Film analysis: basketball commit Matthew Mors

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team had, what we in the business like to call, a monster recruiting weekend during the Northwestern football game. First to announce his commitment was 2021 4-star PG Chucky Hepburn and then, mere hours later, 2021 4-star big man Matthew Mors pulled the trigger and committed to Wisconsin as well.

Mors is rated, by the 247 Composite, as the No. 115 player in the country, the No. 22 power forward and the No. 1 player in South Dakota. He is the No. 119 rated player in the country and the No. 27 power forward by Rivals and he is unrated by ESPN currently because they’ve only ranked the top-60 players in the 2021 class.

Mors had offers from Nebraska, Creighton, Iowa, TCU, Colorado, Iowa State, South Dakota and South Dakota State. He was scheduled to take an official visit to Creighton on Oct. 4th, but that is probably being cancelled now that he has committed to Wisconsin.

The Badgers recruiting class for 2021 is ranked No. 1 on 247Sports AND on Rivals too (!!!). Look, everyone knows it’s early. We all know this, ok? But this is still an impressive feat for Greg Gard (and Joe Krabbenhoft who has been a stone cold killer on the recruiting trail and is probably due for a raise) and the program. As Evan Flood has been known to say, “talent follows talent” and the Badgers are collecting a very nice looking group of talent for the next two classes.

Let’s breakdown what Mors can do on the court!

Physically

First, the basics. Mors stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 220 pounds. That is a pretty good frame for a Big Ten player, but he could probably stand to pack on a few more pounds if he is truly going to play power forward and have to bang down low for rebounds against Michigan State and Purdue and, I don’t know, other teams get rebounds too.

Mors has been playing varsity basketball since he was in seventh grade and Jim Polzin notes that he was 6-foot-4 and 225-pounds as a 13-year-old. He has always been a big kid and, honestly, he’s probably always been one of the biggest kids in his conference. He’ll definitely have to learn how to play against people that are just as big, and bigger, than he is once he gets to Madison.

That being said, it looks like he plays pretty aggressively on the court in taking the ball to basket and finishing through contact so I’d imagine getting hit won’t bother him any.

Skill set

The most enticing skill that Mors brings to the table is his shooting. I’m trying to think of the last wing the Badgers had that would qualify as a high volume shooter. Mors, in the highlight video below which is a lot dunks and finishing at the rim, shows the ability to pull up and knock down threes.

There are also a few highlights of him making a move on a defender and pulling up and hitting a jumper. Which...be still my beating heart. Mors is much more of a modern wing than anybody on the Badgers roster currently.

He, as mentioned above, can take dudes down into the weight room and get two points at the tin. Most of his finishes in that video are over or through a defender and that is also pretty nice.

The fit

Mors is pretty much the perfect fit for the Badgers. He brings a lot of skills to the table that aren’t in abundance on the roster and he seems like the kind of kid who will buy into what Greg Gard is selling.

“I got to hang out with the guys and I found out that they’re a lot like who I am, and I value that,” Mors said.

He’s also just a really good player. Here’s an excerpt from the Yankton (S.D.) Daily Press & Dakotan:

Mors, a three-time Class AA all-state selection (twice on the first team), is already the all-time leading scorer in YHS history and will enter his junior season with 1,719 career points.

He averaged 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists per game last season as a sophomore, and helped the Bucks reach the South Dakota State Tournament. As a freshman, Mors helped Yankton capture the Class AA state championship in 2018.

Mors has been playing varsity basketball for so long that he has a very high floor. You know what you are going to get with him. That also means that he might not have the highest ceiling, but he certainly seems like a player that could contribute immediately as a freshman and again for a full four years.