Donte Mathis (born July 13, 1977)[1] is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Texas State Bobcats men's team.[2] He played college basketball for the Bobcats from 1995 to 1999.[3] Mathis played professionally in Europe for 13 years.[3]
Playing career
High school career
Mathis attended East Central High School in San Antonio, Texas. He was a starter during his senior season as his team achieved a 35–0 record and won the 1995 Class 5A boys basketball state championship.[4]
College career
Mathis was a four-year starter for the Bobcats under the direction of head coach Mike Miller.[5] He was the runner-up for the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year award during the 1995–96 season.[5]
The Bobcats won the conference and tournament championship during the 1996–97 season.[5] The team advanced to the first round of the 1997 NCAA tournament for the second tournament appearance in program history.[5] Mathis was selected to the All-Southland second team and was named by his coaches and teammates as the Bobcats' most valuable player.[5]
As a junior in the 1997–98 season, Mathis led his team in scoring with 18.6 points per game and was selected again as his team's most valuable player.[5] He was named to the All-Southland first team.[5]
In his 1998–99 senior season, Mathis led his team in scoring for a second consecutive year with 17.6 points per game as the Bobcats finished with a 19–9 record.[5] He was chosen as the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year and named to the All-Southland first team.[5] The Bobcats won their second Southland Conference championship.[5]
Mathis' career scoring record of 1,622 points ranks fourth highest in program history.[5] He also ranks 3rd in steals with 161, 10th in assists with 259 and 16th in rebounds with 567.[5] He is one of only four Bobcats players to have 1,300+ points, 500+ rebounds and 100+ steals.[5] Mathis was inducted into the Texas State Athletics Hall of Honor in 2020.[5]
Mathis played in Europe for 13 years where he spent the majority of his career in Italy for 11 seasons.[5] He played one season each in Germany and Slovenia.[7] Mathis won three championships.[5]
After his playing career ended in 2013, Mathis served as a clinician in partnership with Hakeem Olajuwon to develop basketball internationally, volunteered to provide outlets for student-athletes to earn collegiate scholarships and was a player development specialist for collegiate and professional athletes.[5]
Mathis began his coaching career as head coach and assistant athletic director at Texas Christian School of Houston, Texas, in 2017.[5] He led the team to the league championship quarterfinals in 2018 and the championship game in 2019.[2] Mathis coached for one season at Brentwood Christian School in Austin, Texas.[3]
On August 27, 2021, Mathis returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach for the Bobcats.[3] Head coach Terrence Johnson stated that Mathis' connection to Texan basketball prospects would help with the team's recruiting efforts.[3] He is responsible for mentoring the Texas State guards and oversees recruiting in East Texas, Houston, Louisiana and Arizona.[2]