Transfer to Gonzaga works for ex-Cal guard
Jordan Mathews stood against the wall in a small, crowded locker room in San Jose, two victories from the Final Four and far removed from his time at Cal.
Mathews, who typically has avoided talking about his decision to leave for Gonzaga last year as a graduate transfer, offered some insight into the move Wednesday. Essentially, he didn’t want to play for head coach Cuonzo Martin anymore.
“Sometimes, things are out of your control,” Mathews said. “But in dealing with Coach Martin, some other guys will tell you it’s not the easiest thing in the world. For me, personally, it was really tough.
“I had to make a decision to either stay and endure that for another year or leave. And I decided to go.”
Mathews was recruited to Cal by then-head coach Mike Montgomery and played one season (2013-14) for him. Mathews averaged more than 13 points per game in his two seasons under Martin as Cal’s top three-point shooter.
Mathews, the son of former USF head coach Phil Mathews, dismissed any suggestion his departure was linked to the Bears’ offense.
“It wasn’t so much what (Martin) expected; it was more the way he taught was just difficult, different,” Mathews said. “... After a while, I decided I needed to find something else.”
Mathews began thinking about transferring after Cal’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Hawaii last year. He went home for spring break, had a long talk with his parents and eventually decided to leave.
He quickly found his place at Gonzaga. Mathews isn’t shooting especially well — 39.2 percent on threes this season, compared with 41.6 percent last year and 44.3 percent as a sophomore — but he’s averaging 10.7 points for the West Regional’s top seed.
Gonzaga takes a 34-1 record into Thursday’s regional semifinal game against West Virginia.
Mathews followed his former team from afar this season. Cal’s program is in turmoil, with Martin’s departure for Missouri and Ivan Rabb annoucing Wednesday he’s bolting for the NBA draft.
Plus, potential candidates Randy Bennett (St. Mary’s) and Eric Musselman (Nevada) reportedly withdrew their names from consideration for the coaching vacancy. Mathews, meantime, has no regrets. “It was a very tough decision, but it’s paid off more than I ever could have imagined,” he said.