Four-star Montez Mathis breaks down his Rutgers commitment

Rutgers hoops looks to be headed for a bright future after tonight’s commitment from four-star shooting guard Montez Mathis of John Carroll High in Bel Air, Md. The Scarlet Knights beat out UConn to earn Mathis’ commitment and he spoke with Scarlet Nation on his decision.

“I committed to Rutgers because I just felt like it was a good decision for my family and me. I feel like coach [Steve] Pikiell, coach [Brandin] Knight, and the whole rest of the coaching staff have been recruiting me the hardest throughout the whole process. So I think it was a good decision for me.”

Mathis also described how the commitment went down.

“I first told Coach Knight about my commitment. I tried to tell Coach Pikiell too, but I couldn’t reach him. Coach Knight was out of breath when I told him.”

The last trip to campus also played a part in today’s commitment.

“I visited Rutgers back in the spring. It was a real good visit, I just talked to the coaching staff,” Mathis said. “I was with my parents and my AAU coach so it was just a real good visit.”

Mathis’ commitment also comes one day after the commitment of highly-touted point guard Mac McClung.

“Mac and I were talking yesterday a little bit. He sent me a little message about Rutgers and I sent him emojis back,” Mathis said. “It wasn’t anything really heavy. I played against him during the summer and I know what he can do. He’s a really good, athletic point guard.”

Throughout his recruitment, Mathis also stayed in touch with another Rutgers commit.

“I’ve talked to Geo (Baker) throughout the whole process. He’s been telling me how me and him could really change everything, and I believe that,” Mathis said. “He’s a real good point guard and he’s just been telling me how the whole community wants me.”

Now that Mathis is a Rutgers commit, will he suddenly turn into a recruiter?

“I’m not sure yet if I plan on recruiting anyone else yet. If someone put Rutgers on their list, then I will be the first one to hit them up to try and get them to join us,” Mathis said.

The next step in the process is to actually sign with Rutgers.

“I’m not sure yet when I want to sign. I plan on catching a couple games this fall. But my recruitment is completely shut down now.”

For more Mathis' commitment, go inside The Round Table and check out the latest discussion on the highly-acclaimed four-star.