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Sir
Duke
by
Kelly L. Martinez
 If
you're a fan of college basketball, then the name Matt Christensen
is one you've probably heard before. Fresh off his final season
of collegiate basketball, Matt will be graduating from Duke University
on May 12, and moving on to a career in the business world.
Basketball,
however, was not the sport Matt first excelled in. Prior to high
school, he was an accomplished swimmer and was ranked amongst the
10-best in New England. But he abandoned aquatic sports as he went
on to a stellar high school basketball career at Belmont High School
in Belmont, Mass.
In addition
to leading Belmont to an 88-11 record on the hardwood in four seasons,
he was a two-time all-state selection. During his senior season,
Matt shot 75.6% from the field and averaged 21.0 points, 11.0 rebounds
and 4.7 blocked shots as the team posted a 21-2 record. As a sophomore,
Matt's team won the state championship, but it was his stellar senior
season that earned him the Middlesex League Most Valuable Player
award and a spot on the Boston Globe and Boston Herald Super Team.
While wearing
the maroon and blue of the Belmont Marauders, Matt also earned letters
in soccer, track and cross country.
Matt moved on
to Duke on a basketball scholarship where his numbers were not as
impressive as they were in high school. While at Duke, in 74 career
games, he averaged 1.7 points and 2.1 rebounds but provided the
Blue Devils with solid leadership and experience. In a seven-season
span — which included one red shirt season and two seasons
while he was on a mission — Matt was a member of teams that
won three Atlantic Coast Conference championships and one national
title.
(This
and all basketball images courtesy of Duke Photography)
Blue Devil
angels
Early in the recruiting process, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski
and his staff understood that Matt would be leaving for two years
on a full-time mission after the 1995-96 season. They recruited
him anyway. In fact, when Matt made his recruiting visit to Durham,
the coaching staff scheduled an interview for Matt with the local
stake president. A member of the Duke coaching staff
accompanied Matt to sacrament meeting as well.
What
impressed Matt most about the Duke experience was how supportive
of his mission "Coach K" and the Blue Devil basketball staff were.
"While I was on my mission, I probably got two or
three letters a week from someone here at Duke," Matt remembers.
"Whether it was one of the coaches, one of the secretaries, or whomever;
someone from the basketball office was always very supportive."
Matt served
in the Germany Frankfurt Mission from 1996-98 and remembers a letter
former Duke assistant coach Quin Snyder wrote to him while he was
in the mission field. "In his letter," Matt recalls, "he said, ‘don't
worry about what basketball will be like when you get back. Just
focus on what you're doing — that's the most important thing.'
It was great to get such incredible support from people who are
not of our faith."
Bedtime stories
and missionary dreams
Serving a full-time mission was something Matt always knew he'd
do. When he was a child, Matt recalls his father, Clayton, telling him stories about experiences from his mission
to Korea and from Matt's grandfather's mission to Denmark.
"I recognized
from a very early age that serving a mission profoundly influenced
the lives of my father and grandfather," says Matt. "I knew it was
something I wanted to experience as well. I could see how God had
blessed them and I wanted to have that blessing for myself as well.
Because of how much the Church has meant to my family, I wanted
other people to have the happiness that comes from knowing the truth."
Papa Christensen,
a Church history buff, would also tell his young son stories from
this dispensation's early days. "I probably knew more about Parley
P. Pratt and B.H.
Roberts than any other 6-year-old,"
claims Matt. These recollections, he feels, were instrumental in
his decision to serve a full-time mission.
Supportive
cast
Matt's father — in addition to being a masterful bedtime
storyteller — is a noted author, economist and recently-called
Area Authority Seventy. He also teaches at the Harvard Business
School. Dr. Christensen studied at BYU — where he played a
season of basketball — and at the prestigious Oxford University
as a Rhodes Scholar. Christine, Matt's mom, was an English major in college, but
chose to focus her talents where they mattered most — in the
home.
