WVU F Emmitt Matthews: ‘I Came Back to Win Games’

WVU F Emmitt Matthews was asked about his 20-point performance after a win over No. 11 Iowa State on Wednesday night. Matthews made it clear he didn’t come back to West Virginia for his individual goals.

“We won. I came back here to win games,” Matthews said. “I didn’t come back to average 20 points. I didn’t come back to score a bunch of buckets. I came back here to try to do something special with this team.”

Matthews, a fifth-year senior, spent his first three years of college at West Virginia before transferring back home to Washington. Despite leaving the team in the transfer portal, there were no bridges burnt. WVU head coach Bob Huggins actually would stay up to watch Matthews play on the west coast.

Matthews’ performance against Iowa State isn’t something that Huggins is surprised about.

“It’s the same thing I’ve seen for five years now,” Huggins said. “It’s really six because I watched him play at Washington. I stayed up late just to watch him play.”

Matthews transferred back to his original school last spring and has become a huge part of leading this team.

The 6-foot-7 forward came back to win games and that’s exactly what West Virginia is doing recently. The Mountaineers are victors in five of their last seven games, defeating the likes of Iowa State, TCU, Auburn and others. This season has been a roller coaster of a ride for the team but Matthews is trying to go step by step.

“Obviously, we’ve been off to a slow start in the Big 12 but we’re just trying to correct it all,” Matthews said.

Matthews just has seven remaining regular season games in his collegiate career with the postseason play looming afterward. Matthews looks to get this program back into the NCAA Tournament as he planned to do when he came back.