Farmingdale State Athletics

Farmingdale State forward AJ Matthews (2011-2013) was named Honorable Mention on the D3hoops.com All-Decade Team.

Matthews, a two-time All-American, averaged 22.5 points, 15.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots per game over his career at FSC. At Farmingdale State, he is the all-time career leader in points per game, rebounds per game, ranks second in total blocks (171) and third for field goal percentage (.585).

Matthews is also the single-season career leader in eight different categories: points scored (605 - 2011-12), points per game (22.6 - 2012-13), field goals made (239 - 2011-12), free-throws made (168 - 2012-13), rebounds (439 - 2011-12), rebounds per game (16.3 - 2011-12), defensive rebounds (309 - 2011-12) and defensive rebounds per game (11.4 - 2011-12).

In 2011-12, he led the nation in rebounds per game (16.3) and double-doubles (26), while finishing third in blocked shots per game (3.67). Matthews was named a 2012 NABC DIII All-American and All-District Player of the Year, DIII News First Team All-American, D3hoops.com All-Atlantic Player of the Year, ECAC DIII Metro Player of the Year, All-Met DIII Player of the Year and Skyline Player of the Year.

In 2012-13, Matthews was named D3.hoops.com First Team All-American, NABC DIII All-American and All-District Player of the Year, DIII News Third Team All-American, All-Met DIII Player of the Year, First Team All-ECAC and First Team All-Skyline Conference.

D3hoops.com gathered some additional information about Matthews:

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.

D3hoops.com 2010-2020 All-Decade Team

* D3hoops.com National Player of the Year
$ D3hoops.com National Rookie of the Year
1st denotes first-team All-American selection

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