Washington Huskies ready for showcase tournament
University of Washington coach brings March Madness hopefuls to Vancouver
The closest Mike Hopkins has been to Vancouver was a childhood trip to see family in Vancouver, Wash.
The University of Washington men’s basketball coach never even made it north of the border to see his college teammate Lawrence Moten suit up for the NBA’s Vancouver Grizzlies.
“He was fan favourite; people loved him,” said Hopkins, taking a quick trip down memory lane to his playing days at Syracuse University.
“I always remember they used to call him Slow-Mo and he had those big socks. He just knew how to score. His whole game was deception and you were like, ‘How did he just do that?’
“He didn’t look like he was fast and then he’d just blow by you. And he didn’t look like he could shoot and then all of a sudden he’d hit three threes in a row. He just had a deception that made him so unique and different.”
Moten, who is still the Big East career leading scorer, was a Grizzlies fan favourite at the former GM Place, just a high-socked Euro step away from the Vancouver Convention Centre where Hopkins and his Huskies will play in the TCL Vancouver Showcase. The event will see four men’s and eight women’s teams play in the first NCAA regular-season tournament played outside of the U.S.
Washington opens the tournament Sunday at 5 p.m. against Santa Clara — the alma mater of NBA legend and B.C. boy Steve Nash — followed up by games against Texas A&M and the Minnesota Gophers over the next four days.
Hopkins, who spent the last 23 years as an assistant coach under Jim Boeheim at Syracuse, took over the Huskies program at the start of last season and nearly got them into the NCAA tournament. He ramped up the strength of schedule for the Huskies this season and through the first three games it has literally been a trial by fire.
The Huskies dispatched a tough Western Kentucky team at home to open the season, then flew across the country to Alabama to face the Auburn Tigers, losing by 22 to the nation’s No. 8-ranked team in a hostile environment. On the way to the airport after the Nov. 9 game, their bus caught fire. Hopkins humorously recounted the tale of him and his team sloshing their way through “swamp water” in a frantic dash to get away from a bus they expected to explode at any moment.
On Monday, the Huskies followed up the craziness with a three-point win over San Diego and have been off since preparing for the Vancouver Showcase.
“We tried to upgrade our schedule to a bit more demanding one,” said Hopkins. “Three games in nine (days), across country, has been pretty difficult. But I think it’s challenged us. I really believe that having a tougher schedule makes you better in the long run as long as you survive and we were able to survive.”
Playing in this tournament was also with another long-term goal in mind: the recruitment of Canadian players. Like most NCAA programs, the bulk of their recruiting is done within a five-hour radius of the campus and the Huskies are no exception. But the emergence of northern talent on the elite scene isn’t lost on Hopkins, who spent time helping Orange alumnus Leo Rautins and the Canadian men’s national team learn the intricacies of the famed Syracuse 2-3 zone when he was an assistant.
“Canada has become one of the powerhouses in the world of basketball,” said Hopkins, adding he already has relationships with local coaches as part of his scouting network.
“Us coming up there gives us an advantage because we are close, there is exposure to our brand and I think we bring an exciting brand of basketball … and those are always great opportunities as you build a program.”
The Huskies went 21-13 last season, but two losses down the stretch to Oregon State — including one in the Pac-12 Tournament — dashed their NCAA Tournament hopes. They settled for an NIT berth instead, but hope this year they can stop flirting with an atlarge NCAA seed and qualify for March Madness.
“One game at a time. We have a veteran team that can get there. That’s what you strive to do: to get in the national tournament and have a chance to win a national championship,” said Hopkins, whose team started as the nation’s 25th-ranked team.
“As a coach in the second year of building a program, rebuilding it step by step, brick by brick, we’re just focusing on the process. We’ve obviously got to get better in some areas, but we have the talent to do it. We just have to put it together. That’s why we’re coming to Vancouver: to see where we’re at.” FRIDAY, NOV. 16
RADIO
TSN 1040 AM: Dennis Hull, 8:30 a.m., The Morning Show with David Pratt; Brady Henderson, 11 a.m., Halford & Brough; Guy Lafleur, 2:30 p.m., Donnie & The Moj; Pierre McGuire, 3:30 p.m.
