Apr 5, 2017 3 min read

Matt Popeck, who scored more points than any boys player in Washington High School’s rich basketball history, announced Wednesday he will play next season at Waynesburg University.

Popeck, a 6-0 senior guard who scored 1,488 points, was the Observer-Reporter’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year during his junior season, when he averaged 16.8 points per game. This year’s boys and girls players of the year and all-district teams will be announced in Sunday’s edition.

Popeck upped his scoring average to 25.3 this season to lead all players in the area. He helped Washington (22-6) go undefeated en route to winning the Section 4-AAA championship. The Prexies advanced to the WPIAL semifinals and the PIAA quarterfinals.

Popeck said he wanted to play at a college close to home.

“Honestly, faith and family had a lot of do with it,” he said. “My family is so important to me. I wanted to play somewhere my family could watch me play. Plus, Waynesburg is a Christian school and that was big for me.”

Waynesburg suffered several season-ending injuries to key players and stumbled to a 6-19 overall record this season under head coach Mark Christner. The Yellow Jackets were 4-14 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and missed qualifying for the conference tournament, two years after having an 18-win season.

Popeck said Waynesburg actively recruited him all season and he developed a good relationship with Christner and the Yellow Jackets’ assistant coaches.

“Waynesburg recruited me heavily. They were at our games all year, not just in the playoffs,” Popeck said. “They had three different coaches come to see me play. I like their coaches.

“It was a very tough decision. At one point, I had seven or eight schools on my list. I whittled that down to five, then to two or three.”

Popeck said he decided on Waynesburg after visiting the campus last week.

“It gives me the best opportunity to succeed,” he said, adding he will major in education and hopes to become a teacher and a coach.

“I was able to see Waynesburg play one game this year and I liked the atmosphere and the style of play. Coach Christner told me I was their top guy in recruiting and that they need a scoring guard, which is where I will play.”

Popeck expanded his offensive game this season to become more than just a shooter. Despite being the focal point of opposing defenses, Popeck shot 50 percent from three-point range, but he also became adept at driving to the basket to either score or draw fouls. He made 110 of 137 free throws.

“He did a lot more than score,” Washington coach Ron Faust said. “Matt sparked us. He made his defense spark us. There were many times when he would steal the ball two or three times in a row and it would lead to easy baskets. He has very good anticipation of where the opponent is going to pass the ball. … The big change with Matt this year is that he got stronger, which helped him to the basket and the free-throw line more often.”