Jordan Mathews transfers to Gonzaga

Cal transfer Jordan Mathews announced late Thursday night he plans on enrolling in Gonzaga University for his final season of eligibility.

Mathews has completed his undergraduate degree at Cal, so he will eligible to play immediately next season. The announcement became less of a surprise after Mathews cancelled his visit to N.C. State.

The pick up is a huge one for Gonzaga, which had an open scholarship to give and has now demonstrated to be a solid destination for transfers looking for new homes. Mathews will follow in the footsteps of Byron Wesley as he searches for a deep run into the NCAA Tournament.

Mathews was the third-leading scorer for the Bears last season. He averaged 13.5 points per game, and has demonstrated a knack for the outside shot his collegiate career, hitting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc.

He also had his fair share of big games during big games last season. In a win against Arizona last season, Mathews scored 28 points, fueled by hitting 5-of-10 from long range. In Cal’s loss to Hawaii in the NCAA Tournament last season, Mathews was the lone offensive bright spot on an otherwise abysmal team showing. He led his team with 23 points in the game.

The addition of Mathews will also give Mark Few some flexibility with the backcourt. Nigel Williams-Goss, Silas Melson, Josh Perkins were all expected to gather a large chunk of minutes, backed up by Zack Norvell and Bryan Alberts to a certain extent.

Mathews will most likely be a starter, as it is hard to imagine him choosing to come to a school otherwise. At 6’3, he is a couple inches short to jam into the three spot, and he isn’t known for his defensive prowess. It will be interesting to see how Few shakes this lineup out, and how the minutes end up distributed.