WASHINGTON, D.C. – Former Lipscomb men's basketball guard and 2019 ASUN Player of the Year Garrison Mathews agreed to a two-way contract to join the Washington Wizards Thursday night following the NBA Draft.
“I was honestly in shock when my agent called and told me the news,” Mathews said. “We had been hearing some different things about possibly getting taken in the draft, but when I didn’t go, we thought we would hear something tomorrow morning. But he called me as I was getting in bed, so of course I couldn’t go to sleep after that.
“It means so much to me to get this opportunity after working so hard to get here.”
Mathews will get his chance to become the first Bison to ever play in the National Basketball Association. He will get more details on Friday from the Wizards, but expects to head out next week to prepare for the NBA Summer League, which begins on July 5.
“It would mean a lot to me to be able to represent the school that has supported me throughout my career and made me into the person I am today,” Mathews said. “I’ll be so happy when the day comes that I get to do it for Lipscomb.”
Mathews closed out his unbelievable career in New York City after leading the Bisons to the championship game of the NIT inside Madison Square Garden.
The ASUN Player of the Year and three-time All-ASUN selection completed a four-year career that included two ASUN Championships (regular season and tournament), the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth and four consecutive road wins in the NIT. In addition, Mathews garnered three NABC All-District honors and an AP All-American honorable mention.
The Franklin, Tennessee native finished as Lipscomb’s leader in the DI era in scoring (2,478), field goals attempted (1,693), 3-pointers made (360), 3-pointers attempted (963), free throws made (608) and free throws attempted (771).
Mathews also finished as the ASUN’s second all-time leading scorer, only 57 points from Centenary’s Willie Jackson (1980-84), and broke the conference mark for three-point field goals. His 13 career ASUN Player of the Week awards were five more than any other player in league history.
For the second straight year Mathews led the ASUN in scoring at 20.8 PPG and was one of only three players in Division I to average at 20.0 PPG in each of the last three seasons. His 750 total points were 13th most in the country.
He reached double figures in 32 of 35 games played this season, including 21 games with 20 or more and five with more than 30 points. He broke his own DI single-game program record with 44 points on the road in a comeback win at N.C. State to propel the Bisons to New York City.
“I am glad to have it finalized,” Mathews said. “The last month has been crazy traveling from city to city competing with great players and really not knowing if I was going to make it or not, so it’s great to finally have a little bit of closure on where I’m going.
“Now I can focus on playing and getting better.”
NBA teams can have up to two two-way contract players per season. These signees can spend up to 45 days in the NBA while spending the rest of the season in the G League. They will get the G League base salary plus the prorated league minimum for each day they are on an active NBA roster.
The Wizards went 32-50 and finished 11th in the league standings this season. They selected Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura with the ninth overall pick in Thursday’s draft and then followed with Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield at No. 42 via the Philadelphia 76ers.
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