On Dec. 14, 2019, the Ducks battled the then-No. 5 Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor. With the score tied at 63, there was no question of who was going to get the ball in the final 12 seconds of the game. Payton Pritchard had scored the last nine Oregon points — all eyes were rested on the star. He drove into the paint and pulled up from the free throw line, but something unexpected happened. The ball was tipped on the way up, sending it flying sideways and out of Pritchard’s reach. Somebody else, suddenly, had a chance to win the game.
C.J. Walker deflected the ball outside to Anthony Mathis, who stood just shy of the large “M” marking center court. Mathis launched a three, the sound of the buzzer filling the air as the ball snapped through the net. The bench rushed Mathis as the 6-foot-3, 175-pound shooting guard pounded his chest in joy — he was an unexpected savior. The only problem was, he didn’t get the shot off in time.
The Ducks ended up completing the upset in overtime, but Mathis barely missed out on being the hero. Since then he’s shooting just 34% from beyond the arc. He hasn’t been in the starting lineup since Oregon’s loss to Washington State on Jan. 16. The swagger and rhythm he had at the beginning of the season seems to be lost, and Will Richardson has taken the role of Pritchard’s right-hand man in the backcourt.
When Mathis was in seventh grade, his single mother moved to Wyoming, but he elected to stay in West Linn, Oregon and move in with the Pritchard family. They lived under the same roof through high school, where the backcourt duo led the West Linn High School basketball team to three consecutive Oregon 6A state championships.
“We’ve played together our whole lives, so it’s pretty familiar, but it’s refreshing to play with my brother again,” Mathis said prior to the 2019-20 season.
When it came time to choose a school, Mathis got interest from Oregon but never received an offer. He wasn’t included in the 2015 ESPN top 100 list, getting offers from Oregon State, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of Portland and New Mexico. He decided to leave his home state and take his talents to Albuquerque.
Mathis appeared in 25 games for New Mexico his freshman year in 2015-16 but averaged only 6.6 minutes per game. The team went 17-15, finishing fourth in the Mountain West Conference.
After playing just 10 games and picking up a medical redshirt for a season-ending injury in 2016-17, he finished his career at New Mexico strong. He appeared in over 30 games the next two seasons, with his best season coming in 2017-18, his redshirt sophomore season. A 47.3% 3-point percentage led his team to a 19-15 record and a third place finish in the MWC. He then averaged over 30 minutes a game and broke the Lobos school record for made 3-pointers in a season his redshirt junior season.
Again, it came time for Mathis to choose a new school as a graduate transfer, but he had many more options the second time around, including interest from Kansas, Boston College, Houston, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and, of course, Oregon. Despite the plethora of powerhouse schools, it was an easy choice for Mathis.
“Ultimately I just wanted to come back home and play in front of my friends and family,” Mathis told SB Nation. “[To be] with my brother Payton, it was a great opportunity for me to play here at Oregon.”
Back in his home state, Mathis got off to a hot start in his final season of college basketball. Through the first 10 games, he put up a 52.6% 3-point percentage, highlighted by a 30-point game in which he went 9-11 from three against Boise State. He and Pritchard once again seemed to be the standouts of a thriving team.
However, Mathis has struggled in the second half of the year. He’s not shooting nearly as much, and when he does shoot, he’s not as consistent as he was in the first half of the year. But Mathis’ value in the second half of the year goes beyond the stat sheet. He’s committed to winning and doesn’t expect to be a star.
“Obviously it hurts not seeing them go down for a little while,” Mathis said. “I don’t really care how many points I get or shots I get up. I just want to win.”
Without any interest from the NBA, this could be his last season of basketball. Some players might be frustrated with a lack of playing time at this point in the season, but Mathis understands his role on the team, and he’s quick to compliment the younger players starting over him.
Regardless of how the rest of the season plays out for Mathis, his loyalty to his team and home state is certainly admirable.
“Being able to play for my home state is something I’ve always dreamt about doing,” Mathis said.
