Center - A.J. Matthews
Farmingdale State College
2011 - 2013

All-American selections: 2012 (3rd), 2013 (1st)

All-Region selections: 2012 (Player of the Year), 2013 (1st)

Conference MVP: 2012

NCAA Tournament appearances: 2012 (second round)

From the archives

• Matthews plays for Knicks' summer league team (June 2013)
• Matthews outduels All-Decade honoree Suderley in NCAA Tourney (March 2012)
• Matthews notches 25th straight double-double in Rams' title clincher (February 2012)
• Big man on campus (February 2012)

What others say: "A.J. was the center piece of those teams from 2011-2013. He could do it all: score back to the basket, run the floor, finish around the rim, knock down the 18-footer, rebound and block shots. He was a really talented all-around center that could affect the game in so many ways.

"He would have some games where the stats were just off the charts silly in terms of points and rebounds. I have never seen anything like it as a coach before." – Erik Smiles, former Farmingdale State head coach

Career synopsis: A.J. Matthews was the textbook definition of a late bloomer on the basketball court. “No one in my family had played basketball and I didn’t know anything about the game," Matthews told us in 2012. I couldn't dribble or shoot," Matthews said. “I was a kid who just liked playing outside, you know, riding your bike and other stuff like that. I had no interest in basketball.”

Eventually Matthews did take up basketball and drew a lot of attention, first from his would-be high school coach and who asked him to join the squad and then from some Division I programs. Matthews bounced around a couple junior colleges instead and then landed in Division III at Farmingdale State. Once he arrived, he dominated.

Matthews was a Division III unicorn – a 7-foot center who could run, rebound, and score from almost anywhere. He posted some incredible stat lines like this, this and this. He scored over 1,100 points and grabbed more than 800 rebounds in just 52 games.

Beyond the stat line, though, Matthews created matchup nightmares for opponents. Smiles recalls how teams would try to jam the Rams with zone defenses. "A.J. is all of 7-feet tall, super athletic and he has great hands. We used to throw him so many alley-ops against zones. We must have had five different plays to get in lobs against zone. Our guys would get so happy anytime we saw a zone. On top of that you could send him to the middle of a zone and he could hit that 15-foot jumper or pass out of the middle of the zone – he was so skilled!"

After finishing his college career, the Brooklyn-born Matthews had the rare opportunity to work out for the New York Knicks ahead of the NBA draft and then joined their summer team roster. He also played professionally in Lithuania, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.