Matt Howard

Matt Howard (born January 23, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League. Previously, he played college basketball with the Butler Bulldogs. He helped lead the 2009–10 and 2010–11 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball teams to the championship game of the NCAA tournament.

This article is about the basketball player. For the baseball player, see Matt Howard (baseball). For the British officer, see Matthew Howard-Gibbon.

Matt Howard
Personal information
Born (1989-01-23) January 23, 1989
Connersville, Indiana, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High schoolConnersville
(Connersville, Indiana)
CollegeButler (2007–2011)
NBA draft2011: undrafted
Playing career2011–2018
PositionPower forward
Career history
2011–2012Olympiacos
2012EnBW Ludwigsburg
2012–2013Chorale Roanne Basket
2013–2014ratiopharm Ulm
2014–2017Strasbourg IG
2017–2018Hapoel Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards

He is a three-time Academic All-American and the 2011 Men's Basketball Academic All-America of the Year as well as the 2009 Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year. He was a 2009 All-American honorable mention by the Associated Press. He was the 2010 and 2011 Horizon League men's basketball tournament MVP as well as a four-time Horizon League men's basketball tournament All-Tournament selection. He won the 2011 Lou Henson Award as well as the 2010 & 2011 Elite 88 Awards.[lower-alpha 1] He is the Horizon League record-holder for career free throws made and attempted.

High school
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Matt Howard
PF		 Connersville, Indiana Connersville High School (IN) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Aug 17, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NA
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 91, 26 (PF), 7 (IN)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Butler 2007 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  • "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 26, 2011.

The 6-8 Howard finished his high school career as the leading scorer and rebounder in Connersville history. As a senior in 2006-07, he averaged 23.6 points and 14.4 rebounds per game after averaging 19.1 points and 10.6 rebounds as a junior. He led the state of Indiana in rebounding as a high school senior in 2006–07 while playing for Connersville High School. Howard ranked second in the state in blocked shots as a junior.[1] Howard is regarded as the first top-100 recruit in the history of Butler.[2][3]

College career

As a freshman, Howard was the Horizon League newcomer of the year.[3] That year, he was prominent in the 2007–08 Bulldogs's first round victory in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament over South Alabama.[4] As a junior, he helped the 2009–10 Bulldogs make it to the championship game of the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.[3] In February of the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Howard was hit by an elbow that caused extensive bleeding on his face.[5][6] In the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, he scored a tipin as time expired to give Butler a 60–58 victory over Old Dominion in their second-round game.[7] Then in the third round, he made the winning free throw with 0.8 seconds left to clinch a 71–70 victory over the number-one seeded Pittsburgh Panthers.[8] Although Howard made only 5 three point shots in his first three seasons, as a senior he developed an outside shot, making over 40% on over 100 attempts.[9]

He earned Academic All-American selection in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and was named the 2011 Men's Basketball Academic All-America of the Year as well as the 2009 Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year.[10] He was a 2009 All-American honorable mention by the Associated Press.[11] By helping Butler earn consecutive trips to the final four, Howard earned consecutive Elite 88 Awards in 2010 and 2011.[12] He was also one of ten finalists for the 2011 men's basketball Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.[13]

In 2010, he was chosen as "honorable mention" in a list of the smartest athletes in sports by Sporting News.[14]

During the 2010 Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament he earned the MVP Award.[15] Then, during the 2011 Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament he repeated as MVP and became the first person to become a four-time Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament All-Tournament selection.[16] He won the 2011 Lou Henson Award as the mid-major player of the year.[17] Howard was the 2007–8 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year.[18] He was a second team All-Horizon League selection that year and first team selection the following three seasons.[19] He was a Horizon League All-Defensive Team selection as a sophomore and a senior.[20] He holds the Horizon League records for most free throws made and attempted (both league only and all games).[21] He led the Horizon League in field goal percentage as a sophomore with a 55.0 average.[22]

College statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Butler 342524.5.583.000.7805.500.850.711.0912.26
2008–09 Butler 323228.2.550.222.7736.751.120.781.5014.84
2009–10 Butler 383825.2.479.273.7845.160.790.580.6111.50
2010–11 Butler 373731.0.471.398.7927.761.431.140.6216.43

Source:

Professional career
Howard (right) at Olympiacos.

On July 28, 2011, Howard signed with Olympiacos of the Greek League.[23][24] In February 2012, Howard was released by Olympiacos and signed with EnBW Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga.[25] In July 2012, Howard was named to the Phoenix Suns roster for the 2012 Las Vegas Summer League, and joined Chorale Roanne Basket for the 2012–13 Pro A season. The team is based out of Roanne, France.[26][27]

In June 2013, Howard signed with ratiopharm Ulm of the German Basketball Bundesliga.[28]

On July 7, 2014, he signed with Strasbourg IG of the French LNB Pro A for the 2014–15 season.[29] On July 9, 2015, he signed a two-year contract extension with Strasbourg.[30]

On August 1, 2017, Howard signed with the Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv for the 2017–18 season.[31] On April 2, 2018, Howard recorded a season-high 20 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field, along with six rebounds in 85–80 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv.[32] Howard helped Hapoel to reach the 2018 Israeli League Final Four.

