Matt Willkomm has been spectacular at guard for the Allan Hancock College men’s basketball team this season. The sophomore scored a career-high 38 points in a win over Oxnard College on Feb. 3, burying six three-pointers and keeping the Bulldogs in the running for a Western State Conference title.
“We were just moving the ball really well as a team,” Willkomm told the Sun. “I was playing off our team’s energy. Our team was just penetrating and dishing and looking for the extra pass, and that’s how I was able to get open shots.”
Willkomm is averaging a sizzling 20 points per game in eight conference matches as of Feb. 5 while shooting 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point land—outstanding numbers. He’s also stepped into an increased leadership role this season as one of only two sophomores on the team. The rest of the Hancock College roster is comprised of freshmen players.
“My coach has looked to me to become more of a leader,” Willkomm said. “I’ve tried to get everyone on the same page throughout the year, be more vocal on offense and defense, and look for my shot and get other people their shots.”
Willkomm was named to the Western State All-Conference First Team last year as a freshman, an honor he’s likely to earn again after this season. In his high school career, Willkomm was a standout basketball and football player for Arroyo Grande High School. He graduated in 2013 and spent his first year of college at Northern Arizona University.
He decided to return home in 2014 to attend Hancock College and revive his basketball career. He’s in the process of talking with coaches from four-year universities with a plan to transfer and continue playing college basketball.
For now, Willkomm is staying focused on finishing out the Hancock College season on a high note.
“We have Moorpark College on Saturday [Feb. 6] so that’s a big game for us,” he told the Sun prior to that game. “The season’s been pretty fun, just a lot of ups and downs, but I feel like if we get a win on Saturday we’ll be turning a corner.”
This article appears in Feb 11-18, 2016.
