Current Commits: Charles Matthews
[caption id="attachment_174064" align="aligncenter" width="258"]
via 247 Sports[/caption]
Charles Matthews
Position: SG
Height: 6’6
Weight: 180
School: St. Rita’s High School
From: Chicago, IL.
-All UK for a While Now: Being the first UK commitment for the 2015 class, Charles Matthews has had plenty of time to become familiar with the Big Blue Nation. We UK fans are used to waiting on late spring decisions while trying to sift through all the “done deals”, package deals, and other drama to find the truth. It’s almost always a roller coaster ride from start to finish with 4 and 5 star recruits, so when a recruit like Matthews decides to pick the Cats over a year before signing day, it is a nice change of pace. There are around eight months left before Matthews will suit up for the Cats during Big Blue Madness, but it is always good to have a player of his caliber already signed and ready to head to Lexington.
-Matthews’ Recruitment: John Calipari must have liked what he saw in Matthews’ ability very early because he was one of the first players in the 2015 class to receive an offer from UK. He received the offer in June of 2013, which was around two years before he would ever suit up to play college basketball. After that offer, Coach Cal stayed in regular contact and visited Matthews several times at his high school. Matthews must have liked Calipari’s recruiting pitch because he pushed any and all drama aside and decided to commit to the Wildcats on February 26, 2014. The commitment took place after a visit from the UK head coach the weekend before. He had several Division 1 offers from some of the nation’s top programs, but ultimately decided to commit to Kentucky over Marquette, Kansas, Illinois, and Michigan State. After committing, Matthews has been pretty quiet and is just focusing on basketball since he doesn’t have to deal with the recruiting process. He decided to sign with the Wildcats during the early signing period on November 14, 2014 and is in the midst of finishing up his senior season at St. Rita’s High School in Chicago, Illinois.
-Rankings: Not many recruits see their ranking change as much as Charles Matthews has. Early in his high school career and when he committed to Kentucky he was ranked in the top 25 by every recruiting service and was considered one of the premier 5-star talents in the country. After a lackluster junior season that also included him missing some games with an injury, his ranking dropped significantly among the nation’s top players. He went from being a consensus top 25 recruit to dropping to as low as the 60’s in some rankings. Matthews is a confident player however, and after a strong senior season thus far (averaging 22.8 points per game) he hopes to climb the rankings back to 5-star status. But even if he doesn’t the BBN shouldn’t worry, because if Coach Cal wants him, then so should we.
Current Ranking:
ESPN - #42
Rivals - #58
247 - Composite #57
Scout -#62
-Scouting Report:
Strengths: Weaknesses:
1. Athleticism 1. Shooting
2. Finishing at the Rim 2. Defensive Rebounding
3. Defense 3. Average dribbling
4. Smart Passer 4. Needs to get stronger
5. Length/Size for his position 5. Settles for easy shot too often
According to Jerry Meyers of 247Sports who talked to KSR back in Feb. of 2014, "Matthews is an exceptional athlete as a wing finisher...Defensively, he has the tools to be a force."
-Bottom Line: Expect Charles Matthews to be a very good player for Kentucky before he leaves, even if he isn’t a one-and-done like most Calipari recruits. He could even be an important part of the team as a freshman because of what he brings to the defensive end of the floor. His length and athleticism as a guard gives him great potential to be a lock-down defender. He has even been compared to former UK player Deandre Liggins for this reason. On the offensive end he is great at finishing at the rim and is a very good and willing passer for a wing. However, he does need to continue to develop his jump shot and handle to become a complete player. If he comes to UK with the right mindset and works hard to improve on the offensive end and to become even better on defense, then he will be a very important piece to the team going forward. Depending on what other guards they get in this class and if Aaron Harrison and Devin Booker decide to turn pro, we could see Charles Matthews make an impact sooner rather than later.
