Despite holding offers from multiple top programs across the Midwest, Matthew Mors had a good idea where he wanted to play college basketball early in the recruiting process.
The senior power forward from South Dakota knew Madison was the right place for him after an official visit to Wisconsin last September.
When it was time to make a decision, Mors, a three-star prospect, told BadgerBlitz.com that his relationship with the UW coaching staff is what motivated him to commit last fall.
“I think just the early relationship that I built with Coach (Greg) Gard and Coach (Joe) Krabbenhoft, that's what really stood out,” Mors told BadgerBlitz.com. “And I didn’t have that anywhere else or at any other school. What really put it all together is when I made my official visit. I got to be around the guys and we went out to Coach Gard’s house for a team meal. Being around them, it just made me realize how much I resemble those guys.
"I could see myself being a Wisconsin Badger right then and there. I didn’t waste any time. The next day on the way home, I told my parents that's where I am going. There is no doubt in my mind and there has not been since.”
Mors, 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, has stayed in close contact with the coaching staff since his commitment.
“I talk to both Coach Gard and then Coach Krabbenhoft," Mors said. "I talk to them weekly, maybe every two weeks. But, I mean, we keep in contact, whether it's phone calls, letters, texts. I'm really, really close with both of them.”
Gard and company have put together a solid 2021 recruiting class, which currently ranks No. 21 in the country. Mors, Chucky Hepburn and Chris Hodges have been committed for some time, and the staff has been searching for one more prospect to add to the senior class.
Mors said that he is using social media to try and recruit players to Madison.
“I was doing that, and I do the same thing when some guys get offers. I'm retweeting and doing all that kind of stuff," Mors said. "Hopefully we can find a couple more guys to help us because we think that we can do something that is really, really special.”
In previous interviews with BadgerBlitz.com, Hepburn and Hodges both said the current commits are a tight-knit group. Mors said that the three prospects are talking on a consistent basis.
“Yeah, we talk quite often, whether it's on Snap(chat) or just messages through texting," Mors said. "And then we all obviously follow each other's social media accounts. I think we're all really close and we are confident that we can help Wisconsin do something special.”
Mors, who averaged 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals as a junior, chose not to play in the summer AAU session. Instead, he stayed at home and improved his game.
“I didn't play at all this summer for my AAU team," Mors said. "So I stayed at home and I did a lot of working out on my own, like going to the gym twice a day. My dad has the key so I can get in whenever I want. And so that was really nice. I really made some improvements on my game.”
The Badgers won a Big Ten regular-season title in March and have put together exciting 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes. Mors, a two-time Gatorade South Dakota Boys Basketball Player of the Year, has high hopes for the future of the program.
“I think our future is high," Mors said. "I think we could make some Final Four runs and hopefully get a shot at a National Championship because, ultimately, that's our biggest goal. I've always dreamed of since I was a little kid to be playing in the National Championship in front of thousands and thousands of people, and then it's broadcasted on national television. So it's been something I've been dreaming of since I was a little kid, and I think that's what we're all working for. I think that we could do it.”
Wisconsin fans can be 100 percent confident that Mors will be an impact player for UW in the future.
“No looking back," he said. "I'm not going anywhere else.”
