When shooting guard Jordan Mathews announced in late May that he would be leaving California as an immediately eligible transfer, Gonzaga was one of the schools first mentioned as possible destinations. Thursday night Mathews announced via his Twitter account that he has indeed committed to Mark Few’s program, giving the Bulldogs another quality perimeter option in a rotation that was already loaded.
Mathews will be one of two Pac-12 transfers on the Gonzaga roster next season, with former Washington point guard Nigel Williams-Goss eligible after sitting out last season. They join returnees such as Josh Perkins and Silas Melson, and one of the top perimeter shooters in the Class of 2016 in Zach Norvell in Gonzaga’s perimeter rotation.
Mathews averaged 13.4 points per game at Cal last season, shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 41.6 percent from beyond the arc. Adding him to a rotation that will not only have talent on the perimeter but in the post as well, with Przemek Karnowski being joined by Missouri transfer Jonathan Williams III and freshmen Zach Collins and Killian Tillie, makes Gonzaga an even tougher team to slow down offensively.
Already the preseason favorites to win the WCC, Gonzaga’s chances of making a national splash (which they were already expected by many to do) are even greater with the addition of Mathews.
h/t Jeff Goodman, ESPN.com