The Details: Thybulle Grows Game Down Under
July 22, 2016 | General, Men's Basketball
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Matisse Thybulle wheeled his way toward Washington's locker room, rolling down a hallway inside Alaska Airlines Arena on a longboard earlier this week. With a camera draped around his neck and a smile on his face, the sophomore seemed to have shaken off any lingering jet lag after a recent whirlwind trip to Australia with the Pac-12 All-Stars.
"It was fun," the 6-foot-5 forward said after trading his longboard for his practice uniform. "I had a really good time. I liked the coaching staff and, the guys, we became pretty good friends on the trip."
The only member of the team who had previously been to Australia – Thybulle spent part of his childhood living Down Under – the visit provided a trip home of sorts for Huskies' standout.
"It was really good to go back and experience the culture," he said. "It was kind of the same as I remember it from when I was a little kid."
However, while he lived in Sydney, this trip took him to Melbourne.
While this opportunity to travel was nice, he focused his visit on basketball. It was an opportunity to spend a portion of his summer refining his game against professional talent.
In fact, getting to play against Australia's national team provided the highlight of the trip for Thybulle.
"Just playing in front of their fans, how different the atmosphere is," he said. "To hear their chants and be the underdogs against those good opponents, that was great."
Had Thybulle spent his summer in Seattle, he would have worked on his game. He would have worked both on the court and in the weight room. But there is something to be said for the experience that comes from playing in games against top talent.
"Being able to play against professional basketball players, really elite talent, showed me what I need to do to get my game to the next level," he said. "I got to see where they're at, compare that to where I am and figure out what I need to do to get to that point."
Thybulle started all 34 games for the Huskies as a true freshman last season, averaging 6.2 points per game. He went into the offseason wanting to work toward becoming a more complete and consistent player.
"I wanted to step away from just being a spot-up shooter," he said.
Thybulle has been working to better his mid-range game, becoming more consistent with his pull-up jumper, while also improving his ability to get to the hoop.
"I was playing against such good talent, I had to really be on point for everything to work," he said.
Now back in Seattle, he has the opportunity to take the lessons learned in Australia and apply them to his game while training with his teammates, who are getting ready for their own foreign adventure.
In fact, for the second time in two months, Thybulle will travel to Australia, this time with the Huskies, who leave for Melbourne on July 31.
For Thybulle, this visit will be more of a homecoming, since Washington will play a pair of games in Sydney on Aug. 8 and 10.
"It's really nice to know I get to go back to where I did live and experience that again," he said.
The Huskies are playing five games in three cities – Melbourne, Christchurch and Sydney – with visits to attractions like the Sydney Opera House, the Queen Victoria Market and Royal Melbourne Zoo. The team will fly back to Seattle on Aug. 11.
Between his childhood in Sydney and his recent trip with the Pac-12 All-Stars, Thybulle may have to double as a tour guide for his Washington teammates.
By the time Thybulle returns to campus after a second summer international basketball adventure, he will have traveled more than 32,000 miles by plane but, "If you just take a little nap, the flight isn't that bad," he said.
When the payoff is basketball and a trip abroad, long travel days are a small price.
Before joining his teammates for practice, Thybulle was asked to look ahead. After last season's trip to the NIT, he wants to help the Huskies take another step forward in his second season.
"I feel like we missed out on a few things last year," he said. "We're ready to make up for that. You could say we're on a mission. Even the new guys, they've got the same mentality. We're trying to make a statement with this team this year. We want to show everyone what UW can really do."
