Rookie Thybulle displays unique skills
Rookie Thybulle using unique skill to lock down opponents
NEW YORK » Through the 34 games in his freshman season at the University of Washington, Matisse Thybulle heard two things.
He heard the warnings. And he heard the whistles. “I probably fouled out a third of the games,” Thybulle was remembering Monday, before the Sixers’ 117-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. “And it was probably a combination of things, of me fouling, and for everyone to get a feel for what I was doing.
“It’s similar to the way it has been coming into this league, I guess.”
What Thybulle does, the skill that makes him uniquely valuable, the one that had him fouling 3.3 times a game as a college freshman and, thus, almost in eternal foul trouble, is block shots from behind jump shooters. Behind. Not in front. Who does that? A few players, maybe. But does anyone do it with the regularity and the determination and the success of Thybulle?
“It’s just something I’ve always done,” he said. “I did it late in my high school career. And then I figured it out in college.”
Thybulle started his fourth consecutive game Monday as Brett Brown continued to work his way through the continued absence of Joel Embiid, who is recovering from finger surgery. The rookie perimeter player made four steals, blocked a shot and did nothing to blunt his strong candidacy for a spot in the Feb. 16 Futures Game during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend.
Not that his defensive excellence has been a surprise, for he was the national college defensive player of the year in his senior season at Washington. (For the record, he only fouled out eight times as a freshman. But he picked up at least four fouls in 17 of his 34 outings). With 331 steals, he swiped the Pac-12 record once held by Gary Payton. And his 186 snuffs matched former Sixer Christian Welp’s Washington record.
Welp was 7-feet. Thybulle is listed at 6-5. Yet his seven-foot wingspan allows him to uncoil
and stun would-be shooters with his ability to block a shot.
Even though his tendency to make some of those blocks from behind must be on every scouting report, the stunned stares from his victims suggest they never really believe it’s possible. Not only is it possible, but apparently there is a coach-speak phrase for the skill.
“I think his ability to stalk from behind and bother people is elite,” Brown said. “We call it a ‘rear-view contest.’ And it’s bothersome to shooters. Maybe the most important thing for me in praising him for his defensive growth is that he is doing it without the foul.”
If Thybulle’s ability to stun shooters from behind is growing, so, too, must be the way the officials react to such a unique skill. Through more than half a season, and even as recently as the first handful of shifts as a starter in the absence of Embiid, Thybulle’s back-door shot-blocking was met with screeching whistles. Much as he was early in his Washington career, he routinely drew fouls, the 10th most among NBA rookies.
Since the preseason,
Brown had been encouraging Thybulle to remain active at whatever risk of foul trouble. But as the postseason nears, the development of a rookie cannot be as vital as the determination to avoid rookie mistakes.
“Maybe the most important praise I can give him is about his defensive growth,” Brown said. “He’s doing it without fouling. There are still some wild gambles. There are still some times when he loses his man on a back cut or somebody shoots over him in the corner. There’s still some of that. But he’s prideful. He’s getting better. And especially in that area, he’s getting better.”
If so, it has been similar to the course Thybulle followed at Washington, where, after years of instruction, he became less foul-prone as an upperclassman. That full four years of seasoning, Thybulle has said, readied him to become the No. 20 overall pick in the last draft.
“My coaches always told me about fouling,” Thybulle said. “But I had a feel for what I could do.”
When Embiid was injured, Brown’s first reaction was to start Mike Scott. But Thybulle’s defense was too intriguing. Mindful that he will need defense in the playoffs, Brown has begun to groom Thybulle for his truncated postseason rotation by putting him on the court early and trusting him with challenging defensive assignments. Among them was a matchup last week against the Bulls’ Zach LaVine.
“I’m playing roughly the same number of minutes, but just at a different time of the game,” Thybulle said. “I am glad to get the chance to help us get going from the jump.”
With his recent production, there is a buzz that he would be a nice fit for the Futures Game.
“That would be cool,” he said. “It would be great to be recognized. To play in that game shows great respect for any first-year or sophomore player. But I am sure a lot of guys who didn’t play in it went on to have great careers, and some guys who did were out of the league by the next year. It is what it is.
“If I get to play, it would be great. But those things are just accolades. I just want to be the best player I can be and help our team win.”