Prospect Watch: Justin Mathews-Williams (2018)
Class of 2018 shooting guard Justin Mathews-Williams is a certified bucket-getter with a strong will to score.
The 6’3″ Mathews has been one of the top scorers in the Gateway Athletic Conference for the past two seasons. With his combination of size and his scoring mentality, he has attracted interest from schools such as Lindenwood, UMSL and Illinois State.
“The strengths of my game are that I can push the ball all the way to the rim and finish with contact,” Mathews-Williams said. “I can maneuver through traffic with my ball handling and hit the 3-pointer when I need to. I really like to score in the paint and hit the mid-range jumper.”
Mathews-Williams has been tough to defend during the past two seasons at Howell North. As a sophomore in 2016, he averaged 18.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, three assists and two steals a game. He followed that up with another productive season in which he averaged 17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, two assists and two steals while shooting 75 percent from the free throw line.
With his senior year on tap, Mathews-Williams is looking for another big season, but he is also hoping to help his team win a few more games. He has had to carry an inexperienced team for the past two seasons, which hasn’t resulted in a lot of winning. He is looking to change that in 2018.
“My main goal is for our team to win the GAC South and for me to be the MVP of the conference,” he said. “I want to averaged about 24 points a game, but I also want to get my assists up.”
Mathews-Williams spent his summer playing with the St. Louis Shooting Stars 17U team for coach Troy Griffin. Mathews-Williams led the team in scoring while helping the Stars to some big victories during the July evaluation period.
“It helped a lot being with Coach Troy during the summer,” he said. “I also learned a lot more being with people who I have played with for years, so the chemistry was there. I also learned a lot about being a team player.”