Dear LMU,
It’s been a little over two years since I left the bluff. Currently, I live in France in a small town called Chalon-sur-Saône. So, how did I end up here?
I always wanted to become a professional basketball player. Before committing to college, I considered going professional. However, I decided to try the college scene, and I’ll be forever grateful for doing so. After my last season at LMU, I signed with an agent, and later that summer, my signature belonged to Opava in the Czech Republic.
A small town in the east region of the Czech Republic, Opava loves the game of basketball. I enjoyed playing for the club and the fans, and it’s a team with amazing history that ruled the Czech League for many years. However, something missing during recent years prevented us from beating a strong Nymburk team that’s always been a rival to Opava. Nymburk had won both the league and the Czech Cup for the past 15-plus years. Our goal was to end their streak, and we won the cup in a tight final game against them. However, we fell short in the championship against Nymburk. Nevertheless, winning the cup and reaching the championship final was a successful year for the club.
The following year I was in talks with Chalon, who won the French first league, now known as the Betclic Élite, in 2017. But after a few challenging years, they ended up being relegated to the second league. Their goal was simple: promotion to the first league. I liked the project they presented to me and decided to sign.
It was a long season with plenty of ups and downs, but we stuck together, played well, and reached the best-of-three final series. We had home-court advantage thanks to our regular season record. We lost the first game, making the second a must-win on the road — or everything we fought for would’ve ended in disappointment. In game two, we played extraordinary basketball and forced game three on our home court. In front of a sold-out gym and in a boiling arena, we won and qualified for the French first league. Now, we’re in the thick of the 2023–24 season and playing against the best. Wish us luck!
Mattias Markusson earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and an M.A. in education. A member of the men’s basketball team (2016–21), he earned All-WCC Honorable Mention honors and registered 581 career rebounds and 93 career blocked shots (sixth in program history).