Unexpected journey brings Matthews, Stevenson back together at WVU

Life can take you unexpected places sometimes.

That’s exactly how childhood friends Emmitt Matthews and Erik Stevenson feel after reuniting on the other side of the country for their final season of college basketball.

The pair have known each other since they were in what Matthews estimates as second or third grade and have remained in touch ever since.

“It’s crazy that’s been my guy. The journey is crazy. You never know where you can go, who you are you going to run into,” the fifth year senior season.

The pair both grew up in Washington and played on their first team together in the sixth grade. In high school, they played on the same AAU teams but it seemed destined that the two would go their separate ways. Stevenson would sign with Wichita State and took a path that led him to transfer to Washington and South Carolina before Gamecocks head coach Frank Martin was relieved of his duties.

That forced Stevenson to explore his options for his final season and after the West Virginia coaching staff was able to see him up close in a contest where he scored 22 points as a sophomore his abilities were still fresh in their mind.

Matthews, on the other hand, started his career with the Mountaineers and spent three seasons with the program before electing to transfer back home to Washington. After his most productive college season averaging 11 points, he also wanted to explore a transfer and had a possible return to West Virginia always in the back of his mind.

The two friends realized that the possibility to play together for a final season was certainly in play and West Virginia could provide that. Matthews already knew what to expect, while Stevenson just needed an official visit to campus in order to solidify things with him.

“We talked a bunch after Frank got fired and next thing I know I was on a plane to come up here Friday night on an official visit and that was it right there,” Stevenson said.

For Matthews, there wasn’t really much convincing to get him to return to where he had already found plenty of success. And while Stevenson was planning to come to Morgantown regardless of what Matthews decided to go, there was certainly was appeal to playing together once more.

So Matthews elected to come back to Morgantown and now the pair will be able to play with each other for the first time since their days in high school. On the floor, Matthews describes the two as fire and ice with how different their demeanors are.

“He’s fiery he’s got a fire under him for sure. He’s been like that his whole life. Eric is a closed book but once it opens you get all the chapters in one page,” he said. “When we were playing younger, he’s that fire guy, I was that ice guy I try to keep things mellow and calm and he’s ready to run through a wall.”

Now, both Washington natives are prepared to make the most of their final year together. Something that neither could have imagined even last year.

The pair participated in a photo shoot during their senior years in high school standing next to each other, palming the basketball. It was a good memory for each.

And West Virginia has allowed them the chance to relive it.

“We created that picture our senior year,” Matthews said.

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