Emmitt Matthews Jr. played one season of college basketball at the University of Washington. The Huskies did not feed him enough food, no matter how many times he asked for a larger meal.
His experience in Seattle presents a stark contrast to the current reality at Houston.
Matthews was shocked to see how college basketball players eat in 2026 compared to just four years ago. Especially because it has nothing to do with Name, Image and Likeness.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. is a hooper.
Matthews, who is perhaps best known as The Dooskie, rated as a three-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2018. He committed to Bob Huggins at West Virginia over UConn, Boise State, Oregon State and Georgetown, among others.
The 6-foot-6 small forward averaged ~22 minutes per game during his first three seasons with the Mountaineers. He scored ~6.5 points with ~3.5 rebounds per game from 2018-2021.
And then Matthews entered the transfer portal. The Tacoma-native moved back home to Washington to play for the Huskies.
However, he spent only two semesters in Seattle before he transferred back to West Virginia for his fifth and final year of eligibility. It was a brief tenure.
Now three years removed from college, Emmitt Matthews Jr. plays professional basketball in the G-League and streams on Twitch. His following on X, TikTok and Instagram totals more than 60,000.
The 26-year-old is very glad to have enough money as an adult to feed himself.
Washington did not feed its college basketball players enough food.
Alan Bishop serves as the director of sports performance for the men’s basketball team at the University of Houston. He recently posted a series of photos from a lift on the day after a game.
Not only did the Cougars get after it in the weight room, they ate extremely well afterward. The menu featured two different proteins, a nutrient-dense vegetable, a grain, and a fiber-rich fruit.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. was impressed by the spread. It presents a stark contrast to how he ate at Washington during the 2021-22 college basketball season.
“When I was at UW they were giving us lunchable size meals and getting mad at me for telling them it wasn’t enough food 😂”
A woman named Susan remembers talking to Matthews about how much weight he lost while at Washington upon his return to West Virginia. There is obviously a direct correlation between the lack of food provided to him and the weight loss.
Hand up — I do not know whether the Huskies have since improved their nutritional offerings in the last four years. Perhaps Matthews was not taking advantage of the options available to him. Maybe it had something to do with the first year coming out of the pandemic. Doesn’t matter.
Matthews made it abundantly clear that Houston eats a lot better today than Washington did as of 2022!