Georgia Tech forward Christian Matthews will transfer after one season. A perimeter player, Matthews played limited minutes and then was apart from the team for the final nine games of the season for personal reasons.
Matthews had trouble getting playing time this season, playing a total of 27 minutes in Tech’s first 15 ACC games before his separation from the team. He appeared in five of the 15. He was a high-scoring player coming out of high school and showed scoring touch at Tech, but had trouble meeting coach Josh Pastner’s standards on defense.
He played in 15 games, averaging 3.4 points and 7.3 minutes per game. He scored a career-high 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting against Tennessee in December.
“Christian was an integral part of our depth for a good portion of last season, but we support his decision and want him to do what is best for him and his future,” Pastner said in a statement.
Following the first game that he was not with the team, at Notre Dame on Feb. 26, Pastner said that he thought Matthews would return this season and said it was on a day-to-day basis.
“Right now, there’s more important things that he needs to focus on, and that’s more important to me than basketball,” Pastner said.
Matthews, from Clinton, Md., signed with Tech and then-coach Brian Gregory in November 2015. After Gregory’s dismissal and Pastner’s hire, he chose to stay with Tech.
With Matthews transferring, Tech has six returning players. With New York point guard Jose Alvarado signed and Oklahoma shooting guard Curtis Haywood committed, that leaves Pastner five more scholarships that he can use.
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