When North Texas guard Matthew Stone arrived to Denton as a freshman during the summer of 2021 he was in a whole new environment.
A native of Kingfisher, Oklahoma, a town of less than 5,000 people roughly 30 miles north of the Oklahoma City metro, Stone had gone from being a big fish in a small pond to a new and small fish in a big pond. The two-time Oklahoma 4A state champ that won 107 of the 111 games he played in high school realized quickly the jump was not going to be easy.
I didn't adapt quick enough... everything was moving so fast. in practice. in games early in the season. not adapting held me back for sure. Especially when it came to learning the defense. it was a whole new way of defending than what I was used to.
Stone recalls warming up against Kansas, still only a few months removed from leaving Kingfisher, and looking over the court and being slightly overwhelmed as the ESPN camera lights turned on and Bill Self walked into the building.
Despite the craziness the first few months of college brought Stone he never let it get him down and out.
While figuring out this new environment he persevered one day at a time.
no matter what's in front of you, You fight through the day and get what you get out of it. and never stop working your butt off.
For his whole life Stone has had an athletic role model to look up to who has helped him form his work ethic.
His older brother Mitchell Stone just finished his fifth year at Oklahoma State as a pitcher for the Cowboys baseball team. Mitchell Stone helped lead OSU to a top 10 national ranking this season and reach the regional final with a gutsy 6.1-inning victorious performance against Arkansas in a then must-win game. It hasn't been easy though for Mitchell Stone either who was a high school all-American . The left-handed pitcher missed most of his freshman season with a foot injury and then missed the entire 2020 with another injury.
It was hard. you wanted to see him out there pitching and achieving his individual goals. but he never let it stop him from working hard. and when he got his chance on a big stage he killed it.
As Stone's freshman season progressed, he began to lean on the teachings of the veterans of the then back-to-back conference champions. Most notably the wisdom of sixth-year senior JJ Murray.
Murray joined the UNT program in 2018 as a junior college transfer preferred walk-on. He didn't play a second his first year with the Mean Green and played in just eight games for a total of 19 minutes in his second year. But Murray didn't worry about it and kept working. By his third season he was a key reserve guard for a Mean Green team that won its first league tournament title in over a decade and won its first NCAA Tournament game in program history. By his fourth year in Denton Murray was an everyday starter who was voted to the league's all-defensive team and captained to UNT to a program-record 25-win season.
Murray's roommate on the road this past season...
Matthew Stone.
JJ (Murray) is one of the greatest leaders I've been around. he cares so much about the team and worked so hard even if it meant only scoring two points. he didn't care. He knew the hard work was going to pay off somewhere on the floor every game. And all the little things he did on and off the floor mattered. I want...i need to be a leader like him.
The 24-year-old Murray would call the 18-year-old Stone every now and then during the season to just check in and encourage him to keep working hard, because the team was going to need him.
JJ (Murray) showed me the bigger picture.
As the season progressed, Stone periodically saw action on the floor a few minutes here and few minutes there. Behind closed doors he continued to put up shots, learn the Mean Green's defense and get better one day at a time.
And just as important, he focused on continuing to be a good teammate to help the team win.
Then on March 20 in the second round of the NIT, nearly four months since the Kansas game, Stone found himself in a similar situation.
With the Mean Green's depth down due an injury Stone's number was called to enter the game against the 2019 National Champion Cavilers.
It wasn't long on the floor but the freshman was in control and made winning plays. In the first half he grabbed an offensive rebound and had a put-back layup. Then in overtime he subbed back in and grabbed another offensive rebound that resulted in a three-point-play for the Mean Green to pull them within a point of Virginia in the game's final seconds.
GOING INTO THAT GAME I KNEW I NEEDED TO STEP UP AND GIVE THE TEAM WHAT THEY NEEDED TO WIN.
As Stone checked into the game in the first half a different feeling came over him than the one four months ago.
Everything slowed down. and i knew the bigger picture.
While reflecting on last season Stone laughed and brought up how he went from averaging 20 points per game in high school to less than one a game in his freshman season at UNT. And while that might have been a discouraging thing when he first got to college it isn't necessarily now.
I'M WAY MORE COMFORTABLE NOW A YEAR LATER AND I UNDERSTAND THE BIGGER PICTURE. I WANT US TO BE EVEN BETTER AS a TEAM THAN WE WERE LAST YEAR. WHAT I NEED TO DO MOVING FORWARD IS BE MORE VERSATILE ON THE FLOOR AND DO THE SMALL THINGS THAT IMPACT WINNING. The opportunities are there and will come and i'll be ready as long as i never stop working.