Trojan News

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Trevecca senior Matthew Elliott is the son of former Vanderbilt basketball star Mark Elliott. The Tennesseans Mike Organ profiled Matthew Elliott's path to Trevecca with the help of his father's coaching his home school basketball team.

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Mark Elliott is no pushy parent, but the former Vanderbilt basketball star and assistant coach admits to hurting his son Matthew's chances for getting a college basketball scholarship.

Elliott and his wife, Roseann, home-schooled Matthew, along with their other four children.

That meant Matthew didn't have the same exposure to college recruiters most high school players get. Still, he ended up eventually getting a scholarship to Trevecca, where he is now a senior and the team's leading scorer.

"There is no question that we held Matthew back from reaching more potential in basketball,'' said Mark Elliott, who played at Vanderbilt from 1977-80 and coached there from 1987-94. "But what we gained through the rest of home-schooling outweighs the potential for a basketball scholarship. He developed a more intense and heartfelt relationship with his brothers and sisters, and a more intense and heartfelt relationship with his parents."

So Mark Elliott, who also coached at Montgomery Bell Academy (1982-1987), has a son who possesses the values he instilled by watching over him in a home-school setting. And Matthew, a 6-foot-2 guard who recently scored his 1,000th career point, has had a successful college basketball career thanks to his sheer determination, the coaching that came from his father, and by being at the right place at the right time.

Matthew played organized basketball with other home-schooled players who, at the time (2003-2006), weren't allowed to play Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association teams. They played mostly against small private schools. Mark coached the team during Matthew's final two years.

"I never really thought about asking my dad if I could go to a regular high school even after I realized I wanted to play basketball in college,'' said Matthew, whose family lives in Spring Hill.

"Had we not had that home-school team I definitely would have because it would have been hard for me not to be able to play."

That opportunity did not immediately present itself after Matthew graduated in May 2006, so he enrolled at Columbia State.

His home-school team had played Currey Ingram, and Matthew Elliott had caught the eye of the school's former coach, Sam Howard.

Howard happened to be at a Trevecca practice a few months later and approached Coach Sam Harris with an observation.

"He said, 'Coach, I really like your players, you just need a point guard,' " Harris said. "We had lost Alex Renfroe (transferred to Belmont) in June and the junior-college players we brought in to replace him at point guard were not a good fit."

Howard suggested Harris take a look at Matthew Elliott, but Harris was hesitant.

"Since we hadn't seen him play in high school I wasn't sure,'' Harris said.

Mike Petrone, who is a Trevecca assistant and was a Vanderbilt assistant with Mark Elliott, made the call, and Matthew and Mark showed up at practice the following day.

After watching practice Matthew was confident he could play for Trevecca, so Harris invited him to try out before the second half of the 2006-2007 season.

"After a couple of days of practice I told him, 'If you want to come, we're interested,' '' Harris said.

When the Trojans returned from Christmas break, Matthew had cracked the starting lineup and has been in it ever since.

He has scored 1,042 career points and is No. 11-ranked Trevecca's leading scorer, averaging 17.3 points. He is ranked in the top 25 nationally in the NAIA in free-throw percentage (84.8) and in 3-point percentage (45.4).

Matthew, who moved from point to shooting guard his junior season, said being home-schooled allowed him to play basketball more often and equipped him for the college level.

"My parents were strict about starting school at 7 a.m. each day,'' Matthew said. "I would get up and get my stuff done as quickly as I could and then go out in the driveway and shoot. I had all day to practice."