A Change Will Do Walt Good
2021 top hoops recruit moves down the road from Deerfield to Lake Forest
Whether it be the high cost of college education or rise of the private youth sports market, there is a restlessness amongst elite young athletes.
I’m not referring to the average Jonny and Joe. They will always be happy on whatever team they are on, value the life lessons learned, graduate to the University of Illinois, major in some-type-of-engineering and be content starring for the Chi Omega frat team.
But the elite? Either by delusional self-diagnosis (the bad) or third-part confirmation (the good), they will always want more. If that more can be fulfilled somewhere else, they will be on the next plane or train towards that newly found destination.
Sometimes that destination is just down the road, an short Uber ride away.
Since becoming head boys basketball coach at Lake Forest in 2005, Phil LaScala has reached many milestones. Tournament titles, regional championships, a sectional final appearance (2015) and a slew of players to compete at the Division 1 level.
But at the end of the 2019-20 season, one occasion still eluded him throughout his tenure.
“We haven’t had a transfer kid that is an impact player who comes in and starts,” LaScala said. “I’m pretty novice to that.”
In late spring, the novelty wore off.
LaScala received a phone call from the parents of a junior basketball player at Deerfield High School named Walt Mattingly. They were calling to let LaScala know they were moving from Deerfield to Lake Forest and if he could provide some guidance.
“I was like, ‘well that’s great and I can tell you how to proceed,’” LaScala said. “I couldn’t talk hoops with them until they bought a house and enrolled in the school.”
They did buy a house and enroll. In July, the Scouts had an abbreviated summer camp for returning players. Because of heath restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Scouts practiced outside on courts adjacent to Deerpath Middle School in Lake Forest.
LaScala was unable to see Mattingly in scrimmages. But LaScala was familiar with the 6-foot-7 wing player who for the previous two years, played in the Central Suburban League for Deerfield.
“He has good ball-handling skills, he’ll be one of the most athletic kids we’ve every coached here. He can jump up and do a 360 (degree dunk).” LaScala said. “Watching him on tape, it seems he has very good basketball instincts and is very unselfish.”
In his 15 seasons at Lake Forest, LaScala has coached such notable Division 1 players as Matt Vogrich (Michigan), Evan Boudreaux (Purdue) and Lorenzo Edwards (St. Joseph’s). Since Edwards’ graduation in 2016, the Scouts have seen a talent drain in the program. Mattingly’s arrival is a game-changer and one that was completely unexpected.
LaScala’s phone conversation a few months ago was the first time he had spoken with the Mattinglys. Kids just don’t transfer between the CSL and North Suburban Conferences. That’s like swapping a Kit-Kat bar for a Twix.
“I had no idea they were thinking of this. All of a sudden I get this call and they say they are moving to Lake Forest and I’m like ‘alright,’” LaScala said. “We’ve had kids move in freshman year but not an impact player like this. We are very new to this.
“It was very shocking in regards to everything.”
When David and Paige Mattingly moved from Indiana to the Chicago area in 2018, they looked at homes in Lake Forest. David Mattingly, an executive with the Stepan Company, was being transferred to the company’s Northfield, IL location.
Areas with good school systems were a top priority and Lake Forest had plenty. So did Deerfield, and the Mattinglys ultimately bought a house there. Their son, Walt, started at Deerfield High School in August of 2018.
“I’m a pretty outgoing person. I fit in pretty easily,” Mattingly said.
Mattingly was an easy fit on the basketball court for the Warriors. Paired with 6-10 center Brandon Lieb and 6-7 forward Jackson Kenyon, Mattingly became a key piece as the Warriors won a Class 4A regional championship.
A year later, 2019-20, Mattingly took on more all-court responsibilities, averaging 12 points per game, six rebounds and two steals. Again, the Warriors won a regional title, this time in Class 3A. Mattingly landed on the regional and state radar in being named to the Lake County News-Sun’s All-Area team. He was poised for a break out spring and summer season with the Illinois Wolves, one of the state’s most prominent travel teams.
Soon after the Warriors were eliminated in the Class 3A sectionals in early March, Mattingly and his parents began a dialogue. That dialogue led to a decision to leave Deerfield and move to Lake Forest.
Players transfer to new schools for all kinds of reasons, whether they be academics, athletics or personal. The eventual outcome from the decision can often be traced back to the original motive—is a family running towards something or away from a previous situation?
In the case of Mattingly, the motive appears to be a little of both.
“The biggest was probably the culture. I enjoyed Deerfield but my parents struggled to fit in and they felt like the community in Lake Forest is much more welcoming for them,” Mattingly said. “My parents know a few people in Lake Forest and it was a good opportunity for my family to get a new start.”
Deerfield coach Dan McKendrick said he first knew of the Mattinglys desire to transfer in May.
“They said there were some things going on with their family and they’d be making this move,” McKendrick said. “Life in Deerfield wasn’t what they wanted it to be and they were looking for a change.”
McKendrick is adamant about one aspect of his star player’s transfer.
“It’s definitely not a situation where a family or a kid is leaving on bad terms at all,” McKendrick said.
Mattingly’s coach with the Illinois Wolves, Mike Mullins, said McKendrick handled the situation with the utmost professionalism. When Mullins asked McKendrick for game film, he provided it no questions asked.
Mullins said Mattingly’s switch from Deerfield to Lake Forest might be unusual in its form—public to public, similar school systems, close regional footprint—but is otherwise innocent of drama.
“Most high school kids tend to come up through the middle school and feeder school ranks and Walt’s family got transferred here through work. They are not lifelong Chicagoans and have lived in multiple places,” Mullins said. “I think they enjoyed their time in Deerfield but thought that Lake Forest would be a better fit for their own personal needs as well as Walt’s.
“Basketball is not the primary mover of this.”
While all parties involved downplay the basketball component of the transfer, the hoops element can’t be ignored.
Deerfield graduates Lieb (University of Illinois) while Lake Forest has one of the top sophomores in the state, according to multiple scouting services, in 6-5 Asa Thomas.
Mattingly and Thomas are in the Wolves program, although on different teams.
“I know Asa the most. We’ve been playing 5 on 5 and doing some private stuff,” Mattingly said. “It’s always good to have some friends going into a new school.”
Mattingly said playing high school basketball for Lake Forest this season is one benefit of the move. But he insists being on a team with Thomas is just one advantage on a list of many.
“I don’t know if that was a big part of the decision. I moved from Kentucky to Indiana to Deerfield,” Mattingly said. “(Lake Forest) has a good core returning so hopefully we can win the conference and do some damage downstate.”
The perpetual uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic casts doubt Mattingly will ever suit up as a Scout. It may not matter in regards to his collegiate prospects.
In a typical July, the Wolves’ top U17 team criss-crosses the country playing in showcase tournaments seen by a laundry list of ultra-famous college coaches. This summer, they’ve stayed home, focusing on individual skill work and intra-squad scrimmages.
“Like many young men we work with, Walt would have benefitted by finishing a high school season and have a travel season,” Mullins said. “For our part with the Wolves, it hasn’t impacted his recruiting.”
On any given Saturday or Sunday, Mattingly shares the court with an all-star line up of the region’s top recruits—Max Christie of Rolling Meadows (Michigan State recruit), Isaiah Barnes of Oak Park-River Forest (Michigan), Lou Lesmond of Notre Dame (Harvard), Denham Wojcik of La Lumiere in La Porte, IN (Harvard) and Conor Enright of Mundelein (Drake).
College offers, previously elusive to Mattingly, are starting to roll in.
Mullins said Mattingly may be uncommitted as of August, but that will change as more film gets in the hands of college coaches.
“He looks bigger, faster, stronger and better skilled,” Mullins said. “We’ve heard from the west coast, the east coast, the south and the midwest as we give them more content to evaluate.”
McKendrick knew what he had in Mattingly as a Warrior—a slashing, athletic wing who can fill up a stat sheet. He will now follow his former player’s career as a fan, appreciative of the two years he gave to the program and the back-to-back regional titles.
“Maybe a change of scenery will be good for Walt to have another coach to pick at his weaknesses and emphasize his strengths,” McKendrick said. “From what (the family) said, I think it’s a good decision for them.”
The Mattinglys are in the process of moving into their new home located a few blocks from his new school, Lake Forest High School. The outdoor courts at Deerpath are another short walk, where Mattingly plans to meet up with his new Scouts teammates for pick up games.
The last five months have been a roller coaster for many Americans. For Mattingly, he’s taking the circumstances in stride while excitedly preparing for what’s lies ahead in a new school and home.
“I think the quarantine has helped me with my game more than if I’d be playing all the time. I guess it was a blessing in disguise,” Mattingly said. “I like the school and the coaches and am excited about the upcoming year.”