Big brother Zack wakes up earlier than little brother Tyce. Little brother Tyce talks less and big brother Zack is more comfortable in crowds. Big brother Zack owns the car, and little brother Tyce borrows it.
“Zack is up at 7 a.m. probably in a book; Tyce likes to sleep in,” Point Loma Nazarene University men’s head basketball coach Justin Downer said about the sibling backcourt. “They understand each other so well and instead of rubbing each other the wrong way they celebrate each other.”
“I am more laid back and do my own thing and he’s more go see what everyone is doing,” freshman Tyce Paulsen said.
“Our personalities are quite a bit different,” added graduate transfer Zack Paulsen. “He’s more shy. I guess opposites attract. He’s my best friend.”
Off the court, the Paulsen brothers are plenty different, on the court, the contrast is more subtle.
“On the floor, you would think they are pretty similar,” Downer said. “They shoot it well. They are bigger guards. Zack is as disciplined as they come, he is so coachable and will do exactly what the coaches say. Not to say Tyce isn’t, but he is a little more of a gunslinger. You have to manage him.”
“Tyce is talented as all get out,” Zack Paulsen said. “I didn’t have that naïve confidence as a freshman to do some of the stuff he does.”
“We both can shoot it but at this point in our careers, Zack is more physical than I am,” Tyce Paulsen said.
After losing leading scorer Jake Lifgren for the season to a torn ACL, and with returning junior Luke Haupt potentially taking a red-shirt year, the Paulsen’s have spent significantly more time on the court together than anticipated.
“Injuries are no fun, but they have allowed us to play a ton together,” Zack Paulsen said.
The brothers are spending nearly 30 minutes a game on the floor with each other.
“Never in a million years would I have thought we’d get to play on a college basketball team together,” said Zack Paulsen, who transferred from Seattle Pacific.
“He’s always been someone I’ve looked up to,” Tyce Paulsen added. “I never thought this experience would come, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
Bigger guards at 6 feet 4 inches tall, though Zack has a sturdier build – the Paulsens are averaging a combined 25 points and eight rebounds per game, for the 15-7 Sea Lions.
“You catch yourself saying ‘Hey pass it to your brother,’” Downer said. Especially Tyce, we are trying to get him to execute and it’s like ‘Hey man, swing the ball to your brother.’ It’s fun though because they’ve never played together before. They missed each other by a year in high school. We are really into family and brotherhood and often they are the reference point.”
For Zack, the enduring memory of his younger brother is as a fifth-grader tagging along to watch him play in a holiday tournament for Curtis High School, back in their hometown of University Place, Wash.
“Every single break, Tyce was shooting on the court,” Zack Paulsen said. “Always having him in the gym during practices or games – he was always just the little kid shooting. That surreal thought of where we are now is pretty cool.”
“Every tournament I was there watching and shooting at halftime and during timeouts,” Tyce Paulsen added.
Currently scraping it out in the PacWest Conference standings for first place with Academy of Art and Biola, PLNU ends the regular season on March 2 with an away game at Academy of Art.
The Sea Lions then host the PacWest Tournament on March 7-9.
Tyce doesn’t like to look too far ahead, but Zack can’t help it when he talks about his brother.
“His ability is special for a kid that’s in his first year of college,” Zack Paulsen said. “He will gain strength and athleticism – that will come. He’s also coming out of his shell. He is going to be way better of a basketball player than I ever could be.”
“I’m surprised, I never would have thought he’d admit to that,” Tyce Paulsen added, with the small chuckle familiar to most siblings who at one point or another have competed with each other.