TV
BASKETBALL: NCAA, 2K Classic, third-place game, 1:30 p.m. TSN2; Championship, 4 p.m. TSN2.; NBA, Toronto Raptors at Boston Celtics, 4 p.m. SNOne; Utah Jazz at Philadelphia 76ers, 4 p.m. TSN1, TSN5; Chicago Bulls at Milwaukee Bucks, 6:30 p.m. SNOne, WGN.
BOXING: Top Rank, Maurice Hooker vs. Alex Saucedo, 9 p.m. TSN3. GOLF: PGA, The RSM Classic, Round 2, 10:30 a.m. GOLF; APGA, Australian Open, Round 3, 5 p.m. GOLF; EPGA, Tour Championship, Round 3, Midnight GOLF.
HOCKEY: AHL, Toronto Marlies at Belleville Senators, 4 p.m. SN360; NHL, Boston Bruins at Dallas Stars, 5 p.m. SNP, SNE, SNW; NCAA, Minnesota-Duluth at Denver, 6 p.m. TSN2. MOTOR SPORTS: NASCAR, Auto Racing, Ford EcoBoost 400, Monster Energy Cup Series Practice, 10 a.m. TSN1.
RUGBY: RFU, English Premiership, Leicester Tigers vs. Gloucester, 11:30 a.m. SNWORLD; Worcester vs. Bath, 4:30 a.m. SNWORLD.
SOCCER: FIFA, U-17 World Cup, Women’s Group B, Japan vs. South Africa, 8:50 a.m. TSN3; Mexico vs. Brazil, 11:50 a.m. TSN3.
TENNIS: ATP, Nitto Finals, Round Robin Day 6, 6 a.m. TSN4, TSN5; Noon TSN4, TSN5.
SATURDAY, NOV. 17 BASKETBALL: NBA, Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls, 5 p.m. TSN1, TSN3, TSN4.
FOOTBALL: NCAA, 9 a.m. ABC, FOX, TSN2; Syracuse vs. Notre Dame, 11:30 a.m. NBC; Missouri at Tennessee, 12:30 p.m. CBS; U SPORTS, Uteck Bowl, 9:30 a.m. SN360; Mitchell Bowl, 1 p.m. SN360.
GOLF: PGA, The RSM Classic, Round 3, 10:30 a.m. GOLF; APGA, Australian Open, Final Round, 5 p.m. GOLF; EPGA, Tour Championship, Final Round, 11:30 p.m. GOLF.
HOCKEY: NHL, Tampa Bay Lightning at Philadelphia Flyers, 10 a.m. SNP, SNO, SNE, SNW; Montreal Canadiens at Vancouver Canucks, 4 p.m. SNET, CBC; Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators, 4 p.m. CITY, SNO, SNW; Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames, 7 p.m. CJCO, SNP, CBC, CITY, SNO, SNE, SNOne, SNW; OHL, London Knights at Guelph Storm, 12:30 p.m. SNP, SNO, SNE, SNOne, SNW.
MOTOR SPORTS: NASCAR, Auto Racing, Ford EcoBoost 400, Monster Energy Cup Series Final Practice, 11 a.m. TSN1; Xfinity Series, 12:30 p.m. TSN1, 2 p.m. TSN4, TSN5.
RUGBY: WR, World Cup Qualifier, Canada vs. Germany, 6:50 a.m. TSN1, TSN3; TournÈe d’automne, France c. Argentine, 11:55 a.m. TV5. SKATING: ISU, Figure Skating, Rostelecom Cup, Grand Prix Ice Dance Free, Women’s and Pairs Free, Noon CBC.
SKIING: FIS, Alpine Skiing, World Cup Women’s Slalom, 2 p.m. CBC.
SOCCER: FIFA, U-17 World Cup, Women’s Group D, Korea Republic vs. Canada, 10:45 a.m. TSN3; Group D, Colombia vs. Spain, 1:50 p.m. TSN3.
TENNIS: ATP, Nitto Finals, semifinal, 6 a.m. TSN4, TSN5; Noon TSN4, TSN5.