Roughly 10 months ago, three guys all had a decision to make — play one more year, or call it quits in the college game. All three chose to return to the college ranks and to come to WVU for different reasons. On Saturday though, when they take their final walk onto the WVU Coliseum floor, their names — despite how much time they spent at West Virginia — will be remembered by many for years to come.
For every athlete whether it be high school or college, Senior Day is regarded as one full of smiles, tears, and reflection. But for West Virginia’s six seniors — three of which will have no eligibility remaining — Saturday’s pregame walk to center court will mean more. It will mean the final stop of a long journey fueled by a global pandemic and the introduction of the transfer portal. It will be the end to three journey’s which spanned multiple schools, multiple states, and multiple life lessons along the way.
Kedrian Johnson, Emmitt Matthews, and Erik Stevenson.
Those three guys have experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly of college basketball. On Saturday, they will all be saying goodbye to West Virginia, but more importantly to college basketball for good.
“You spend so much time with these guys you hate to see them go,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said of his senior class. “It’s a tough day. Particularly when you have guys you’ve had for four years.”
For Johnson, Matthews, and Stevenson, their path to West Virginia embodies the current state of college sports.
Matthews was your traditional recruit, coming to WVU as a freshman. He then used the transfer portal twice, leaving for Washington before coming back to West Virginia. Johnson was a JUCO transfer, rising from the ranks of junior college basketball to the Division I level. And then Stevenson was the guy who racked up frequent-flyer miles, calling four schools home in five years of college hoops.
This time three years ago, this trio was in a very different place. Matthews was a sophomore at West Virginia, getting ready for the Big 12 Tournament after the Mountaineers had just knocked off No. 4 Baylor to close the regular season. Johnson was playing at Temple College in Temple, Texas, and Stevenson was readying for an NCAA Tournament run of his own with 23-win Wichita State.
Now, with West Virginia on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament, Matthews wants redemption for that team, Johnson wants to go to his second NCAA Tournament, and Stevenson wants to taste March Madness for the first time.
When Matthews decided he would return to WVU for his final year of eligibility, he dreamed of the moment he will experience against Kansas State. That moment — walking out on the carpet inside of the WVU Coliseum.
“I would say it’s been everything and then some,” Matthews said of this season. “On and off the floor has been all I could ever ask for coming back here… It means a lot more to me than a lot of people could ever understand.”
Matthews said it has been the people he’s interacted with throughout the community which have meant the most to him. Whether it be at games, or at a store, Matthews said he has felt the love from West Virginia fans.
“This state has meant so much to me,” Matthews said. “Really a second home to me.”
For Matthews though, he has tried to keep his emotions somewhat in check. Matthews, who spent the 2020-2021 season with Johnson spoke about the closeness of this team. The bond can be seen on the court, but Matthews said off the court he and Johnson have tried to not confront the reality and finality that Saturday will bring.
“I’ve been trying not to think about it. Me and Keddy have been thinking about it a lot. We have been talking about it probably for about the last week,” Matthews said. “I’m trying to keep the emotions low, and we still have business to handle.”
Johnson was not particularly a fan of those conversations, asking Matthews, “why would you do that,” whenever the subject of their final home game was talked about.
Matthews said when he walks out, he might have tears in his eyes, but still recognized the importance of this game while keeping a “business approach.”
Matthews has spent four of his five years at West Virginia. The one year he did not spend with the Mountaineers he spent back in his home state of Washington. Washington is home to not just Matthews, but also to Stevenson.
When the two closed out their high school careers, it was against each other. Stevenson scored 31 points against Matthews who was dealing with a hurt wrist in the game, as Stevenson’s squad edged out Matthews’. The two will end up sharing the floor for their final sendoff on Saturday, a journey that has come from AAU basketball to here.
“It’s been a journey. Just the way me and him have grown up,” Matthews said.
“Erik’s fiery, he’s a competitor, we all know what we’re getting out of Erik. He’s a goofball off the floor. What you see on the floor, it’s the complete opposite off the floor,” Matthews stated about Stevenson.
