Washington Huskies basketball coach Mike Hopkins.
Washington Huskies men’s basketball now goes into its sixth season with Mike Hopkins as head coach. The program started out well under Hopkins as he earned Pac-12 coach of the year in his first two seasons at Washington.
In Hopkins’ second season, the Huskies won the Pac-12 title and went to the NCAA tournament after missing out for eight years under coach Lorenzo Romar. The success Hopkins had was mostly with players recruited to Washington by Romar. Those successful seasons were followed up with 15-17 and 5-21, which wasn’t due to a lack of talent.
His overall record at Washington is 84-75, including 45-49 in the Pac-12. Except for last year’s 17-15 record and fifth-place conference finish, the Washington Huskies struggled with Hopkins’ recruits.
The school is now halfway through the six-year contract extension they signed Hopkins to in March 2019. If the Huskies have a losing season in 2022-23, will Washington Athletic Director Jen Cohen fire Hopkins with two years remaining on his contract? Terminating both the football coach and basketball coach in just over one year will tarnish Cohen’s reputation at Washington.
Should that happen, Cohen could go with former Husky great and assistant head coach Will Conroy, who coached a couple of games last season when Hopkins was out with Covid-19. Having a coach that knows the university, as well as in-state players, would be the choice to go with.
Remember Mark Few was an assistant at Gonzaga for ten years before making them the powerhouse they are today. The Huskies don’t necessarily need to have the same success but having a team that competes for the Pac-12 title more times than not is realistic.
Last year the Washington Huskies had only one freshman on the roster. Despite being a McDonald’s High School All-American, 6-10 forward Jackson Grant only averaged seven minutes and two points a game. Look for the forward from Olympia to have a bigger role in 2022-23.
Nate Roberts, who was the Huskies leading rebounder last year at 7.3 per game, along with 4.1 points, decided not to return for his last year of eligibility. He decided to turn pro and is on his way to play overseas. Second leading scorer Emmitt Matthews isn’t coming back either. The 6-7 senior forward decided to transfer back to the University of West Virginia, where he started his college career.
Another big man returning to the Washington Huskies is Langston Wilson, who transferred in last year from Georgia Highlands College as the number two JUCO recruit in the country. The 6-9 forward averaged 9.5 minutes, 2.4 points, and 3.0 rebounds a game.
7’4″ center Riley Sorn came to Washington at the same time as Roberts, but as a walkon and a project. He had no playing time his first year and one game the following year but has steadily improved. Last year he played in only 15 games because of injuries averaging 6.0 minutes, 2.1 points, and 1.7 rebounds.
That’s a lot of size in the front court. Junior guard PJ Fuller will anchor the backcourt.
Going into the 2022-23 season, the Huskies have six new players, three freshmen, and three transfers. All six are considered three-star prospects. Two of the freshmen have local Seattle ties.
Guard Koren Johnson, from Garfield High, is considered a good three-point shooter and defender. Kings High School product Tyler Linhardt was the number two prospect in Washington according to 247Sports.
Not sure whether he will be a power or small forward for the Huskies. The third incoming freshman is point guard Kenyon Menifield from Flint, Michigan.
The most familiar name of the three transfers is Noah Williams. The former O’Dea High School star played three years at Washington State. His best season was 2020-21, when he averaged 14.1 points and 2.7 assists. A repeat of that season will help the Huskies.
The other two transfers will compete to be the starting center.
Braxton Meah is a transfer from Fresno State. Meah didn’t start any games in his two years at FSU. He averaged 8.7 minutes, 2.5 points, and 2.2 rebounds per game. The other is Franck Kepnang, who played the last two years at rival Oregon. Last year he played in 35 games compared to 17 in his freshman season. Kepnang isn’t considered much of an offensive player; he averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.5 minutes a game. Kepnang is known as a good shot blocker, so hopefully, he can clog up the middle.
How well these new Washington Huskies do will be a major determinant of Hopkins at UW.
Washington has 18 offers out to prospects in the 2023-24 class. Three of those players are from in-state, small forward Jaylin Stewart from Garfield HS, guard Cayden McDaniel from Wilson HS in Tacoma, and Brooklyn Hicks from Timberline HS in Lacey. Stewart is a four-star recruit, while McDaniel and Hicks don’t have a rating at this time.
We will have to wait and see about the Class of 2023-24. Much depends on this upcoming season and whether Hopkins sticks around. Go Dawgs!