Roth's path to finding home at IU takes numerous turns

There’s a face behind the 3-pointers.

It’s the face of an IU student who is from Illinois, but who found a new home.

Senior guard Matt Roth has made Indiana his adopted home and developed a pride for the state and its basketball as pure as any homegrown Hoosier.

“Once he made his decision to go to Indiana, he never looked back,” Roth’s mother, Lisa Roth, said. “He felt very comfortable from day one over there, and I don’t know what it was, but he felt like it was home. I think it is his home away from home.”

A Washington, Ill., native, Roth set a state record for most 3-pointers made in a high-school career and went on to play for the Indiana Elite AAU squad alongside now-IU senior Kory Barnett and North Carolina forward Tyler Zeller.

Roth’s decision about where to take his golden shooting touch ultimately came down to Bradley University, located only 15 miles from his house, or a promising IU program under the direction of then-IU Coach Kelvin Sampson.

In a Yahoo! Sports article published the night of his decision on Aug. 22, 2007, Roth explained why it was hard to turn down an opportunity right in his backyard.

“It was tough though because they were so close to me, so close to home and had been recruiting me for so long,” Roth said in the article.

The 6-foot-3-inch sharpshooter was looking forward to a bright future with a rising program.

“Knowing that I am going to be competing for four years at one of the highest levels, I am going to be in an ideal position to win Big Ten championships and also compete at the national level or compete for national championships,” Roth said in the same Yahoo! Sports story.

Exactly six months after Roth committed to IU in the summer before his senior year, Sampson was out as the Hoosiers’ Coach.

Roth stayed true to the promise he made not only to Sampson, but also to
the program.

“It definitely was a lot different than what I expected,” Roth said. “When I committed and Tom (Pritchard) committed, things were a lot different and a lot of changes happened. But there are a lot of reasons outside of basketball why I chose to come
to Indiana.”

In that 2008 recruiting class, Roth was one of six out-of-state players tasked with representing the most iconic college basketball team in the state of Indiana.

On Sunday, he will be one of three out-of-state seniors honored for their sacrifices that helped bring pride and honor back to that same program.

In his freshman year, Roth tied an IU record with nine 3-pointers against Ohio State — and the Hoosiers still lost by 12.

The next season, he tore the fifth metatarsal in his right foot during practice at the Puerto Rico Tip-off and missed the rest of the year after playing in just two games.

Coming off of the injury in his junior year, Roth’s playing time dropped from an average of 21 minutes per game his freshman year to 8.2 his junior year.

Now, Roth and the Hoosiers are hitting their stride simultaneously.

As of Monday, Roth’s 55.6 3-point shooting percentage was the second-best of any NCAA Division I men’s basketball player. IU, meanwhile, is the most improved team of any school in the six BCS conferences.

“I think we all, as seniors, knew that it was something we were going to have to do when we came in,” Roth said of rebuilding IU basketball. “Just to see where we’re at now and know firsthand where it was at day one when we got here, it’s a great feeling to know that we’ve been a part of something special here.”

Outside the confines of Assembly Hall, Roth has found a family within his new home. In addition to his girlfriend of three years, who was also an athlete at IU, Roth said he has drawn strength and support from the religious community.

Roth, who finishes his master’s degree in sports administration and management in May, might not be ready to leave the state he loves.

“I think that a good fit for me would be to become a high-school athletic director either here in the state of Indiana or potentially back home in Illinois,” Roth said. “But I really love this state and everything that it has given me in my four years.”

Roth’s mother wasn’t as quick to give Illinois that much of a chance.

“We have always thought that he’d probably never come back to Illinois because he does love Indiana so much,” Lisa said. “Hopefully, there will be some opportunities for him over there, and I can definitely see him staying there.”