And maybe sooner rather than later. The one who finished his university internship with the Arizona Wildcats in the round of 16 of the last March Madness met the press on Tuesday, and there was talk of the possibility that he was the Quebec player drafted at the highest level of the story.
I think it’s great. We haven’t had a lot of players drafted at high ranks in Montreal. To be able to be one of them is special, assured Mathurin. It can motivate the youngest and it also motivates me to be the highest drafted in recent history. It’s great stuff and I can’t wait.
Mathurin could have qualified for the NBA draft last year, but instead opted to continue his development at the University of Arizona.
<q data-attributes="{"lang":{"value":"fr","label":"Français"},"value":{"html":"Je trouvais que c'était la meilleure décision pour moi, et mon futur. Il y a des scouts who thought I could be drafted in the second round, that was not my goal. I thought I had more talent than that and if it took another year to prove what I had to prove, then I went back to school to prove to the scouts what I could do. “,”text”:”I thought it was the best decision for me, and my future. There are scouts who thought I could be drafted in the second round, it was not my goal. I thought I had more talent than that and if it took another year to prove what I had to prove, then I went back to school to prove to the scouts what I could do. “}}”>I thought it was the best decision for me and my future. There are scouts [éclaireurs] who thought I could be drafted in the second round, that was not my goal. I thought I had more talent than that and if it took another year to prove what I had to prove [je le ferais]. So I went back to school to prove to the scouts what I was able to do.
A decision that could allow him to write the history of Quebec and Montreal basketball.
I’m a guy from Montreal North. When I was young, there were not many people who were in the situation that I am in and who could say to us: “The NBA is possible. If you work, if you do what you have to do, if you avoid problems and continue in school, anything is really possible.”
« That’s really the message I’m trying to get across to Montreal North because everyone thinks it’s a hole, but there really is a lot of talent there. »
When I was young, everyone was at the park. It was good for me, to be able to improve myself, to progress every day by facing others. We played from 10 in the morning until 11 in the evening. I did a lot of reps. It’s been good for me that there’s a lot of basketball around me
he continued.
There is excitement for the orange ball at the moment, especially with the arrival of the Montreal Alliance, the new team of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
Basketball is going up year by year. To have a team in Montreal, with players from all over the world. There is more and more visibility and the future looks bright.
A popular young man
When your name appears in the first third of the most beautiful hopes of your cuvée, generally the appointments multiply.
I spoke to several teams: Pacers, Wisards, Blazers, Toronto, Chicago, Pelicans… It’s not bad the teams that tried the most to talk to me,
he detailed.
It was something good. In the previous weeks, I trained in Santa Barbara, California. I went to the Combine, that was good too. I didn’t play, I just did some tests, it went well too. I met several teams, I had the chance to see other players who will also be in the repechage. My pro day was good too.
« There were probably all the teams that came to see me play. I performed well so I thought it went well. »
Inspiration at home
Jennifer Mathurin is Bennedict’s older sister. She was the one who blazed the family path to playing elite basketball, most notably playing with the NC State Wolfpack, North Carolina State University, in the NCAA First Division in the mid-2010s.
My circle is really around me. My sister played basketball, he said. She was always there to help me, to give me advice. Whether it’s a good team or a bad team, she’s always been there to motivate me. That’s not bad. My family who have been there for me, who have motivated me and who have kept me focused on the important things.
« She’s the reason I started playing basketball. It is thanks to her that I kept the focus, that I did what I had to do to be successful in life. »
Seeing his big sister play at the highest level surely didn’t hurt the awakening of the dream of becoming a professional when Mathurin was a teenager.
<q data-attributes="{"lang":{"value":"fr","label":"Français"},"value":{"html":"Ce n'est pas avant l'âge de 14years old, because I could shoot, I was a bit athletic, but I wasn’t really a good player until I was 14year. I grew two inches, I was hoarding the tools, and that’s when I was like, okay, I got a chance to play in the NBA.”,”text”:”This n It wasn’t until I was 14, because I could shoot, I was a bit athletic, but I wasn’t really a good player until I was 14. I grew two inches, I was hoarding the tools, and that’s when I was like, okay, I have a chance to play in the NBA.”}}”>It wasn’t until I was 14 because I could shoot, I was a bit athletic, but I wasn’t really a good player before that age. I grew two inches, I was hoarding the tools and that’s when I was like, okay, I have a chance to play in the NBA.
Almost six years have passed and Mathurin is about to make his professional debut, and he has a writing career ahead of him.
I want to have a big impact in Montreal. I would like to train one day. I always wanted to build a basketball school. So that young people can play.
A place where his name might be inscribed there, literally.