Matt is the
oldest of five children. Ann, 22, graduated from Duke last year and is presently
serving a full-time mission in Mongolia. She is also a talented
ballerina, having performed in the famed Boston Ballet. Michael, 20, completed his freshman year at Harvard Business
School and is currently on his mission in Pocatello, Idaho. Spencer, 14, and Katie,
10, are the youngest of the Christensen brood.
Former NBA player
Greg Kite is Matt's second
cousin and was a positive influence in his life. While playing for
the Orlando Magic, Kite would have Matt down to Florida for a few
weeks during the summer to train with the team. Besides the exposure
to players from the NBA, Matt received valuable advice from the
strength and conditioning coaches in Orlando that helped him in
his athletic development.
Side note
Matt was born on Sept. 11, 1977. Twenty-four years to the day
later, the deadliest terrorist attack ever perpetrated against the
United States occurred. His twenty-fourth birthday was a surreal
experience.
"Somebody called
one of the trainers and said that a plane had crashed into the World
Trade Center," recalls Matt who was in the Duke University training
room at the time of the attacks. "Immediately, I think the image
everybody had in mind when they said ‘plane' was a Cessna
or something like that."
Immediately,
Matt's concerns turned homeward. "The first thing I was worried
about was that my dad, who travels extensively, was on one of the
planes since they had all left from Boston," remembers Matt whose
family lives about two blocks from the Boston Temple. "The first
thing I did was to call my dad to make sure he was not traveling
that day."
To Matt's relief,
the Christensen patriarch had not been traveling that day. The enormity
of the tragedy still hit close to home, however, as the Christensen
family later learned that close friends of the family had perished
in the collapse of the towers.
The impact Sept.
11, 2001 had on Matt is evident as he recalls how, last summer,
he had worked at a Merrill Lynch office right across the street
from the doomed towers — a job he held until about a month
before the attacks. He speaks of how he used to take the subway
from South Jersey — where he was living with a friend —
to work and would disembark directly below the WTC.
Indelible
impressions
While his dad served as a counselor in the Boston Mission presidency,
Matt had the opportunity of meeting Dale Murphy, one of his boyhood role models. Murphy presided over
the Massachusetts Boston Mission from 1997-2000.
Others cited
by Matt as having a positive influence on his life are Michael
L. Jensen (his mission president
and current Area Authority Seventy) and various prophets from the
scriptures.
Basketball
and the Sabbath
Being required to play basketball on the Sabbath is something
Matt's never been comfortable with. With his basketball days behind
him, Matt is glad to be able to observe the Sabbath in the way he
feels it should be observed.
Colleges began
sending Matt letters as early as the seventh grade. His decision
to go to Duke was a result of fasting and praying from the seventh
to the twelfth grade.
"I felt a confirmation
at that time that coming (to Duke) was the right thing for me to
do," says Matt. "Obviously, because He is all-knowing, the Lord
was not oblivious to the fact that coming here to play basketball
meant that I would be playing on Sunday. I feel like because it
came as a result of an answer to prayer, it was okay for me. Not
good, just okay."
Above all else,
a decision of this nature is best made after fervent prayer and
consultation with the Lord, Matt feels.
The next
chapter
Matt will graduate from Duke on May 12 with degrees in economics
and civil engineering. He will then return to the Boston area where
he has a job lined up with the Boston Consulting Group.
While in New
York last summer, Matt met a young lady, Elizabeth Young,
whom he has been dating since.
Decide now
The key to living the Gospel and playing sports, Matt feels,
is to make a decision now
about what you will do when faced with a tough decision.
"When confronted
with decisions, like playing on Sunday when you don't have to, it's
pretty easy to rationalize — especially when you're in high
school — that it's necessary because college recruiters are
there. It's pretty easy to convince yourself that those games are
important," says Matt. "Incremental steps of what's okay to do will
follow if you don't decide where to draw the line.
"I think those
decisions are best made when we can thoughtfully consider all of
the consequences of our behavior. Right now you can consult with your parents and priesthood leaders
about what you should do rather than making that decision when you're
surrounded by teammates and coaches that may not have the same standards
as you."
If
you are aware of an LDS athlete that deserves recognition in Meridian
Sports, please e-mail the sports writer at sports@meridianmagazine.com
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