Wes Matthews @ Portsmouth Invitational Thread <Update w/ Recap>

[77ncaachamps]

Scroll down for the recap

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament is from April 8-11.

DJ is not playing (for obvious reasons) nor is Jerel.

Wes is the solo amigo.

His roster:

Cherry, Bekaert & Holland
Coaches : Dennis Koutoufas & Ben Moore
Player / College / Ht / Wt / Pos / PPG / RPG / APG
Chris Johnson    LSU    6' 11"    210    C    7.7    7.2    1.2
Korvotney Barber    Auburn    6' 7"    225    F    12.8    9.6    0.9
Josh Bostic    Findlay    6' 5"    230    F    18.6    6.2    3
Jon Brockman    Washington    6' 7"    255    F    14.9    11.5    1.1
Wes Matthews    Marquette    6' 5"    220    F    18.3    5.7    2.5
Lorrenzo Wade    San Diego State    6' 6"    225    F    14.1    4.6    2.7
Kenny Hasbrouck    Siena    6' 3"    194    G    14.6    3.5    2.8
Ben Woodside    North Dakota State    5' 11"    185    G    23.2    3.2    6.2

Some notable players in the Tournament: Marcus Landry, Alex Ruoff (WVU), Gary Wilkinson (Utah State), Leo Lyons (Mizzou), A.J. Abrams (Texas), Wyinmi Efejuku (Prov.).

Other teams can be found at http://www.portsmouthinvitational.com/rosters_static.php


First Game: 89-74 Victory
Wes scores 11 and rebounds 3. Teammate Jon Brockman dominates with 24 points and 21 rebounds.

NBADraft.net review: "Not a very impressive statline, but Matthews showed some nice moves while getting into the lane. He has a mature body and he uses it to create space on his drives. His game off the dribble is smooth, but he does need to show more range from the outside."

DraftExpress.com review: "Wesley Matthews showed some very nice flashes in his first day, showing a bit more advanced ball-handling than we're used to, including a very nice crossover drive, but he wasn't able to put it together for a complete performance, going for 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting. On the other hand, Matthews showed a lot of the little things he's become known for, reading the floor well, making good cuts, finishing strong at the rim, and making opportune passes. We expect a better overall performance from Matthews in the next two days."


Second Game: 73-89 Loss
Wes 17 points, 4 rebounds. Leading scorer on the team.

DraftExpress.com review:
"Wesley Matthews, 6'5, SG/SF, Marquette
17 Points, 4 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 2 Turnovers, 6-14 FG, 5-6 FT, 0-2 3FG

Wesley Matthews showed off his total package of skills today, doing a great job of playing within his team's offense while still finding a plethora of opportunities to score for his team. Matthews' constant motion off the ball and ability to recognize how to attack seams in the defense is very impressive, and he takes full advantage of it with strong drives to the lane and finishes at the basket. Matthews is looking a bit more athletic with the ball than we expected, having at least adequate athleticism for the NBA with his playing style, going strong to the whole while angling his body well to protect the ball.

Matthews' ball-handling has been a mixed bag, at time showing impressive crossover drives while attacking the basket in either direction, but at others he's struggled to maintain his handle, specifically in traffic where he is prone to lose control.

Matthews did a good job in other areas as well, showing very good court vision and decision-making ability while dishing out quite a few smart passes. His outside shot wasn't falling today, though he didn't force the issue with it, instead taking advantage of his slashing game as aforementioned. On the defensive end, Matthews played his usual tough defense, stifling the likes of Ryan Toolson." -Joseph Treutlein


Last Game (for 3rd place): 92-74 Loss
15 points, 5 rebounds, 3-7 3pt. His team was outrebounded 62-38. Yikes!

===========================================================================================
Update 4.19.09

NBADraftNet.com ranked Wes #9 among top PIT prospects

"Wesley Matthews (14.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 43% FG)

Was solid all week, not really impressing in any particular aspect but contributing in a variety of ways. He has a strong body and decent athleticism and he uses them both on his drives to the basket. He can body opposing wing players to the hoop and then use his shoulder to create the necessary separation when finishing. From the midrange, he has a nice pullup, where he gets good elevation and shows a smooth and consistent stroke. Shooting the long ball was a bit of a struggle for him as he will need to extend his range in order to become a reliable threat. He prefers attacking out the triple threat as opposed to off the dribble, and this is mostly because defenders can get into his body and crowd him since his dribble drive game is limited. He is a bit undersized and his first step is marginal which will keep him from being a true scoring threat, but one cannot argue with the vast skill package that he boasts."
http://www.nbadraft.net/node/5325

[Markusquette]

Way to go Wes, keep it up!

[Warrior]

Kick a*s Wes! You are a Warrior!

[LovinCrowder]

Are the games on tv??

[GGGG]

I am not sure if Matthews is going to stick in year one, but he definately has the body.  If he has the heart and works hard, he will put together a nice career.

[77ncaachamps]

Updated.

Lost...placed 4th.

[schubert33]

Are the games on tv??

NO

[Thomas' Danish Delight]

Congratulations to the 2009 All Tournament Team

DeMarre Carroll, Missouri *
A.J. Abrams, Texas
Alade Aminu, Georgia Tech
Jimmy Baron, Rhode Island
Jon Brockman, Washington
Paul Delaney III, UAB
Wes Matthews, Marquette
B.J. Raymond, Xavier
Alex Ruoff, WVU
Garret Siler, Augusta State
Jermaine Taylor, Central Florida
A.D. Vassallo, Virginia Tech
Gary Wilkinson, Utah State

* MVP

Great job, Wes!

[Nukem2]

Draft Express picks a 5 man all tournament team that includes Mathhews. 

[77ncaachamps]

Draft Express picks a 5 man all tournament team that includes Mathhews. 

I looked for it, but couldn't see the link.
All I could find was this:

"-DeMarre Carroll had a strong all-around week, actually being named the MVP of the tournament by the organizing committee. Having just written about him last month, we decided to skip on posting another scouting report, for the sake of not being redundant.

-The same can be said for Wesley Matthews, who also played very well at Portsmouth. "


Updated the OP.