Jonah Mathews
{{Short description|American professional basketball player}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Jonah Mathews
| image = Jonah Mathews 2 Beşiktaş TBSL 20241011.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| number = 2
| position = Point guard / shooting guard
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lbs = 205
| league = Basketbol Süper Ligi
| team = Beşiktaş Emlakjet
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1998|2|10}}
| birth_place = San Francisco, California
| nationality = American
| high_school = Santa Monica
(Santa Monica, California)
| college = USC (2016–2020)
| draft_year = 2020
| career_start = 2020
| years1 = 2020–2021
| team1 = Köping Stars
| years2 = 2021–2022
| team2 = Anwil Włocławek
| years3 = 2022–2023
| team3 = ASVEL
| years4 = 2023–present
| team4 = Beşiktaş
| highlights =
- LNB Pro A Leaders Cup champion (2023)
- ENBL champion (2022)
- All-PLK Team (2022)
- Second-team All-Pac-12 (2020)
- Pac-12 All-Defensive Team (2020)
| medal_templates =
}}
Jonah Kenneth Mathews (born February 10, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Beşiktaş Fibabanka of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans.
High school career
Mathews attended Santa Monica High School. As a freshman, he was part of the team that won the Southern Section 1A championship.{{cite news |last1=Sondheimer |first1=Eric |title=Boys' basketball: 'Little brother' Jonah Mathews is making big brother proud |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/varsity-times/la-sp-vi-boys-basketball-little-brother-jonah-mathews-makes-big-brother-proud-20160304-story.html |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 4, 2016}} He helped Santa Monica win the Southern Section 1A title during his senior season, scoring 33 points in the championship game against Temecula Valley High School.{{cite news |last1=Sondheimer |first1=Eric |title=Santa Monica wins 1A title |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/la-sp-prep-boys-basketball-20160306-column.html |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 6, 2016}} Mathews averaged 24.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game as a senior, earning 2016 CIF Southern Section Division 1A Player of the Year.{{cite web |last1=Kragen |first1=Aubrey |title=Meet Jonah Mathews |url=https://usctrojans.com/news/2017/1/1/blog-2017-01-meet-jonah-mathews-html |website=USC Trojans |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |date=January 12, 2017}} A four-star prospect, he was ranked the No. 11 shooting guard and the No. 72 overall prospect in his high school class. In September 2015, Mathews committed to USC over Gonzaga and San Diego State, in part due to his relationship with Trojans assistant coach Jason Hart.{{cite news |last1=Daniels |first1=Evan |title=Four-star guard Jonah Mathews commits to USC |url=https://247sports.com/college/basketball/recruiting/Article/-Four-star-guard-Jonah-Mathews-commits-to-USC-105499081/ |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |work=247 Sports |date=September 30, 2015}}
College career
As a freshman at USC, Mathews averaged 7.0 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Mathews was slowed by a sprained ankle during his sophomore season and endured a shooting slump, which he reversed by changing his pair of shoes.{{cite news |last1=Thiry |first1=Lindsey |title=Something was amiss for USC's Jonah Mathews, but then he changed shoes and his shots fell |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-usc-basketball-20180127-story.html |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 27, 2018}} On March 10, 2018, Mathews scored a career-high 27 points in a 74–54 win over Oregon in the semifinal of the Pac-12 tournament.{{cite news |title=USC rolls past Oregon 74–54 into Pac-12 title game |url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401020052 |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |work=ESPN |agency=Associated Press |date=March 10, 2018}} He averaged 9.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore.{{cite web |last1=Dinnhaupt |first1=Drew |title=USC Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Trojans |url=https://bustingbrackets.com/2018/10/28/usc-basketball-2018-19-season-preview-trojans/2/ |website=Busting Brackets |publisher=FanSided |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |date=October 28, 2018}} Mathews started every game as a junior, averaging 12.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.{{cite web |title=USC Men's Basketball Release: Preseason Notes|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/usctrojans.com/documents/2019/8/5/2019_20_Preseason_Notes.pdf |website=USC Trojans |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |date=August 6, 2019}} On March 7, 2020, Mathews hit the game-winning three-pointer with one second remaining and finished with 19 points in a 54–52 win against UCLA.