He just got here from Australia and now he gets to go back.

The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team has a new Australian member, Mason Peatling (Melbourne), who will be joining four fellow Australians and the rest of EWU's team for an eight-game tour of his homeland starting on Aug. 17.

With Australian native and EWU all-time leading scorer Venky Jois having graduated this past year, the team lost a big physical presence in the front court. Now, Peatling is stepping up to the task of bringing that same type of presence.

The 19-year-old freshman is out of Melbourne, Australia, where he attended high school at Beaconhills College in Berwick. The other four Australians on this year's squad are senior Felix Von Hofe (Melbourne), sophomore Geremy McKay (Melbourne), sophomore Jesse Hunt (Geraldton) and freshman Fuzzy Wearne (Croydon).

From 2013-15, Peatling played for the Dandenong Rangers in the South East Australian Basketball league — the same team Jois and Wearne played for before they attended Eastern. Peatling was chosen as the Youth League Rookie of the Year at the U23 Victorian Youth Championship in 2015 after helping his team to a silver medal while averaging 13.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. In February, Peatling helped the Victoria Navy U20 men's team in becoming national champions in the Australia Junior Championships.

Peatling, joined in Spokane by his wife Laura after getting married in February of 2016, comes in at 6-foot-8, 220 pounds and will be competing for a starting spot in the winter. Let's get to know the newest member of the Eagle family.
 
Q: Since signing in November, how has the past year gone for you?
A: "I played in a tournament back home. We won the national championship so that was good. Everything after I signed was basically in preparation for right now so I was ready to come in and be ready to go. I prepared all through Christmas break for the tournament and it went on until February. Then I played a short time for Dandenong before coming here in June. Basically everything has been preparation to get here in June."
 
Q: You played for the Rangers, the same team Venky Jois played on. Have you talked to Venky?
A: "I have. I remember Venky from when I was about 12 or 13. They get the young kids of the club to sweep the floors at the games, and I remember watching him play. I didn't know Venky went here until Eastern started recruiting me, and when I got recruited I saw his name on the roster. I sort of watched his game a little bit and thought, 'I swear that I saw someone back home who did the exact same thing,' and I put the two together and made the connection. As soon as I knew there were some Australians there I reached out to them and asked some questions about what this place is really like, and they told me what I wanted to hear. I talked to Venky a little bit, but it's unfortunate that now he's going out when I'm coming in. We just missed each other."
 
Q: What does the Australian Culture of the team mean to you?
A: "It's massive. At the end of a long day of class and practice, you want to have a couple of guys who just know what you're comfortable with and who you are. I already knew Fuzzy -- I played on the same team with him before I came here so I knew him very well. And I knew of a couple of the other guys and what they were like. So that's huge, just because if things get tough, you know they're going to be there for you and you're not here by yourself. And it's the same with the coaches. They've been coaching Australian guys for a long time too, so they'll be better with me than they were the first Australian they coached. It's all very comforting for sure."
 
Q: What are you looking forward to most this upcoming season?
A:"Immediately, I'm looking forward to the tour in Australia. That's really exciting for me, and especially for the guys on the team who haven't been home for a while. They are definitely looking forward to going home and playing in front of their families. It's not an experience you get to have very often when you play on the other side of the world, so for me it's very unique that I get to do that right away. My whole family over there is so excited to send me off to college, and now I get to bring the team over and play in front of them. But we also get to share some new experiences as a team. And it will be a great experience for some of the American guys who may never go to Australia again. I'm sure that will bring us closer together as a team, and we'll take a lot of pride in showing them around. Then after that, my first season begins and I'm looking forward to just contributing as best as I can. As a freshman there are going to be things you're naturally good at, and parts of your game you're missing just coming from the high school level to the college level. Whatever the coach needs, I'm going to put all my effort into doing that. And whether that means playing minutes or not, I'm just going to keep on working and I'm excited to keep developing my game."
 
Q: What has been your favorite thing about coming over to the U.S.?
A: "It's been a real challenge trying to adjust to the food here. But we're enjoying it now that we're settled -- I know what's good and my wife and I have been cooking a lot at home. I'm really enjoying going out and discovering the nice parts of Spokane, it's like a completely new world. I look around and this is nothing like my home. And in the winter it's going to be even more different. So that's the fun part of the United States for me, just discovering a completely new world."