2021 F Matthew Mors -> Wisconsin

[Navin R. Johnson]

Yeah, the year is correct!  Not sure that NU even knows about him (I believe Creighton has watched him) but he played varsity as a 7th grader.  Saw him play a little this summer and might be their best player as an 8th grader,  You would not think he was that young if you did not know it, looked like a Senior!  Never know how these young phenoms develop but really one to keep your eye on. He is about 6' 5" now, so I'm guessing he will grow.

[49r]

Yeah, the year is correct!  Not sure that NU even knows about him (I believe Creighton has watched him) but he played varsity as a 7th grader.  Saw him play a little this summer and might be their best player as an 8th grader,  You would not think he was that young if you did not know it, looked like a Senior!  Never know how these young phenoms develop but really one to keep your eye on. He is about 6' 5" now, so I'm guessing he will grow.

 

You bet your ass they have!

 

(Jury's still out on whether he's a perfect fit for the system they run, tho...)

[HB]

I believe this kid's dad is the AD at Yankton High, and was a good player in South Dakota in his day.  Had a walk-on opportunity in football at NU.  Matthew is also a good football and baseball player.  Miles spoke to the Yankton FCA in September '15 and rumor has it had a shoot-around with Matthew that day.   

[Navin R. Johnson]

That is correct, his Dad is the AD.  I figured NU had to know about him.

[Huskerpapa]

Yup, his dad Ryan was a good player.  He was part of teams that won both basketball and football championships at Huron HS.  I am betting his son will mature into a pretty special player.

[AuroranHusker]

Yup, his dad Ryan was a good player.  He was part of teams that won both basketball and football championships at Huron HS.  I am betting his son will mature into a pretty special player.

 

That's a pretty cool story. Hoping this 13-year-old does just as well. And we'll be cheering GBR for young Matthew some day!

[HuskerCager]

Talk about early.  I wonder if Miles and his staff has ever attempted to scout a player by ultrasound.

[Navin R. Johnson]

Big numbers for an 8th grader!

 

Mors, But Not Enough

Eighth Grader Ties YHS Scoring Mark, But Washington Holds On For Victory

 

3

 

BY JEREMY HOECK [email protected] | Posted 8 hours ago

An eighth-grader scored 41 points. 

In a varsity game. Against arguably one of the best teams — albeit, it’s still early in the season — in the state.

That’s what Yankton’s Matthew Mors did Tuesday night in what was a nail-bitting classic at the Yankton High School gym: He scored 41 points and his squad nearly made the full comeback.

Sioux Falls Washington, with its combination of size and height, came away with a 68-65 victory, however.

“We would love to have the win, obviously, but my teammates really helped me out there,” said Mors, who made 12-of-20 shots (including 5-of-8 three-pointers) for his 41 points.

“They got me some great looks and I did what I could to help the team.”

While the game’s final margin was tight, that wasn’t the story. Nor was it the bulk of the post-game conversation between players, coaches and spectators.

No, Mors’ performance had people talking.

“Not that it’s a surprise to anyone, but he’s the real deal,” Washington coach Craig Nelson said.

“You forget that he’s in eighth grade. A lot of eighth-graders can shoot it, but with him, it’s the poise; the calmness.”

Through three games this season, Mors has scored 20, 29 and 41 points, and his output Tuesday night tied the Yankton High School record — set by Chad Nelson in 1974.

Standing 6-foot-6, Mors is technically Yankton’s starting center, but as he showed Tuesday, he does just as much damage in the paint as he does from beyond the three-point line.

“We don’t treat him like an eighth grader,” Yankton coach Chris Haynes said. “He’s just like any other basketball player.

“We have high expectations for him, and he has high expectations for himself.”

And still, Washington (3-1) — a top-5 team in every poll — was able to hang on. The Warriors built as much as an 11-point lead after halftime, but survived a furious rally by the Bucks (1-2).

It wasn’t much consolation, but it was at least something to help soften the blow.

“With this group, we think they play hard; they compete, and they care about each other,” Haynes said. “And I think they showed a lot of character tonight.”

Mors did his part to lead the Bucks in the first half (he scored 15 points), but the rest of the team combined for seven points.

The biggest thorn for Yankton, though, was Washington’s size edge down low. The Warriors took advantage, to the tune of a 29-22 halftime lead.

The third quarter is when the inside versus outside storyline became ultra clear. Yankton made six 3s in the quarter, but Washington kept pounding the Bucks down low and took a 52-42 lead into the final frame.

The Bucks got the margin down to 61-58 on a Mors basket with 2:51 remaining, and senior Nate Stephenson added a pair of foul shots to bring Yankton even closer at the 2:25 mark.

Justin Leader, another senior for the Bucks, drained a three-pointer to tie the game at 63-63, but the game then became a free throw contest.

With Washington up 67-64 with under six seconds left, Mors was fouled and made the first free throw. He missed the second on purpose, but the Warriors took over and added a Logan Uttecht foul shot with under a second left.

And that was it.

The Warriors were able to escape Yankton with a harder-than-expected victory over a District 2AA rival.

“You need games like that,” Nelson said. “That was a district atmosphere.

“We’re glad they shot it that well, because now we know what we have to work on before we see them again.”

And on the flip side, if you were to ask about the Bucks about the game, they’d said they learned quite a bit about themselves.

“We saw that we can come back in games,” Mors said. “Right now it’s not about the wins and losses, it’s about getting better.”

