J
osie Matz is the best all-around basketball player in the history of Wilson high school. That’s a mouthful and it comes from the school through Athletic Director John Portenier and principal Dan Besett. Now, let’s talk about her inspirational qualities since she is the recipient of the 2017 Tom Names Inspirational Award, a $5,000 college scholarship.
Let’s start with the final game of her Junior season. She sustained a season-ending knee injury (ACL Tear) and it could have been the end of her career. With relentless rehabilitation, however, she came back for her Senior year and “car-ried” her team to the Sweet 16. Josie battled double teams all year, scored when needed, handed out assists
when needed, was a leader on
and off the court.
It was a fitting finale for Matz. She was the first girl, or boy, to score over 1,000 points and dish out over 1,000 points in her Ram career. She had 1,662 points and 508 assists in leading Wilson to the state tourna-ment for 4 straight years. She averaged 21.2 points per game, was All-League for 4 years, was All Area for two years, was All-State one year, and was Wilson’s Athlete of the Year twice. She was a 3-year Varsity Soccer player as well.
On the court she was a dynamic scorer, shooting with a 46% field goal stat and knocking down 68 three-pointers with 35% accuracy beyond the arc. She leads her school in almost every statistical record and is credited with Wilson’s 98% productive mark per minute of play.
According to her school, however, her true strength is the way she gets others involved and takes the pressure away from her teammates. She is a captain (three times) and her leadership on and off the court makes her an asset to the program. She not only is a multi-sport athlete but she volun-teers with Wilson’s Unified Special Olympic basketball team which won a state championship. She also carries a 3.8 grade point average.
Here is her best recommendation of all and it’s truly inspirational: “She does the little things that lead to BIG things for Wilson.”
Let’s start with the final game of her Junior season. She sustained a season-ending knee injury (ACL Tear) and it could have been the end of her career. With relentless rehabilitation, however, she came back for her Senior year and “car-ried” her team to the Sweet 16. Josie battled double teams all year, scored when needed, handed out assists
when needed, was a leader on
and off the court.
It was a fitting finale for Matz. She was the first girl, or boy, to score over 1,000 points and dish out over 1,000 points in her Ram career. She had 1,662 points and 508 assists in leading Wilson to the state tourna-ment for 4 straight years. She averaged 21.2 points per game, was All-League for 4 years, was All Area for two years, was All-State one year, and was Wilson’s Athlete of the Year twice. She was a 3-year Varsity Soccer player as well.
On the court she was a dynamic scorer, shooting with a 46% field goal stat and knocking down 68 three-pointers with 35% accuracy beyond the arc. She leads her school in almost every statistical record and is credited with Wilson’s 98% productive mark per minute of play.
According to her school, however, her true strength is the way she gets others involved and takes the pressure away from her teammates. She is a captain (three times) and her leadership on and off the court makes her an asset to the program. She not only is a multi-sport athlete but she volun-teers with Wilson’s Unified Special Olympic basketball team which won a state championship. She also carries a 3.8 grade point average.
Here is her best recommendation of all and it’s truly inspirational: “She does the little things that lead to BIG things for Wilson.”