Friar Basketball

Learning More about EC Matthews

EC_Matthews

With Providence looking to add depth to the backcourt a 2013 target certainly worth keeping an eye on is Romulus (MI) High School combo guard EC Matthews.

I reached out to Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops.com, a great source for Michigan basketball, who provided terrific insight into LaDontae Henton’s game when he committed to Providence last year.  No one is more tied into the Michigan recruiting scene, so when Kevin McNamara reported that the PC coaching staff was in Michigan to meet with Matthews this week I touched based with Dylan to learn more.  Here is what he had to say:

“EC is a kid with a lot of potential.  Michigan was on him early, but truthfully he’s not a great fit for U-M. He’s an attacking style player like so many other kids from The Family (Matthews’ AAU team) before him. (He has a) good frame, solid handle, great athlete that knows how to get to the tin. Jumper is a work in progress and not really his go-to. He’s almost like a smaller version of Manny Harris.”

When asked if the 6’4 lefty was more point guard than shooting guard, Dylan noted, “I think he could be a point guard. I don’t know that I would put him there now, but down the line, definitely.”

It looks as though Iowa will provide heavy competition for the Friars.  Dylan noted that Matthews officially visited the Hawkeyes this past weekend.  Matthews returned on Sunday and Iowa head man Fran McCaffrey showed up later on that day for an in-home visit.

Clearly, he’s a priority for Iowa, but Dylan believes Providence’s success with Henton could be a selling point, “It seems like a case of two schools trying to establish a pipeline in Michigan with a really successful current player from Michigan – Henton at Providence and Roy Marble at Iowa.”

Matthews turned heads at the Nike EYBL this summer, after shooting up four inches and successfully navigating the point for The Family.  As Dylan noted, he’s more slasher than shooter at this point, but according to several publications he was very difficult to keep out of the paint at the EYBL.

Providence isn’t the only New England team recruiting Matthews.  He visited both Connecticut and Rhode Island in the last month.  He’s also receiving high interest from Arizona, USC and Xavier, according to various publications, so needless to say this is a sought-after prospect.

Matthews would make for a big college point guard (6’4, 180 pounds).

He’s ESPN’s 85th rated player in the class of 2013.

Email Kevin at kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

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