grizz wrote:In high school bball, size is a huge advantage. Being the only 6'10 player in class B, he should have averaged 25+ points a game. I honestly don't know what he did average during the year, but I know he didnt perform well at the state tourny.
Obviously he didn't know he was going to be 6'10, but you know... once you hit about 6'0", you start to realize what position your supposed to be. I'm sure he reached that in about 7th or 8th grade, which means he had plenty of time to work on his post moves.
The student manager on my HS basketball team was 6'7". He didn't play basketball until intramurals in college. Now that Mathison is done growing, maybe his coordination will catch up with him. I guess I look at Mathison's skills and see promise, the glass is half full.
Here's a story from the Bismarck Tribune during the tourney. I was wrong, he did start taking it more seriously as a 6'5" Soph.
Bismarck Tribune Link
[font=Arial]He stood 6-3 as a freshman, 6-5 as a sophomore and 6-7 as a junior. [/font]
[font=Arial]Mathison played on the C squad as a sophomore, and after working for a week on his skills, saw playing time on the B squad. He helped the C squad finish the season unbeaten.
Last season he played primarily on the B squad and led it to an undefeated season. This season, as a full-time varsity starter, he came into the tourney averaging 11.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game.[/font]
[font=Arial]Since Mathison didn't focus on his game at an early age, he found himself lacking in fundamental skills that other players possessed. He agreed that his turnaround jump shot was an eyesore. After playing on a travel team this past summer, Mathison broke out of his shell.[/font]