Matt Howard (born January 23, 1989) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who last played for

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

. Previously, he played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

with the

Butler Bulldogs The Butler Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Butler University, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Bulldogs participate in 20 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. After leaving the Horizon League following the 2011–12 seaso ...

. He helped lead the 2009–10 and

2010–11 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team The 2010–11 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Butler University in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Brad Stevens, serving his 4th year. The Bulldogs played their home games at the Hin ...

s to the championship game of the NCAA tournament. He is a three-time

Academic All-American An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the ...

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 The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whether ...

. He was a 2009 All-American honorable mention by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. He was the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and 2011 Horizon League men's basketball tournament MVP as well as a four-time

Horizon League men's basketball tournament The Horizon League men's basketball conference tournament is held annually at the end of the men's college basketball regular season. The tournament has been played each year since 1980. The winner of the tournament is designated the Horizon ...

All-Tournament selection. He won the 2011

Lou Henson Award The Lou Henson Award is an award given annually by Collegeinsider.com to the most outstanding mid-major men's college basketball player in NCAA Division I competition. The award, established in 2010, is named for esteemed men's college basketball ...

as well as the 2010 & 2011 Elite 88 Awards. He is the Horizon League record-holder for career

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

s made and attempted.

High school

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 shot In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand (unless the def ...

s as a junior. Howard is regarded as the first top-100 recruit in the history of Butler.

College career

As a freshman, Howard was the

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

newcomer of the year. That year, he was prominent in the 2007–08 Bulldogs's first round victory in the

2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2007� ...

over

South Alabama South Alabama and Lower Alabama are overlapping, poorly-defined terms for various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view ...

. 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 The 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2009– ...

. In February of the

2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 8, 2010, with the preliminary games of the 2010 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, and ended with the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on Apri ...

, Howard was hit by an elbow that caused extensive bleeding on his face. In the

2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2010-11 ...

, he scored a tipin as time expired to give Butler a 60–58 victory over Old Dominion in their second-round game. Then in the third round, he made the winning

with 0.8 seconds left to clinch a 71–70 victory over the number-one seeded

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

. Although Howard made only 5

three point shot A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a Field goal (basketball), field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, ...

s in his first three seasons, as a senior he developed an outside shot, making over 40% on over 100 attempts. 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. He was a 2009 All-American honorable mention by the Associated Press. By helping Butler earn consecutive trips to the

final four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

, Howard earned consecutive Elite 88 Awards in 2010 and 2011. He was also one of ten finalists for the 2011 men's basketball Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. In 2010, he was chosen as "honorable mention" in a list of the smartest athletes in sports by ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

''. During the 2010 Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament he earned the MVP Award. 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. He won the 2011 Lou Henson Award as the mid-major player of the year. Howard was the 2007–8 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year. He was a second team All-Horizon League selection that year and first team selection the following three seasons. He was a Horizon League All-Defensive Team selection as a sophomore and a senior. He holds the Horizon League records for most

s made and attempted (both league only and all games). He led the Horizon League in

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

as a sophomore with a 55.0 average.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

, 34 , , 25 , , 24.5 , , .583 , , .000 , , .780 , , 5.50 , , 0.85 , , 0.71 , , 1.09 , , 12.26 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 28.2 , , .550 , , .222 , , .773 , , 6.75 , , 1.12 , , 0.78 , , 1.50 , , 14.84 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

, 38 , , 38 , , 25.2 , , .479 , , .273 , , .784 , , 5.16 , , 0.79 , , 0.58 , , 0.61 , , 11.50 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 31.0 , , .471 , , .398 , , .792 , , 7.76 , , 1.43 , , 1.14 , , 0.62 , , 16.43 Source

/small>

Professional career

On July 28, 2011, Howard signed with Olympiacos B.C., Olympiacos of the Greek League. In February 2012, Howard was released by Olympiacos and signed with

EnBW Ludwigsburg BG Ludwigsburg, for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (), is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of basketball in Germany. Fou ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

. In July 2012, Howard was named to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

roster for the 2012

Las Vegas Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

, and joined

Chorale Roanne Basket Chorale Roanne Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Roanne, France. The club plays in the first division LNB Pro A. Their home arena is Halle André Vacheresse. The club was founded in 1937 and the team's colors are blue and w ...

for the 2012–13 Pro A season. The team is based out of

Roanne Roanne (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire department, central France. It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (French), with many Egypt ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In June 2013, Howard signed with

ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the major German professional league an ...

of the German

. On July 7, 2014, he signed with

Strasbourg IG Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League. The ...

of the French

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

for the 2014–15 season. On July 9, 2015, he signed a two-year contract extension with Strasbourg. On August 1, 2017, Howard signed with the Israeli team

for the 2017–18 season. 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 Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

. Howard helped Hapoel to reach the 2018 Israeli League Final Four.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2011–12† , style="text-align:left;", Olympiacos B.C., Olympiacos , 3 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , , , , , , , , , 0.7 , , -1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, 4 , , 1 , , 20.8 , , .421 , , 1.000 , , .667 , , 4.8 , , .5 , , 1.8 , , , , 6.3 , , 9.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 7 , , 1 , , 14.7 , , .333 , , .200 , , .714 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , , , 3.9 , , 4.7

Playing style and personality

In a story immediately before the 2011 Final Four,

Rick Reilly Richard Paul Reilly (born February 3, 1958) is an American sportswriter. Long known for being the "back page" columnist for ''Sports Illustrated'', Reilly moved to ESPN on June 1, 2008, where he was a featured columnist for ESPN.com and wrote t ...

noted that Howard "looks more like a geeky band-camp RA than a possible NBA first rounder", but added: He is also known for eccentricities both on and off the court. Howard's teammate

Shelvin Mack Shelvin Bernard Mack Jr. (born April 22, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player who is an analyst for CBS Sports. He played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven different teams. Mack played col ...

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 A spoonerism is an occurrence of speech in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis) between two words of a phrase. These are named after the Oxford don and priest William Archibald Spooner, who report ...

with people's names; for example, he routinely calls Mack "Melvin Shack".

Notes

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfileFrench League profileGreek Basket League ProfileEurobasket.com Profile
from

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Matt 1989 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Butler Bulldogs men's basketball players Chorale Roanne Basket players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Riesen Ludwigsburg players Olympiacos B.C. players Sportspeople from Carmel, Indiana Basketball players from Hamilton County, Indiana People from Connersville, Indiana Power forwards Ratiopharm Ulm players SIG Strasbourg players