NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Washington of last decade

6. Matisse Thybulle – Washington

Thybulle was another 4-star prospect who was heavily recruited but decided to stay pretty close to home. A 6’5 guard from Issaquah, he arrived at Washington in 2015, playing for head coaches Lorenzo Romar and Mike Hopkins across a successful collegiate career, one in which he developed into a force on both sides of the ball.

Thybulle wasn’t the kind of player who would score 20 points every night, but he did develop into a real stuffer of the stats sheet. He averaged 11.2 points per game as a junior in Hopkins’ first season as head coach, but it’s not his offense that was the highlight. He had impressive steals and blocks numbers as well, including a pair of 6-block games and a slew with at least 7 steals. Across the board, he averaged 9.1 points, 3.5 steals, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and 2.1 assists for the Huskies, helping lead them to the Pac-12 regular season title and a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

He was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year for each of those final two seasons and was named First Team All-Pac-12 as a senior. He actually led the entire nation in steals as a senior and ranked among the national leaders in blocks and a number of defensive metrics. Thybulle played an important role in Washington’s revival. He became a first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and has played these last three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers.