Emmitt Matthews Jr. Becoming the Leader West Virginia Needs

Morgantown, WV – There were high expectations for West Virginia forward Emmitt Matthews Jr coming into the season. Naturally, the anticipation arrived after the sophomore averaged 16.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in the final four games a year ago, including a 28-point and eight-rebound performance against one-seeded Texas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship.

At the opening of preseason practice, head coach Bob Huggins admitted Emmitt was the most improved player on the team, much of which can be attributed to an early morning ritual created by guard Jordan McCabe called the 'Breakfast Club.'

McCabe, joined by Matthews Jr. and a handful of other teammates, make their way to the West Virginia practice facility for extra work long before the sun rises.

“Every day, every morning – countless reps. Jordan would wake me when he started ‘the breakfast club’ thing and ever since then, I try to beat him up in the morning but he’s an extreme early bird," Matthews said of his morning routine. But, I mean, I get in there in the morning, I see the stuff he does, sometimes I try to steal the stuff he does, and you know, try and stay in shape. It’s really just mental for me. If I can get up that early and I’m shooting the ball well at six, seven a.m., then really I have no excuse to not be able to come in late in the afternoon when I’m wide awake and make jumpers.”

Whatever it is, it's clearly working.

Mathews numbers have jumped significantly this season. He’s shooting 47.1% from the field compared to 40.9% last year, and slightly higher during that four-game stretch to end the season (46.7%).

The biggest jump comes from the three-point line, where he’s shooting 42.9% on the year compared to 24.1% last season. He's also already surpassed his total of three’s made last season during the win over Nicholls State, putting his total at 15.

Most importantly, he’s hit big shots during crucial moments. It started at Pitt after Matthews stopped any potential runs from the Panthers and keeping Pitt’s self-proclaimed ‘Oakland Zoo’ student section quiet, prompting Matthews to give himself the title ‘Zookeeper’.

“turned up the city, I broke off the notch”#zookeeper pic.twitter.com/fYDsaXgeEi
— Emmitt Matthews Jr. (@THEDOOSKIE) November 16, 2019

A week later in the Cancun Challenge semifinals against Northern Iowa, Emmitt had the go-ahead tip-in with just under a minute remaining, also drawing a flagrant foul on the play on an undercut that ultimately put the game away.

That was the beginning of posting double figures in four out of the last five games, including recording his first career double-double (16 pts, 10 rebs) in the win over Austin Peay Thursday night. That game highlighted Matthew’s role in the early portion of the season. Running the floor and attacking the rim, hitting threes and offensive put-backs have become a staple in his game.

“My role is to get rebounds and play defense. Everything else after that is just – I get what I can take after that,” said Matthews.

The sophomore's role as a scorer and rebounder can be quantified by the stat sheet and the words of his head coach, but it can also be seen in other ways.

As the game was winding down and with the Mountaineers leading Austin Peay by 33, excitement came across Emmitt’s face as freshman walk-on Spencer Macke hopped off the bench and prepared to enter the game. Matthews immediately went over to give Macke instructions.

It was obvious the team was going to work the ball to their true freshman for a three as Emmitt was barking out orders and was visibly eager for his teammate to score.

As play resumed, West Virginia ran a double screen along the baseline and Mathews made himself 'big' to free Spencer, but the walk-on went 0-2.

Saturday night against Nicholls State, Spencer got another opportunity to score his first career points late in the game, but before he could get a shot up, a technical foul was called Nicholls States Dexter McClanahan. Huggins sent Macke to the line and he sunk both attempts.

The other player that might have been just as excited as Macke was none other than Matthews.

“I love that kid. He’s like my little brother. All these freshmen that come in, you kind of want to put them under your wing and show them ropes because obviously one day we’re going to graduate, or we’ll go off to do whatever we have to do."

Matthews is early into his sophomore campaign, and he’s not only playing dramatically better than last season, but has really grown into a leadership role.

Emmitt and the Mountaineers are back in action this Saturday at 1:00 pm on the road at Youngstown State.