{{cite news |title=Mathews, USC snap UCLA's 7-game streak on last-second 3 |url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401170750 |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |work=ESPN |agency=Associated Press |date=March 7, 2020}} As a senior, Mathews averaged 13.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He was named to the Second Team All-Pac-12 as well as the conference Defensive Team. Mathews finished his college career as the school leader in made three-pointers (247) and his 1,390 points ranks 17th on USC's all-time scoring list.{{cite web |title=Onyeka Okongwu, Jonah Mathews Collect Pac-12 Postseason Honors |url=https://usctrojans.com/news/2020/3/9/usc-trojans-m-basketball-pac-12-awards-onyeka-okongwu-jonah-mathews.aspx |website=USC Trojans |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |date=March 9, 2020}}
Professional career
On September 4, 2020, Mathews signed his first professional contract with the Leicester Riders of the British Basketball League.{{cite web |title=Riders sign Jonah asAyiiiiii 2020 |date=September 4, 2020}} However, he left the team on September 19, to prepare for the NBA draft.{{cite news |last1=Meehan |first1=Jim |title=Former Gonzaga guard Geno Crandall signs with pro team in England |url=https://www.swxrightnow.com/stories/2020/sep/18/former-gonzaga-guard-geno-crandall-signs-with-pro-/ |accessdate=September 19, 2020 |work=The Spokesman-Review |date=September 19, 2020}} On December 22, 2020, Mathews signed with the Köping Stars of the Swedish Basketball League. He signed with the Saskatchewan Rattlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League but did not join the team.{{cite news |last1=Zary |first1=Darren |title=CEBL season tip-off: Sask. Rattlers look to rebound from 2020 bubble burst |url=https://thestarphoenix.com/sports/local-sports/cebl-season-tip-off-sask-rattlers-look-to-rebound-from-2020-bubble-burst |access-date=July 24, 2021 |work=Saskatoon StarPhoenix |date=June 25, 2021}} On July 24, 2021, Mathews signed with Anwil Włocławek of the Polish Basketball League.{{cite web |title=Anwil lands Jonah Mathews |url=https://sportando.basketball/en/anwil-lands-jonah-mathews/ |website=Sportando |access-date=July 24, 2021 |date=July 24, 2021}}
On July 1, 2022, he has signed with ASVEL of the French LNB Pro A.{{Cite web|url=https://ldlcasvel.com/jonah-mathews-arrive-club/|title=Jonah Mathews arrive au club|last=|first=|date=July 12, 2022|website=|publisher=ASVEL|language=fr|access-date=July 12, 2022|archive-date=July 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712143835/https://ldlcasvel.com/jonah-mathews-arrive-club/|url-status=dead}}
On July 5, 2023, he has signed with Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi.{{Cite web|url=https://bjk.com.tr/tr/haber/86506/jonah-mathews-besiktasta.html|title= Jonah Mathews Beşiktaş’ta|last=|first=|date=July 5, 2023|website=|publisher=Beşiktaş|language=tr|access-date=July 5, 2023}}
Career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
=College=
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17
| style="text-align:left;"| USC
| 35 || 3 || 20.4 || .372 || .331 || .692 || 1.8 || 1.1 || .9 || .1 || 7.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18
| style="text-align:left;"| USC
| 34 || 23 || 27.1 || .458 || .423 || .600 || 2.6 || .9 || .6 || .1 || 9.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19
| style="text-align:left;"| USC
| 33 || 33 || 33.2 || .431 || .392 || .705 || 2.9 || 2.2 || 1.2 || .3 || 12.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20
| style="text-align:left;"| USC
| 31 || 28 || 32.1 || .391 || .381 || .740 || 2.5 || 1.9 || 1.4 || .2 || 13.4
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 133 || 87 || 28.0 || .414 || .384 || .698 || 2.5 || 1.5 || 1.0 || .2 || 10.5
{{S-end}}
Personal life
Mathews is the younger brother of professional basketball player Jordan Mathews. His father, Phil Mathews, is the head coach of Riverside City College. Mathews is interested in becoming a broadcaster after his playing days, and he took a broadcast journalism class at USC.{{cite news |last1=Grosbard |first1=Adam |title=USC's Jonah Mathews sees himself as a basketball lifer |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2020/03/05/uscs-jonah-mathews-sees-himself-as-a-basketball-lifer/ |accessdate=September 11, 2020 |work=Orange County Register |date=March 5, 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://usctrojans.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jonah-mathews/10616 USC Trojans bio]
{{Beşiktaş J.K. (men's basketball) current roster}}
{{PLK Top Scorer}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Jonah}}
Category:21st-century American sportsmen
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Turkey
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Santa Monica, California