On an eventful Saturday afternoon, the men’s basketball team at the University of Connecticut received a verbal commitment from Emmitt Matthews Jr. (Class of 2018 out of Woodrow Wilson High School, Washington). Matthews Jr. announced his decision via Twitter and joins James Akinjo of Salesian (CA) as part of the Huskies 2018 class.

Matthews, a 6-foot-7 guard/forward from Tacoma, Washington averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds last regular season during his junior year in high school. From outlets such as Scout and 24/7, Matthews is viewed as a three-star recruit.

“UCONN is a storied program,” Matthews Jr. told Def Pen. “The campus is great, the people are great, the facilities are off the chain and I love the team and coaching staff.”

Last year was a down season for the Huskies, as they posted a 16-17 record. It was their first losing since the 1986-’87 season when they finished 9-19. Besides those two blips on the program’s record, winning is normalized there.

It was the winning culture that won over Matthews Jr.; he said that he is: “Looking forward to getting a title with these guys.” The potential is there for the young team to develop throughout the year and ultimately capture the men’s first championship since 2014. The Tacoma native plans on improving his game before he sets foot on campus officially, and has goals of becoming a leader there.

“I look to come in and play my game,” said Matthews Jr. “You know, I’m a long two-guard that scores and plays defense. I also want to bring in another leadership role because that’s just what I do at heart.”

Matthews Jr. was very fond of the coaching staff throughout the recruitment process, as the Huskies hadn’t set an offer towards Matthews Jr. until August. Despite that, they left an impression on him to go forward and verbally commit.

“It was just the kind of people they are,” said Matthews Jr. “I know they are great coaches all around but they are also great people.”

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