No. 25-ranked high school hoops recruit, Matthew Cleveland, picks FSU over KU, others
Matthew Cleveland, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound senior shooting guard from Pace Academy in Atlanta, who is ranked No. 25 in the recruiting Class of 2021 by Rivals.com, has verbally committed to Florida State, he announced Tuesday on Twitter.
Cleveland chose FSU over Kansas, Michigan, Stanford and North Carolina State.
He averaged 22.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.9 steals a game as a junior for state-champion Pace Academy. He had single-game highs of 42 points, 20 rebounds, nine steals and eight assists.
Missouri was on his original list of schools along with Georgia, Georgia Tech and others.
“What I love about Matt is his combination of versatility and athleticism,” said Jason Jordan, director of basketball recruiting for Sports Illustrated. “He checks off a lot of boxes as an off-guard on both ends of the floor. He’s a slasher extraordinaire who finds lanes that most players don’t see in order to make his way to the basket.
“He’s also a capable perimeter threat and has improved in that area over the last year and he has a high basketball IQ and makes smart plays on both ends. He’ll be an instant impact player.”
Cleveland told SI.com that he recently heard from North Carolina and Kentucky, but indicated to the schools it was too late for them to get involved.
“Getting to the basket, high intensity, being able to score, and just getting my teammates involved,” Cleveland told 247sports.com when asked to describe his game.
KU has landed one player thus far in the recruiting Class of 2021: Zach Clemence, a 6-10 senior from Sunrise Christian Academy, who is ranked No. 29 in the Class of 2021 by Rivals.com. KU also has landed a walk-on combo guard in Keon Coleman, a senior football/basketball player from Opelousas, Louisiana.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 2:55 PM with the headline "No. 25-ranked high school hoops recruit, Matthew Cleveland, picks FSU over KU, others."