Playing style and personality

In a story immediately before the 2011 Final Four, Rick Reilly noted that Howard "looks more like a geeky band-camp RA than a possible NBA first rounder", but added:

The Bulldogs wouldn't be anywhere near Houston without Howard. He's the designated floor diver, the insatiable rebounder, the guy who sets the kind of picks that would stop an Amtrak train.... He's the thing you love most in a college basketball player — a guy who just wants to win and doesn't care who gets the credit. A guy who hits class by day and glass by night. A scabbed-knee grinder who finishes every game with his tank on E.[33]

He is also known for eccentricities both on and off the court. Howard's teammate Shelvin Mack told Reilly that Howard had six pairs of new shoes in his locker, but refused to wear them, preferring to stay with what Mack described as "ratty old ones". Howard also habitually rode a rusted-out bicycle to Butler's 6:00 am practices, regardless of the weather; during one 2011 ice storm, the handlebars bent under him while he was riding, causing him to fall onto the ice. He would say about this incident, "I fixed it. Just poured some WD-40 in there and bent them back. It's a little risky to ride, I guess, but I can't see buying a new one." He also has a habit of spoonerism with people's names; for example, he routinely calls Mack "Melvin Shack".[33]

Notes
  1. Now known as the Elite 90 Award. The numbering refers to the number of championship events sponsored by the NCAA across all three of its divisions, which was 88 in the 2009–2010 and 2010–11 school years and has since increased to 90.

References
  1. "54 Matt Howard". CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  2. Glier, Ray (March 23, 2008). "No Matter the Opponent, Stubborn Butler Plays at Its Own Speed. Today 28th of July 2011 he signed for Olympiacos". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  3. Evans, Thayer (April 5, 2010). "Butler Star Has a Changed Role". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  4. "EAST REGION; First-Half Run Lifts Butler". The New York Times. March 22, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  5. Smith, Erick (February 8, 2011). "Elbow leaves Butler forward Matt Howard bloodied". USAToday. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  6. Greene, Ryan (February 8, 2011). "Butler's Matt Howard suffers this season's bloodiest injury". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  7. "Butler advances just before time expires". ESPN. March 17, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  8. "Butler stuns No. 1 Pitt after foul-filled finish". ESPN. March 19, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  9. "Matt Howard #54 F". ESPN. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  10. "Matt Howard of Butler, Austin Meier of MSOE lead Capital One Academic All-America® Men's Basketball Teams". College Sports Information Directors of America. February 22, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  11. "2009 AP All-America teams". CBS Interactive. March 30, 2009. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  12. "Butler Meets VCU In National Semifinals". Butler University. April 1, 2011. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  13. "Moore Named Lowe's Senior CLASS Finalist: East Chicago native is one of 10 finalists from across the country". CBS Interactive. January 26, 2011. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
  14. "SN names the 20 smartest athletes in sports". Sporting News. September 27, 2010. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013.
  15. "Butler defeats Wright State for Horizon League Title". Horizon League. March 9, 2010. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  16. "Butler Snares NCAA Tournament Bid With 59–44 Win Over Milwaukee". Horizon League. March 9, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  17. "Butler To Face UConn For National Title". Butler University. April 3, 2011. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  18. "2010–11 Horizon League All-Sports Record Book" (PDF). Horizon League. p. 73.
  19. "2010–11 Horizon League All-Sports Record Book" (PDF). Horizon League. p. 84.
  20. "2010–11 Horizon League All-Sports Record Book" (PDF). Horizon League. p. 85.
  21. "2010–11 Horizon League All-Sports Record Book" (PDF). Horizon League. p. 91.
  22. "2010–11 Horizon League All-Sports Record Book" (PDF). Horizon League. p. 93.
  23. Brennan, Eamonn (July 28, 2011). "Matt Howard takes talents to Greece". ESPN. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
  24. "OLYMPIACOS signs rookie forward Howard". Euroleague Basketball. July 28, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
  25. "Matt Howard signs with team in Germany". The Indianapolis Star. February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  26. Habbas, Kristofer (July 7, 2012). "Phoenix Suns Summer League Roster And Schedule". SB Nation. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  27. "Roanne land Matt Howard". Eurobasket News. July 28, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  28. "Matt Howard kommt zu ratiopharm ulm". ratiopharm Ulm Official site (in German). June 21, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  29. "Matt Howard première recrue de la SIG" (in French). sigbasket.fr. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  30. "SIG Strabourg officially extends with Matt Howard until 2017". Sportando.com. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  31. "Matt Howard inks with Hapoel Tel Aviv". Sportando.com. August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  32. "Winner League, Game 22: Hapoel TA Vs M. Tel-Aviv". basket.co.il. April 2, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  33. Reilly, Rick (March 29, 2011). "Howard, Butler just keep on winning". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
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