Danny Manning continued to add size to the Deacon frontcourt last year by securing a commitment from Sam Japhet-Mathias, who boasted offers from schools like Connecticut, Georgetown, and Oregon. The freshman center is listed by Wake at 6’11” and 280 lbs., making him one of four players (and three underclassmen) on the roster who are at or above 6’10”.
SJM hails from London, but played one year of high school ball in the US at Vermont Academy. As part of the 2017 class, SJM was a consensus 4 star recruit (a top 100 player, and top 10-20 center) across recruiting services.