Random Fact: According to twitter he has only watched one Super Bowl in his life…
https://twitter.com/CMATT_4/status/561942977967570947
Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41MLcBrH49s
@JWheel_KSR
via 247 Sports[/caption]
Charles Matthews
Position: SG
Height: 6’6
Weight: 180
School: St. Rita’s High School
From: Chicago, IL.
-All UK for a While Now: Being the first UK commitment for the 2015 class, Charles Matthews has had plenty of time to become familiar with the Big Blue Nation. We UK fans are used to waiting on late spring decisions while trying to sift through all the “done deals”, package deals, and other drama to find the truth. It’s almost always a roller coaster ride from start to finish with 4 and 5 star recruits, so when a recruit like Matthews decides to pick the Cats over a year before signing day, it is a nice change of pace. There are around eight months left before Matthews will suit up for the Cats during Big Blue Madness, but it is always good to have a player of his caliber already signed and ready to head to Lexington.
-Matthews’ Recruitment: John Calipari must have liked what he saw in Matthews’ ability very early because he was one of the first players in the 2015 class to receive an offer from UK. He received the offer in June of 2013, which was around two years before he would ever suit up to play college basketball. After that offer, Coach Cal stayed in regular contact and visited Matthews several times at his high school. Matthews must have liked Calipari’s recruiting pitch because he pushed any and all drama aside and decided to commit to the Wildcats on February 26, 2014. The commitment took place after a visit from the UK head coach the weekend before. He had several Division 1 offers from some of the nation’s top programs, but ultimately decided to commit to Kentucky over Marquette, Kansas, Illinois, and Michigan State. After committing, Matthews has been pretty quiet and is just focusing on basketball since he doesn’t have to deal with the recruiting process. He decided to sign with the Wildcats during the early signing period on November 14, 2014 and is in the midst of finishing up his senior season at St. Rita’s High School in Chicago, Illinois.
-Rankings: Not many recruits see their ranking change as much as Charles Matthews has. Early in his high school career and when he committed to Kentucky he was ranked in the top 25 by every recruiting service and was considered one of the premier 5-star talents in the country. After a lackluster junior season that also included him missing some games with an injury, his ranking dropped significantly among the nation’s top players. He went from being a consensus top 25 recruit to dropping to as low as the 60’s in some rankings. Matthews is a confident player however, and after a strong senior season thus far (averaging 22.8 points per game) he hopes to climb the rankings back to 5-star status. But even if he doesn’t the BBN shouldn’t worry, because if Coach Cal wants him, then so should we.
Current Ranking:
ESPN - #42
Rivals - #58
247 - Composite #57
Scout -#62
-Scouting Report:
Strengths: Weaknesses:
1. Athleticism 1. Shooting
2. Finishing at the Rim 2. Defensive Rebounding
3. Defense 3. Average dribbling
4. Smart Passer 4. Needs to get stronger
5. Length/Size for his position 5. Settles for easy shot too often
According to Jerry Meyers of 247Sports who talked to KSR back in Feb. of 2014, "Matthews is an exceptional athlete as a wing finisher...Defensively, he has the tools to be a force."
-Bottom Line: Expect Charles Matthews to be a very good player for Kentucky before he leaves, even if he isn’t a one-and-done like most Calipari recruits. He could even be an important part of the team as a freshman because of what he brings to the defensive end of the floor. His length and athleticism as a guard gives him great potential to be a lock-down defender. He has even been compared to former UK player Deandre Liggins for this reason. On the offensive end he is great at finishing at the rim and is a very good and willing passer for a wing. However, he does need to continue to develop his jump shot and handle to become a complete player. If he comes to UK with the right mindset and works hard to improve on the offensive end and to become even better on defense, then he will be a very important piece to the team going forward. Depending on what other guards they get in this class and if Aaron Harrison and Devin Booker decide to turn pro, we could see Charles Matthews make an impact sooner rather than later.
Random Fact: According to twitter he has only watched one Super Bowl in his life…
https://twitter.com/CMATT_4/status/561942977967570947
Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41MLcBrH49s
@JWheel_KSR
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