Saturday, May 3, 2008

Houston Junior to Visit UNM

By Mark Smith
Journal Staff Writer
    With his associate head coaching spot looking secure, it's time for Steve Alford to shift his focus to a different Staff.
    On Friday night, Matt Staff, a 6-foot-8 wing from Houston, was scheduled to fly to Albuquerque for an unofficial recruiting visit.
    Jimmy Hicks of RCSsports.com said Staff, who is just completing his junior year at Houston Memorial High School, is looking to sign a letter of intent this fall for the 2009-10 season.
    "He's a face-up 4-man (power forward), who can really stroke that thing," Hicks told the Journal on Friday. "He can play the 3 (wing) offensively in college. Defensively, he's used to guarding a 4. His high school team only averaged about 40-some points a game, but he averaged about 19 points.
    "He's very consistent. He knows what he can do and what he can't do. A lot of high-majors are flirting with him."
    Staff also plays for Rick Nelson's Houston Elite AAU program. The coach says "Matthew's my man. He will be a Division I factor immediately. I say that because Matthew Staff will make everyone around him better because he's so basketball savvy."
    Nelson says Staff is impressed with the UNM coaches, particularly assistant Chris Walker, a former AAU coach in Houston. This weekend, Staff and his parents are also scheduled to visit with Alford and associate head coach Craig Neal— the latter announcing this week that he wasn't pursuing an assistant's job with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he was a candidate.
    "Having Chris there is a factor," Nelson said. "You want somebody who you trust taking care of a kid when he leaves home to go to college."
    Hicks says Staff "is one of those kids who will be another steal, if New Mexico can get him ... The big wolves haven't come after (Staff) yet, but all the mid-majors are on him and several high-majors are flirting with him. They will definitely be coming. It really helps New Mexico to get him on campus there early in the year."
    Nelson says a lot of schools are interested in Staff, including Utah, Baylor, Texas A&M and "just about every Ivy League school."
    Scouting services say Staff is a heady player with a great shooting touch. He can step out and hit the 3 or score off the dribble. He's not incredibly athletic, but Nelson says he makes big-time athletes look even more gifted.
    "When he's on the floor, he makes an athletic kid look really, really athletic," Nelson said. "You either run into kids who are really athletic, or are kids who can score or are kids with a great feel for the game. Matt can jump, but he's not the most athletic kid. But he makes up for that by making all the plays that make the athletic kid look really good."
    Nelson says he's also a model student-athlete and has very good grades.
    "He comes from great parents. He's a great kid and he's like family to me," Nelson said. "He's the kind of kid you want to take your grandmother to the store. He will do it the right way in college.
    "His parents make sure they stay on top grades, he's a great kid with the books who comes from a high academic school. Like I said, he's my man."
    Staff played on the same AAU team as Lobo signee Curtis Dennis last summer, helping Dennis make a big name for himself.
    "Dennis is a great scorer, but he's a guy Matthew made look so good," Nelson said. "He set him up by hitting shots, drawing the defense. He's great on the one-dribble pull-up. He opens everything up for the cutters."
    Hicks' service has Staff rated among his top 10 players in Houston. Other services have him listed as one of the state's top 20 players.
    Hicks has Houston guard Jamal Fenton, who has given a verbal commitment to UNM, ranked No. 5 in the city.