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1 on 1 with Mississippi State senior forward Cameron Matthews

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby:Paul Jones•about 9 hours•

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Cameron Matthews (Photo by Wesley Hale, USA Today Sports)

Cameron Matthews has already had a successful career at Mississippi State and there’s still a lot left to accomplish for the Bulldog senior forward. Currently in his fifth season in Starkville, Matthews has helped the program reach back-to-back NCAA Tournaments with sights set on a third straight trip this March.

There’s also been several individual accolades along the way for the Olive Branch native. But for Matthews, he’s always carried a team-first attitude on and off the court.

Entering this weekend, Matthews is averaging 7.5 points a game and ranks second on the team with 6.9 rebounds a game. He continues to add to his school-record of 247 career steals and currently leads the team with 85 assists.

Recently, Maroon and White Daily spoke with Matthews 1 on 1 about his tenure at State and other topics:

Q: You injured your foot a couple of months ago and head coach Chris Jans mentioned that they try to give you some practice breaks due to that. How’s that situation with your foot now?
Matthews: I’ve been doing better. Our trainers have done an amazing job with my treatment and everything and things like that. I am getting closer and closer to 100 percent every day.

Q: I realize you were disappointed with the way you played against South Carolina and you have experienced slumps before. How do you break out of it?
Matthews: First and foremost, I just pray and then I have extensive talks with my family and things like that. Just having really good teammates and good coaches to talk me through it and get me through the rough times and being the best teammate I can be and trying to get wins.

Q: When you watch the film of that South Carolina game, what corrections do you focus on the most?
Matthews: Personally, probably limit the turnovers and try to be more aggressive. Not trying to be in a play-making mode all the time and also making my teammates better.

Q: The last two seasons this program got off to slow starts in the SEC. That hasn’t been the case this year. How different is that going down the second half of the SEC season?
Matthews: Even with those rough starts back then, I felt like the games we did lose were very winnable games, probably just 1-2 plays that determined the outcome. So every year has been the same but this year I guess we’ve been getting the job done a little more in the first half of the (SEC) schedule.

Q: What’s different about this team compared to the other teams you were on at State?
Matthews: The offensive options that we have. We have a lot of options we can go through and a lot of guys that can get going. Each night it’s never the same person and I feel like that’s the biggest difference we have.

Q: What’s your go-to place to eat in Starkville?
Matthews: I would probably say Bin 612 and I like two yard birds and spinach dip.

Q: Who has been the toughest players to guard in your time in the SEC?
Matthews: Of all the guys that have been in this league, I really don’t remember being the main guy to guard them and I’ve mostly been the secondary defender. But maybe the past few years, I feel like my best matchups with (Jaemyn) Brakefield of Ole Miss and (Jaylin) Williams of Auburn.

Q: Besides yourself, who is the funniest guy on the team?
Matthews: Probably Jeremy Foumena. He’s a character now.

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