Recruiting Report: Matthew Mims (2018)
Just two days after helping lead Cedar Rapids Xavier to the school’s first state title, 2018 point guard Matthew Mims got more good news last Monday, in the form of his first Division I scholarship offer. Mims, currently our 18th ranked…
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Continue ReadingJust two days after helping lead Cedar Rapids Xavier to the school’s first state title, 2018 point guard Matthew Mims got more good news last Monday, in the form of his first Division I scholarship offer.
Mims, currently our 18th ranked 2018, received an offer from the University of North Dakota, a school that has been making a concerted effort to get into the state with early offers, and he’s the latest in that line.
“I was in touch with them a bit in the fall, they’ve been watching me since then,” Mims said. “It just feels really good, I’ve worked really hard for this.”
Despite it still being early in the process, he said that it’s a school he knows a bit about, in part because of one of his older brother’s former teammates.
“I know their staff, I know a little bit about them because of Adam (McDermott) and Cortez (Seales). So I know a bit about them from those guys, but I’m still just gathering information.”
In addition to his offer from UND, he says he’s received interest from a number of other schools.
“Western Illinois has sent me a few letters, and North Dakota State has sent some, too. Then Briar Cliff has sent me some stuff, that’s really about it so far,” he said.
The sophomore averaged 12.5 points a game while shooting 47.5% from the floor, and posted a stellar 2.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio during the season. A smooth point guard, he’s just as comfortable facilitating for his teammates as he is showcasing a silky mid-range game with the ability to shoot off the dribble that few in the class can match. He displayed his all-around game during the state tournament, stuffing the stat sheet with three-game averages of 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.7 steals.
“It (winning state) means so much to me. We worked so hard all season for it. You know, lots of people didn’t give us much of a shot early in the year, and we fought through a lot of adversity,” Mims said. “I’m just happy with the way we came together. We really peaked at the right time of the season and fought every possession of that tournament. It’s special.”
With the high school season behind him, Mims will be making a transition this off-season, as he’ll make the switch from the Iowa Mavericks to Martin Brothers for his 16U season.
“I felt like it was the best program for me at this time. I wanted to be exposed to a higher level of competition and just to be able to get into better tournaments will be good,” Mims said.
While with Martin Brothers, and on his own, he’s focused on making some improvements in his game as he prepares for his junior year, where Xavier will be considered one of the favorites to defend their title in Class 3A.
“I want to focus on getting stronger, getting quicker and more explosive,” he said.
For someone who is seemingly just scratching the surface of his abilities, those words should be terrifying to coaches around the state who must game plan to defend him.