After spending his freshman and sophomore years attending Cincinnati Taft, Kyvon Mattress will be headed to Lakota West for his upperclassmen seasons.
The 6-foot-4 forward says the move was simply a better fit for him, for both basketball and football.
“It was a better for me, and we moved. And it was actually a better fit for football too,” said Mattress. “I’ve played a few open gyms with them, and we should be pretty good. We don’t really have any big players, so I’ll probably be playing the three or four.”
Though he’s spent most of his career playing a stretch forward, and down in the post, he spent his offseason honing his perimeter skills with Ohio Basketball Club.
“This summer I did a lot better on defense, just getting down and guarding people instead of reaching and fouling. Offensively I was doing some more shooting and some more handling on the perimeter instead of just being a big-man. I worked more on my perimeter skills,” said Mattress.
“If I grow more I think I’ll be more of a small forward in college, if I don’t grow I think I’m probably play guard.”
PHO’s 30th-ranked 2017, Mattress is yet to receive any offers, but has picked up some light interest from area Division I programs.
“I know Akron keeps calling the OBC coach about me, and Toledo, and a West Virginia coach was at one of our games and he said he likes my style of play,” said Mattress.
“We’ve talked to Toledo a couple of times, they were trying to get me to some camps, but I couldn’t make it. I’ve gotten some mail from Xavier also.”
Still with two years left to see his recruitment rise, it’s his game that he’s focused on right now, Mattress described to PHO the player he wants to become.
“I want to be a slasher who can also shoot, and I want to be able to attack at all times,” he said. “But I’ve been working hard this offseason with some trainers to develop a shot and my ball-handling. I want to be able to bring the ball up the court and just really be an all-around player.”
