Below, several references to Cornell recruit, Jake Mathews in the news today.From Pittsburgh Post Gazette's High School Basketball Notebook:
Greensburg Salem -- The Golden Lions return just one starter from last year's team that advanced to the PIAA Class AAA championship game. But their sophomore class is one of the most talented groups of players in the area. And, that one returning starter is pretty good. Senior Jake Matthews, a Cornell recruit, averaged 16.1 points per game and fueled Greensburg Salem's playoff run, scoring more than 15 points in each of the Golden Lions' final five games.
Paul Sapotichne has been a head coach at the high school level for 34 years, and he's set to begin his 27th at Greensburg Salem tomorrow night.
But, in what might seem surprising, he said that this year has brought him something he hasn't seen before.
The Golden Lions' star guard, Jake Matthews, committed to playing at Cornell University, the two-time reigning Ivy League champion.
"It's really neat for our program," Sapotichne said. "We've had very successful teams and I think we have a very good program and we've had some great individual players over the years. We've had players play college ball at D-II or D-III, but Jake is truly the first player I have had who has [played for] a Division I school.
"That doesn't mean that I haven't had players talented enough to do it ... but I'm pleased and proud of Jake. He comes from a great family and a great basketball family, and Cornell is a very good program ... and obviously a very good school."
The Big Red are picked to win the Ivy League title for the third consecutive season and have already won road games at Alabama and UMass and are 6-2 with the only defeats coming to Seton Hall and Syracuse of the Big East (the Orange were ranked No. 9 nationally at the time and Seton Hall is 7-0).
This season, they also will play two games at New York's Madison Square Garden and play a game at Kansas, the team currently ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press and coaches' polls.
"I always wanted to play in the Ivy League ... and there's a lot of factors," said Matthews, a 6-foot-2 senior who has a 4.0 GPA. "It kind of seems like the perfect place for me.
"I went to the campus, and it was unbelievable. Of course, it's a great academic school, and the type of offense they run, the way coach [Steve] Donahue runs his program, they're not just what people think when they think of Ivy League. They're not like any other Ivy team, if you look at the tough schedule and who they've beaten."
Sapotichne said Donahue told him while recruiting Matthews that Matthews was the No. 1 guard he was targeting in the country.
"That makes me feel good, makes me feel happy for him," Sapotichne said.
Matthews is the grandson of Bernie Matthews, who coached at St. Vincent College in Latrobe for 36 seasons. Jake's father, also named Bernie, played at Division I Sanford University, and his brother, Paul, also was a standout guard at Greensburg Salem.
Jake admits that being around the sport so much since he was a young boy greatly aided in his development as a player.
The combination of "book smarts" and "basketball smarts" combines with a sweet stroke to make for quite the player.
Greensburg Salem, which opens against Franklin Regional at the Hempfield tournament 6:30 p.m. tomorrow, was a PIAA Class AAA finalist last season, Matthews' second as a starter after contributing to the varsity team as a freshman.
"He has gotten better each and every year," Sapotichne said. "He's an outstanding shooter... and he does much more than just shoot the basketball. I think when Jake was a sophomore, people looked at him and said, 'He's a good shooter.' Now, he is truly a very good basketball player.
"He can handle the ball, pass the ball very well, and he's such a good scorer, he can score not only by shooting but also by taking it to the hoop. And he's worked so hard on his defense and become one of the best defenders I've had. It's all a credit to his work."
Matthews figured he needed to work hard as he accepts a role as unquestioned leader -- he's also the only unanimously selected captain by his teammates in Sapotichne's 27 seasons at Greensburg Salem -- because he is the only returning starter from last season's 23-6 team.
Only 185 points from 1,000 in his career, Matthews will be depended on to increase his 16.1 points per game average.
He will be joined in the Lions' starting lineup by forward Drew Manley and guard T.J. Olesky, both seniors, and guard/forward Raevann Mottley and guard Casey Hope, both juniors, unless senior guard Trey Parsley and/or senior forward John Munsch cracks the top end of the rotation.
Junior guard David Nowicki, a transfer from Greensburg Central Catholic, and six sophomores also will push for significant playing time. The sophomores helped lead the Greensburg Salem junior varsity team to a very strong season last year.
"For goals, we just always expect to do well," Matthews said. "Last year, if you asked us before the season if the goal was to play for a state championship, you'd say yeah. You obviously want to have high expectations but I probably would not have thought that last year we'd be in the state finals.
"So why not again this year? We want to go as far as we can. We always have high expectations."
Greensburg Salem's Jake Matthews looks to pass around Farrell's Robert Trudo in a PIAA Class AAA
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