Matthews enjoys playing with Stevenson, but more importantly he knows he has a best friend off the court too.
“He gets on to the floor and gets in between those lines, he turns on that competitor side and it’s like a complete flip of the person,” Matthews said. “Then he gets off the floor and he’s like one of my best friends. I can’t really describe it. That’s my dude. Probably until we go to the grave we’re going to be hanging out, having conversations and stuff.”
For Stevenson, the first thing he said was joking about beating Matthews’ Woodrow Wilson team saying, “asked him how that turned out for him.”
That kind of closeness the two carry means a lot to Stevenson and said this team has been the best (of the four schools and five seasons) that he has been on.
“It’s been fun, Stevenson said. “It’s kind of unreal how you full circle it if you look at the story and we end up in West Virginia finishing it out.”
Stevenson has seen and experienced it all. 23 wins his sophomore year, five wins at Washington, to playing for Frank Martin and Bob Huggins in back-to-back years.
“It’s been a journey for me. A lot of ups and downs, seems like more downs than ups. Been everywhere, been pretty much through everything you can think of,” Stevenson said. “I’ve probably heard every insult in the book from coaching. I’ve seen a lot of stuff with my own two eyes that this is high level basketball.”
Last and certainly not least of the three is Johnson. ‘Keddy’ as most call him is as soft-spoken of a leader as you can have. He’s physical with his game, but brings a sense of calm whenever he is on the floor. He had the option to leave last spring but chose loyalty instead.
“It means the world to me. For the last three years the only fans I’ve known are West Virginia fans. I think that’ll be a pretty sad-happy moment at the same time.,” Johnson said.
When Johnson made his decision it was as multiple players entered the transfer portal. Johnson wanted to come back though with one goal — to get West Virginia back into the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re right there on the bubble on getting in the tournament,” Johnson said. “That was my main purpose of coming back to help this team reach the NCAA Tournament after missing last year. So I think this year is everything that I wished it would be.”
With the ending in sight for this trio, the goal has always remained the same and that is to make the NCAA Tournament. A win Saturday afternoon against Kansas State almost guarantees West Virginia will be dancing.
Off the court is a place where all three have grown up. As they all close their college careers they have taken the lessons that have come with the process.
“Basketball is like life or death to me,” Stevenson said. “I’ve given my whole life to basketball. When I get on the court, it’s literally life or death. It’s going to be me or you.”
Huggins said Stevenson has matured a lot this season, while Stevenson said he recognizes the impact Huggins has made on him.
“I kind of narrowed it down thanks to Coach Huggs. He’s definitely got me on the right path.”
For Matthews, the volatile nature of moving back-and-forth across the country has shown him how important it is to have a day-by-day approach. Matthews recognizes the grind he has put himself through, but would not change it for the world.
“The journey’s been crazy. It’s been up and down,” Matthews said. “Like I said, I’ve been all over the place. You get mental fatigue, physical fatigue, no matter what you have to persevere through that and find a way to wake up the next day and just deal with it.
I think the main thing I learned to do over my time is take life one day at a time and don’t take anything for granted. Taking it one day at a time, making sure you value those days, and stacking your days up are probably the number one thing I’ve learned and applied over the time in college.”
For Johnson, playing behind other guards such as Miles ‘Deuce’ McBride and Jordan McCabe has taught him to always compete no matter the situation.
“I was always taught never run. I always try to fight the competition,” Johnson said. “My first year playing behind Deuce and Jordan I had doubts, but you’re not going to always be the best player on the team. You might be, you might not, but it’s all about putting in the work and believing in yourself and staying the course.”
Staying the course is exactly what all three have done. Junior college, the SEC, the Pac-12, the American, and the Big 12 have all seen the talents of Johnson, Matthews, and Stevenson.
On Saturday as they still look to continue their journey into the NCAA Tournament, this trio will have one more goodbye, one more introduction, and one final chance to officially say goodbye to college basketball in the place they now all call home — Morgantown, West Virginia.
