Bennedict Mathurin allowed 30 students and 10 teachers from Adélard-Desrosiers elementary school, the same one he attended in his youth, to attend the Pacers’ 140-123 victory against the Raptors this Tuesday in Toronto. The Quebec guard also accompanied them on a visit to the NBA Canada offices.
Bennedict Mathurin hosted a group of more than 30 students and teachers from his former elementary school in Montreal at last night’s game 🫶
everyone was treated to a pregame tour of the NBA Canada office and gifted custom Adidas t-shirts and shoes. pic.twitter.com/1H7Y8PiwCw
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) April 10, 2024
On and off the field, Bennedict Mathurin has always wanted to be an exemplary figure for the youth who have followed his rise since his draft by the Indiana Pacers in 2022. And if the Quebecer has not set foot on the floors of the NBA since March 5 due to a shoulder injury, this does not prevent him from continuing his good deeds towards his community.
This Tuesday, Mathurin welcomed around thirty students and 10 teachers from his former elementary school, the Adélard-Desrosiers school in the Montreal-North borough, to Toronto, so that they could attend the meeting between the Raptors and the Pacers. Before this match which ended in a 140-123 victory for the Indiana team, the children were able to visit the NBA Canada offices and were offered Adidas shoes and t-shirts, a brand to which Benedict Mathurin has been a partner since December 2022.
Interviewed by Savanna Hamilton, journalist responsible for covering the Toronto Raptors for the media Sportsnetas for the reasons which pushed him to show so much generosity, Mathurin replied that he had a similar experience in his youth which had a strong impact on him.
The current Pacers guard revealed that when he was only 12 years old, the Adélard-Desrosiers school sent him to attend a game of his big sister Jennifer who was then playing for the State University of North Carolina. He therefore wanted to return the favor to his old school, while regretting not having been able to play in front of the children.
Especially since the Pacers are having a very good season and, with only two games remaining on their schedule, they are still in the race for direct qualification in the playoffs, occupying sixth place in the Eastern Association. . And if Mathurin’s points average fell slightly compared to the previous year, the Quebecer had transformed into a more complete player essential to the success of his team before an injury which ended his season.
As a reminder, in 59 games, Mathurin averaged 14.5 PTS, 4 REB and 2 AST in 26 MIN, two fewer than during his rookie season, with a shooting accuracy of 44.6%, including 37.4% from 3 points and 82.1% from the charity line. Above all, he won the trophy for Best Player of the Rising Stars Challenge during an all-star weekend during which he also won the Skills Challenge with teammates Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner.
And if his return to the floor is still uncertain, there is no doubt that Mathurin will continue to contribute to the well-being of his community, he who a year ago had already lent his voice and his face to a campaign by the Réseau du student sport of Quebec (RSEQ) against electronic cigarettes. This summer, he also welcomed 60 teenagers to his training camp in Montreal.