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Sommer honored for 1,000 point milestone
Nevada Tiger point guard Matthew Sommer was honored prior to Friday's home game with Carthage for reaching the 1,000 point milestone.
Sommer, a Nevada High School senior by way of St. Louis, eclipsed 1,000 points in the third quarter of Nevada's Dec. 16 road matchup with Warrensburg.
Sommer, who describes himself as a pass-first point guard, is a three-year starter after serving in a reserve role his freshman season.
"Passing is the first thing I look to do," he said, adding "sometimes I think I pass too much when I should probably look to score."
At 6-feet and 160 pounds, Sommer loves to attack to the basket.
"Driving to the basket is something I've really developed," he said.
Sommer said he never really envisioned himself becoming a member of Nevada High School's 1,000 point club.
"It was never necessarily a goal of mine," he said. "My No. 1 thing is passing the ball, but if I get a chance to score I'll try to take advantage of it. I honestly didn't think it was going to happen this year, but I'm glad it did; it's a cool thing."
Third-year Tigers head coach Shaun Gray said he has been impressed with Sommer's maturation on and off the court.
"It's been very rewarding to see Matt continue to grow as a basketball player and a young man," Gray said.
"Matt is a great example for younger kids, that if you work hard and make the right choices in life ---- you can put yourself in a good position to succeed."
Sommer said his keys to success on the court include being "efficient and consistent."
"Just picking my spots and being able to shoot the ball when I can," he said.
Sommer added that over the summer he spent many hours in the gym working on his long-range shooting touch.
"Last year I was shooting around 30 percent on 3-pointers," he said, "and I really wanted to up that."
Through 10 games this season, Sommer is averaging 13 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
Sommer said his success wouldn't be possible without community support.
"The Nevada fans are not only the best in the West Central Conference, but I think they're the best fans I've seen in any gym I've played in during my four years," Sommer said of the Wynn Gym faithful, who have seen the Tigers roll out to a 7-3 record.
"Especially this season, there's a lot of people coming out to watch us. So it's definitely nice to have a home crowd and student section that can rile up the place and get the momentum going. So I think the fans are a huge part of my success as well."
Sommer said that while he has heard from one college, he's unsure if wants to pursue playing basketball at the collegiate level.
"I'm still in the deciding-phase," he said. "If I get an opportunity to play at a college that I think fits academically with what I want to do, then I'll give it a look."
Sommer, who has a 3.8 grade point average, said he has a high interest in studying youth ministry or theology.