Still, it was a game the Bucks nearly won, and they realized it.

“It’s disappointing in the outcome, obviously, but when you look at the bigger picture, we’re pleased with where we’re at,” Haynes said.

“But we also know we have some things we can get better at.”

Jack Talley led Washington with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Uttecht added 16 points and five rebounds. In total, the Warriors out-rebounded Yankton 39-17.

In sub-varsity action, Washington won the JV game 53-33. Yankton got 10 points from Andrew LaBarge and nine points from Nathen Abuin.

Washington also won the sophomore game, 74-53. Cole Sawatzke led the Bucks with 17 points and Miles Carda added 15 points.

Yankton hits the road for a Thursday night game against Mitchell at the Corn Palace, while Washington hosts Marshall (Minnesota) on Thursday.

Follow @jhoeck on Twitter

S.F. WASHINGTON (3-1)

Landon Carda 2-2 0-0 4; Jack Talley 7-10 1-1 16; Logan Uttecht 5-6 6-8 16; Angel Arroyo 2-5 2-2 6; Isaac Goeman 3-6 1-4 7; Topher Zahn 0-1 0-1 0; Carter Klatt 0-2 0-0 0; Nolan Behr 2-3 0-0 6; Noah Brown 1-1 0-0 3; Seth Benson 1-4 0-0 2; Zach Heins 4-9 0-0 8. TOTALS 27-49 10-16 68.

YANKTON (1-2)

Justin Leader 3-7 0-0 7; Nate Stephenson 0-3 3-4 3; Jack Wolfgram 1-5 0-0 3; Rex Ryken 1-8 1-2 4; Matthew Mors 12-10 12-14 41; Casey Krejci 1-2 0-0 2; Cameron Krejci 1-2 2-4 5; Andrew LaBarge 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 19-47 18-24 65.

S.F. WASHINGTON 14 29 52 68

YANKTON 11 22 42 65

Three-Pointers: YHS 9-20 (Mors 5-8, Leader 1-1, Cam. Krejci 1-1, Wolfgram 1-3, Ryken 1-5, Stephenson 0-1, Cas. Krejci 0-1), SFW 4-10 (Behr 2-3, Talley 1-1, Brown 1-1, Arroyo 0-1, Zahn 0-1, Klatt 0-1, Heins 0-2). Total Rebounds: SFW 39 (Talley 10), YHS 17 (Stephenson 4, Mors 4). Assists: SFW 23 (Zahn 4), YHS 15 (Stephenson 4). Turnovers: SFW 16, YHS 12. Personal Fouls: SFW 21, YHS 16. Fouled Out: None.

2 images

James D. Cimburek/P&D

Yankton's Matthew Mors spots up for a three-pointer as Washington's Isaac Goeman flies in on defense during their boys' basketball game on Tuesday at the YHS Gym.

 

 

 

[colhusker]

Looks he is not your typical young kid at 6'6" has a good frame, now to zoom in on the legs to get the vital info needed.

[Huskerpapa]

He will only get better.  If we haven't started recruiting this kid, we darn well should be.

[AuroranHusker]

He seems like a baller. Go get 'em GBR.

[TheKamdyMan]

He looks like hes already a senior in HS rather than an 8th grader.

[hhcmatt]

We finally pulled the trigger

 

[Jacob Padilla]

I saw Mors play in person last weekend up in Sioux Falls. His team won the tournament up there (he was playing up at the 16U level) rather easily. He really has a good feel for the game and can do a little of everything (score inside, handle the ball, pass, shoot, rebound).

[jason2486]

Wisconsin's 247 sports page has video from their camp a couple weeks back. No way does he look or play like a freshman to be! He looks like the next Eric Piatkowski (maybe more athletic, but the same hair, and also from South Dakota)!! I couldn't link it, but if someone finds it, please post. It is quite impressive, and I'm thinking he has to be number 1 on our list for 2021. Maybe another reason we are playing Okie State there this season.

[hhcmatt]

https://www.omaha.com/neprepzone/recruiting/boys-basketball/remember-matthew-mors-name-creighton-was-his-first-d-i/article_ad3634aa-6528-5c04-af15-20b9ad42c89b.html

[49r]

Sounds like he's got the "______ is a good program" boilerplate bit down pretty good.

 

Also sounds like he really wants to play in the Big Ten.  Specifically Wisconsin, Iowa or Purdue.  Probably in that order.

 

If I had to guess I'd say we're facing pretty long odds on this one.

[AuroranHusker]

 

 

[hskr4life]

14 hours ago, AuroranHusker said:

 

 

 

Only for the Germans... errr.... Japanese... errr... everyone not on the U.S.A train.  I am feeling like this Nebrasketball train is getting ready to roll too!

[AuroranHusker]

 

[imnothipp]

Visiting this weekend per Robin W on  RSS.

[Huskerpapa]

It would be great if we could land this young man.  But man, he is going to have schools lined up.  It will be a tall task.

[cjbowbros]

1 hour ago, Huskerpapa said:

It would be great if we could land this young man.  But man, he is going to have schools lined up.  It will be a tall task.

We are going to have to have a great season this year to have a chance IMO. Good thing we should have a great season.

[B-town hoopsfan]

Hopefully we can atleast make his final cut to get a chance at him, kids gonna be special 

[Shawn Eichorst's Toupee]

Go to 39:10 if it doesn't automatically load   

 

Had 23 points on 12 shots.