Matt Mooney

Matthew Mooney (born February 7, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Canton Charge of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and South Dakota having transferred after his freshman year at Air Force.

Matt Mooney
Mooney in December 2018
No. 31 – Cleveland Cavaliers
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1995-02-07) February 7, 1995
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight199 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High schoolNotre Dame College Prep
(Niles, Illinois)
College
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2020Memphis Hustle
2020–presentCleveland Cavaliers
2020–present→Canton Charge
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-Big 12 (2019)
  • Big 12 All-Defensive Team (2019)
  • Big 12 All-Newcomer Team (2019)
  • 2× First-team All-Summit League (2017, 2018)
  • Summit League Transfer of the Year (2017)
  • Summit League All-Newcomer Team (2017)

Early life and high school career

Mooney has a younger brother Joe who is also a basketball player.[1] He attended Notre Dame College Prep and commuted two hours from Wauconda, Illinois to play under coach Tom Les.[2] Mooney was lightly recruited. He had two college offers coming out of high school and signed with Air Force.[1]

College career

Mooney averaged 6.9 points per game as a freshman at Air Force. However, he had trouble getting adjusted to the strictness of the military culture and experienced bullying. After the season, he opted to transfer.[1]

After sitting out a season, Mooney averaged 18.6 points per game as a sophomore for South Dakota, leading the team to a regular season championship. He was named to the First–team All-Summit League and newcomer of the year.[3] As a junior, Mooney averaged 18.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He was named to the First–team All-Summit League again. He had 31 points in a loss to TCU and 30 points in a loss to South Dakota State in the Summit League championship. Following the season, Mooney opted to transfer as a graduate student, selecting Texas Tech over offers from Northwestern and Creighton.[4]

Texas Tech was coming off a season in which the team reached the Elite Eight but lost some important pieces. Mooney averaged 11 points per game and shot 38 percent from behind the arc. He partnered with Jarrett Culver to help the team reach its first-ever Final Four.[5] Mooney scored 17 points in an upset of Gonzaga in the Elite Eight.[2] In Texas Tech's first Final Four appearance on April 6, 2019, Mooney scored 22 points in Texas Tech's 61-51 defeat of Michigan State to advance to the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game.[6] Texas Tech would lose the championship game to Virginia 85-77 in overtime. Mooney was then named to the 2019 All-Tournament Team.

Professional career

Memphis Hustle (2019–2020)

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Mooney joined the Atlanta Hawks' Summer League roster.[7][8]

On September 4, 2019, Mooney signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Memphis Grizzlies,[9] but was waived on October 14.[10] He was named to the roster of the Grizzlies’ NBA G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle.[11]

Cleveland Cavaliers (2020–present)

On January 15, 2020, Mooney was signed to a two-way contract by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Under the terms of the deal, he will split time between the Cavs and their G League affiliate, the Canton Charge.[12] He made his NBA debut on January 20, recording two points, a rebound and an assist in three minutes in a 106-86 loss to the New York Knicks.[13]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Cleveland 404.8.250.000–.8.3.5.3.5
Career 404.8.250.000–.8.3.5.3.5

References
  1. Van Dril, Eric (April 21, 2015). "Matt Mooney alleges bullying at Air Force Academy, plans to transfer". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  2. Mawicke, Megan (April 3, 2019). "Wauconda Native And Texas Tech's Matt Mooney Takes Long, Winding Road to Final Four". CBS. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  3. Garry, Mick (April 16, 2018). "It's official: Matt Mooney leaving South Dakota". Argus Leader. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  4. Borzello, Jeff (May 14, 2018). "South Dakota grad transfer Matt Mooney commits to Texas Tech". ESPN. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  5. Hawkins, Stephen (April 2, 2019). "Wauconda's Matt Mooney took a winding path to Texas Tech and the Final Four". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  6. "Texas Tech vs. Michigan State - Box Score - April 6, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
  7. "As some of you have heard, I've agreed to play with the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA summer league". Matt Mooney on Twitter. June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  8. "Atlanta Hawks Announce Summer League Roster". NBA.com. July 2, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  9. "Memphis Grizzlies sign Matt Mooney". NBA.com. September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  10. "Memphis Grizzlies sign Dusty Hannahs". NBA.com. October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  11. Langham, Geoff (November 4, 2019). "Memphis Hustle announce final roster". NBA.com. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  12. "Cavs Sign Matt Mooney to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  13. "Matt Mooney scores first NBA points with Cavaliers". KLBK. January 20, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
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