excited to have Emmitt back as a Mountaineer," Huggins said. "He is a great teammate who made countless big plays at crunch time during his three years here. We look forward to having his athleticism and shot-making ability around the perimeter in addition to his rebounding at both ends of the floor. His experience will be invaluable."
At WVU, Matthews played in 92 games with 67 starts, averaging 21.0 minutes per game. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds, while shooting 40.2% from the field and 73.7% from the free throw line. Matthews was a three-time selection to the Academic All-Big 12 Team (Rookie Team in 2019, First Team in 2020 and Second Team in 2021).
As a junior at WVU, Matthews averaged 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while averaging 25.9 minutes per game. He started 25 of 29 games played and helped lead the Mountaineers to a No. 6 ranking in the Associated Press poll. Matthews matched his season best with 14 points against Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.
During his sophomore season that was cut short due to COVID-19, Matthews started 30 of 31 games, averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 21.3 minutes per contest. He posted a season-high 18 points in his final game of the season in the win over No. 4 Baylor. That season, he had his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Austin Peay. Matthews had 17 points in the win at Pitt.
As a freshman, Matthews played in 32 games, starting 12, while averaging 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He shot 40.9% from the field and 80.9% from the free throw line. Matthews had a career-high 28 points and eight rebounds in the win against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship. His 28 points were the second-most points scored by a Big 12 freshman in 2018-19. Matthews had 21 points and eight rebounds in the final game of the season against Coastal Carolina.
Last season at Washington, Matthews started 31 of 31 games played, averaging 32.0 minutes per game. He averaged 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.4% from the floor and making 40 3-point field goals. Matthews had a season-high 25 points against Oregon, had 20 points at USC and had three double-figure rebounding games (Seattle, Colorado and Utah). The Seattle (17 points and 11 rebounds) and Colorado (15 points and 11 rebounds) games were double-doubles.
Matthews attended Woodrow Wilson High, where he led his team deep into the state playoffs for three consecutive seasons. He was The News Tribune's 2017-18 All-Area Player of the Year, the 3A Pierce County league MVP and the 3A senior state player of the year from the state coaches' association. Matthews finished his career with 1,614 career points and 744 rebounds. He ended his career as Woodrow Wilson's all-time winningest player with 80 victories.
