11/13/2019 basketball Edit

OFFICIAL: Stretch Big Matt Zona Signs With Notre Dame

Mike Singer • InsideNDSports

Recruiting Insider

Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic class of 2020 big Matt Zona has signed with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. His commitment to Notre Dame that he gave Sept. 30 has now been made official by signing a National Letter Of Intent.

The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder will look to immediately contribute for the Irish with his ability to stretch the floor as a big.

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Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic class of 2020 big Matt Zona has signed with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

RANKINGS

Rivals: Three-star talent, No. 32 center nationally

ESPN: Three-star talent, No. 45 power forward nationally, No. 11 recruit in New Jersey

RECRUITMENT

Offer Sheet: Brown, Bryant, George Washington, Hofstra, Notre Dame, Penn, Penn State, Robert Morris, Rutgers, St. Joseph's, Vanderbilt, Yale

Notre Dame offered Zona July 29, so his commitment to the Irish came together pretty quickly. A few weeks receiving the scholarship from Notre Dame, he set an official visit to get to Notre Dame.

Zona's Sept. 28 visit to Notre Dame was his third consecutive trip in as many weeks. He took an official visit to Penn State for the weekend of Sept. 14 and was at St. Joseph's the following weekend.

He was hoping to officially visit Vanderbilt after his Notre Dame trip, but he committed to the Irish coming off of his visit.

"I got on campus and fell in love with the place," Zona said. "What they have there is truly incredible with all of the facilities, athletics, and academics. I just felt comfortable there. Everyone told me that when you take visits, you'll know the place you want to be at, and that's the feeling I got there.

"Coach Brey preached that he's had a bunch of guys just like me, and how they gradually got better and better each year. He said he wasn't going to pigeon hole me to a specific position. Everyone is just a basketball player. He really likes how I can play the four and the five."

ANALYST TAKE

"Zona is a very sound and fundamentally skilled post. He is not a great athlete but he does produce in the half court. He has a decent back to the basket skillset along with great hands, touch and toughness around the basket. Where he is best served is facing the basket. He can really shoot it with his feet set and should be able to play alongside fellow 2020 commit Elijah Taylor. I don’t see him being a double double threat in college but I do see him fitting in nicely within Mike Brey’s schemes." -- Corey Evans, Rivals.com National Basketball Analyst