By Genre McAtee '16
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Flipping through a copy of Fine Cooking magazine in the Salt Lake City Airport, Matt Hubbard (MH) took a few minutes out of his schedule to talk to SantaClaraBroncos.com (SCB). Hubbard, a 6-foot-9-inch freshman forward from Colville, Wash., talked about the season, his family's visit and about his suite mates.
SCB: What are you excited for this season?
MH: I'm expecting a great year this year. It's going to be a lot of fun with the group of guys we have and I'm excited to be a part of it. Our upcoming road trip to Michigan State and Orlando will be a really good experience. I haven't been to either place.
SCB: After playing three games, what are some things you are going to work on in the preseason?
MH: I definitely need to focus on rebounding. Rebounding and setting good screens. We need to keep working to get used to each other on the offensive end to have a better flow on that side of the court. Defensively I need to work on my rebounding and boxing out. I need to make sure I am always moving my feet.
SCB: What is your pregame routine?
MH: I get mentally prepared by listening to music before shootaround. And then I get game reps in during shootaround. We go over the other team's personnel before we go out. It's good to know what the coaches think the other team will do. I don't have any superstitions other than listening to music. These days I am listening to Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Eventide. Eventide is a chill group – it's calming music.
SCB: How do your friends, family and fans affect your game play?
MH: It helps knowing my friends are supporting me and the same goes for the fans. It's nice knowing that people you don't know very well are cheering for you. My Mom and Dad and my grandparents came to our first weekend of games at home. It was great seeing them because I haven't seen them in almost two months. They took me out to dinner and it was great knowing they were in the stands.
SCB: Is there anything you're hoping to see or accomplish this season?
MH: I'm hoping to win the WCC tournament. That has been our team's goal since we got here and nothing has changed.
SCB: You share a room with Evan Wardlow and a suite with Kai Healy and Stephen Edwards. Any good stories?
MH: Our room is cleaner easily. I am the best at 2K and Stephen is the best at FIFA. But Kai would argue that.
Go Broncos!