Matt Mooney
Matthew Mooney (born February 7, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Unicaja of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and South Dakota having transferred after his freshman year at Air Force. Early life and high school career. Mooney has a younger brother Joe who is also a basketball player. He attended Notre Dame College Prep and commuted two hours from Wauconda, Illinois to play under coach Tom Les. Mooney was lightly recruited. He had two college offers coming out of high school and signed with Air Force. College career . Mooney averaged 6.9 points per game as a freshman at Air Force. However, he had trouble getting adjusted to the strictness of the military culture and experienced bullying. After the season, he opted to transfer. After sitting out a season, Mooney averaged 18.6 points per game as a sophomore for South Dakota, leading the team to a regular season championship. He was named to the First–team All-Summit League and newcomer of the year. As a junior, Mooney averaged 18.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He was named to the First–team All-Summit League again. He had  31 points in a loss to TCU and 30 points in a loss to South Dakota State in the Summit League championship. Following the season, Mooney opted to transfer as a graduate student, selecting Texas Tech over offers from Northwestern and Creighton. Texas Tech was coming off a season in which the team reached the Elite Eight but lost some important pieces. Mooney averaged 11 points per game and shot 38 percent from behind the arc. He partnered with Jarrett Culver to help the team reach its first-ever Final Four. Mooney scored 17 points in an upset of Gonzaga  in the Elite Eight. In Texas Tech's first Final Four appearance on April 6, 2019, Mooney scored 22 points in Texas Tech's 61-51 defeat of Michigan State to advance to the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game. Texas Tech would lose the championship game to Virginia 85-77 in overtime. Mooney was then named to the 2019 All-Tournament Team. Professional career. Memphis Hustle (2019–2020). After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Mooney joined the Atlanta Hawks' Summer League roster. On September 4, 2019, Mooney signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, but  was waived on October 14. He was named to the roster of the Grizzlies’ NBA G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle. Cleveland Cavaliers (2020). On January 15, 2020, Mooney was signed to a two-way contract by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Under the terms of the deal, he will split time between the Cavs and their G League affiliate, the Canton Charge. He made his NBA debut on January 20, recording two points, a rebound and an assist in three minutes in a 106-86 loss to the New York Knicks. Mooney was waived on December 19, 2020. Raptors 905 (2021 ). On January 27, 2021, Mooney signed with Raptors 905. He averaged 11.6 points and 5.7 assists per game. Capitanes de Ciudad de México (2021). On October 24, 2021, Mooney signed with Capitanes de Ciudad de México of the NBA G League. In 12 games, he averaged 15.2 points, 4.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.17 steals over 32.8 minutes per game. New York Knicks (2021–2022). On December 21, 2021, Mooney signed a 10-day contract with the New York Knicks. He signed a second 10-day contract with the Knicks on December 31. Mooney played one game for the Knicks and  had one steal. Unicaja (2022–present). On January 31, 2022, he was signed with Unicaja of the Liga ACB.