Washington to restore Hopkins for 7th season

SEATTLE– Washington guys’s basketball coach Mike Hopkins will return for his seventh season in charge of the Huskies despite 4 straight years without an NCAA tournament appearance.Washington athletic director Jen Cohen stated in a declaration Sunday that though the just recently concluded season did not fulfill expectations, the school was sticking with Hopkins.”After completing a postseason evaluation of the program and after numerous extensive discussions with Coach Hopkins, I am hopeful that next season will once again see the Huskies competing for a Pac-12 champion and back in the NCAA tournament,”Cohen stated.”Coach Hopkins understands our expectations and is devoted to make any and all essential changes to get us there.”Editor’s Picks Hopkins is 101-91 in his six seasons at Washington. The Huskies were 16-16 this season

, ended up eighth in the Pac-12 Conference and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament.After a promising opening show 20-plus wins in each of his first 2 seasons, the program has actually been stuck on a downward trajectory that’s resulted in calls from fans for a change in leadership.Hopkins signed a six-year contract extension in 2019 and has two years staying on the deal that pays him more than $3 million per season.The 53-year-old had his most success in his very first 2 seasons, going 21-13 in 2017-18. The list below year, he went 27-9, winning the Pac-12 routine season title

and taking the Huskies to the NCAA competition for the first time in eight years.But those 2 seasons always featured an asterisk attached as Hopkins’success came primarily with older players that pertained to Washington under previous coach Lorenzo Romar.

Once Hopkins’recruiting became accountable for the bulk of the lineup, the Huskies have actually struggled even with a handful of players that went on to be high NBA draft picks.Washington went 15-17 in 2019-20 and a miserable 5-21 in the pandemic year of 2020-21. The Huskies were a. 500 team the past 2 seasons, but had a hard time severely in showcase opportunities with convincing losses to the likes of Auburn, Gonzaga, UCLA and Arizona.Before taking the head task at Washington, Hopkins was the top assistant and the coach-in-waiting at Syracuse. Instead of waiting on Jim Boeheim to retire, Hopkins jumped at the chance to take control of a Pac-12 program when the Huskies carried on from Romar after the 2016-17 season.