Spotlight Report: Malachi Matthews (2019)
“Watch the shooter!” I heard this numerous times when Malachi Matthews was on the floor. Malachi is a sophomore at Trotwood-Madison High School. I had a chance to see him play in a few games last season but saw him…
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Continue Reading“Watch the shooter!” I heard this numerous times when Malachi Matthews was on the floor. Malachi is a sophomore at Trotwood-Madison High School. I had a chance to see him play in a few games last season but saw him over the summer with All-Ohio Red. He showed that he can put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. What his teammates expect from him when he is on the floor is a three-point basket every offensive possession. He is what every offense needs to space the floor. I’ve seen him hit three pointers wide open as well as in the face of defenders.
Photo taken by Marcus MatthewsMatthews would like to work on his defense. He said “I need to get my feet quicker on defense to be able to apply pressure on other guards and to be more effective on both sides of the ball”. Matthews is usually in the game to be a spot up shooter even though I have seen him dribble through presses. That showed that he had versatility to his game. He is a guard by skill but he usually never brings the ball up if he does not have to. He is in for the deep ball and the deep ball only. He is not shy from the three point line and his amount of confidence makes him a good shooter.
Playing with All-Ohio has given him many opportunities to attract major colleges and receive camp invites. Matthews has no offers but he has had the privilege of being invited to John Lucas camp where he went very recently. I asked him about his experience with that, he said, “I enjoyed myself. I learned a lot and I met a lot of the top players around. Definitely looking forward to more camps in the future.”
Matthews looks to help Trotwood make a run to state this upcoming season. He will be able to help senior guard, Torey Patton and sophomore Amari Davis by knocking down open three pointers when they penetrate the gaps against defenses. Matthews will be a key addition to this fast Trotwood style of play.