Recruiting Report: Matt Mims (2018)
It’s no coincidence that since Matt Mims has been the starting point guard for Cedar Rapids Xavier, the Saints have won back-to-back state titles.
One of the best point guards in a state loaded with Division I point guard talent, Mims has separated himself from the pack with his championship pedigree.
As he heads into his senior season, he’s hoping he can gather a few D1 scholarships to add to his championship rings.
“There’s quite a few D1 programs that are interested in me, and I just want to get as many offers as possible, and get the right schools, said Mims. “I expect to get multiple D1 offers this summer.”
Division II schools have been getting involved with him as well. As of right now, the 5-foot-11 floor-general has one offer, from North Dakota.
“There’s been some D2 schools talking to me too, but I have the goal to play at the highest level possible and I really want to accomplish that,” he said. “I’ve been working hard and hopefully it pays off.”
Mims mentioned the D1s that have been in contact of late, and it seems just a matter of time before he’s able to add to his one offer.
“I’ve talked to Drake quite a bit, North Dakota State, Central Michigan, I’m taking a visit there June 19th and 20th. Indiana State reached out to my high school coach, Albany reached out to me, UNI is still there, and those have been the main D1s,” said Mims, who highlighted his D2 interest.
“I’ve talked to the Northwest Missouri State coach a couple times, and there’s a D2 in North Carolina called Belmont Abbey, and I’ve talked to them a couple times too.”
North Dakota has offered five other guys in Iowa’s 2018 class alone. Mims says he hasn’t noticed too much.
“I haven’t really paid attention to that much, and I have an open recruitment right now,” he said. “I’m not like listing anyone off or anything like that.”
Last season, while leading the Saints to a second straight 3A title, Mims averaged 15.3 points, 5.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game — all team-bests.
“My role after losing a lot of key seniors was to step up and be a leader, whether that was getting my teammates involved or stepping up and scoring myself,” said Mims.
“Whether I was finding Jackson (Joens) for open shots, or dropping it down to (Max) Techau, I just felt like I needed to be a leader out there and get guys going.”
This spring and summer, the quick and skilled point guard is playing with Martin Brothers 17U.
“I’ve been working a lot on being a more consistent 3-point shooter, and I’ve gotten a lot better at that since the end of the season while working with coach (Ryan) Luehrsmann. And I’ve been working on getting stronger so I can finish at the rim easier,” said Mims.
“I have identical roles from Xavier to Martin Bros; I feel like coach wants me to penetrate and get guys going, but at the same time make plays for myself to help our team. It’s a really fun team to play on, we have a lot of great players.”