It was spring break at Huron High School last week, but A.J. Mathew wasn’t ready for a vacation just yet. The memory of the River Rats’ boys basketball state championship loss was too fresh.

Mathew was right back in gym the day after that March 27 loss to Kalamazoo Central, and has spent at least two hours each day - right through spring break - working on his game ever since.

In fact, if you believe what the three-year starting point guard has to say, he will not take a day off until his River Rats complete their unfinished business next March at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

“A day off is a lost day,” Mathew says. “From now until the state championship comes around again, people might call me crazy. I just call me focused.”

And, according to those around him, there’s no reason to doubt Mathew will stick to that plan.

“It’s a great advantage to your team when your best player is your hardest worker,” Huron coach Waleed Samaha says. “It makes him a more credible leader. He has the full respect of the kids in the program.”

The River Rats are a combined 59-13 in the three years Mathew has been their starting point guard. The AnnArbor.com Player of the Year led the this year’s history-making team in scoring (14.8 points) and assists (4.2) and was second in rebounds (5.2) and steals (3.1).

Samaha says Mathew’s most valuable contributions to the team - which advanced past the quarterfinal round for the first time in school history - come away from the boxscore.

“First and foremost, A.J.’s our leader on the floor and in the locker room,” he said. “He’s the leader when the kids are away from the coaches … he’s just committed to being a leader.”

Mathew also excels academically, although some struggles in the classroom during his freshman year nearly made Samaha re-think his decision to elevate Mathew to the varsity team so early.

“Struggles” in Mathew’s case, it should be noted, meant a 3.2 grade point average. He’s been a 4.0 student ever since his coach and parents emphasized as much effort be put into textbooks as basketball.

Mathew admits his serious approach to school is sometimes masked behind his basketball acumen and his physical appearance.

A.J. and his older brother Phil, a 2009 Huron graduate, have matching tattoos on their right shoulder: a cross with the words “God and Family.” An “A” and “J” dominate Mathew’s triceps; his mother’s name, “Melissa,” is inked on his right bicep; and his left shoulder is decorated with a basketball and the words “One Love. It’s My Life.”

Mathew told his father, Ajay Mathew, that he was going to add his name on the other bicep.

“I’d rather you not,” his father told him. “You can just tell me you love me.”

Samaha figures if his players are doing their work in the classroom and the community, he’s willing to overlook some generational differences.

“I get on kids all the time about their tattoos and earrings, but that’s a battle I’m going to lose every time,” Samaha says with a laugh. “That’s not a hill I’m willing to die on.”

But going back to battle on the court next season - with Mathew and four more of the team’s top six scorers returning - is something everybody is looking forward to.

“We’ve been talking about it ever since we lost,” Mathew said. “We should be back, but nothing guaranteed. There will be a big X on our back. Everybody will be coming for us, instead of us coming for them.”