Wednesday night Nov.6 the University of Washington Huskies
basketball team was going into their biggest game of the 2017-2018 season under
the new coach Mike Hopkins. They played number two ranked Kansas on the road
beating them 74-65. I tuned into the game at half-time. I was on my couch
thinking oh yes the Huskies are playing the Jayhawks and I wasn’t sure where in
the game they would be at. I was surprised the Huskies were leading 36-34 at
halftime. I thought wow they are ahead however good teams like the Jayhawks
will rebound and win this game. I only had seen a few minutes of one of the
Huskies previous games. I knew they were playing better because they have a 6-2
record during non-league games however they had a five hundred record last year
before the Pac-12 season started and it turned out to be terrible where in the
end long time coach Romar was fired after the season. Also high recruited
players decided to go elsewhere. The Huskies had a terrible defensive team last
season. The offense was great however they couldn’t stop anyone either.
This year Hopkins has brought in the defense he knew while
playing and being an assistant coach at Syracuse. So far the Huskies team has
embraced the zone defense that Hopkins knows so well. Going into this game
Kansas was undefeated with a record of 7-0. They have been scoring an average
of over 90 points a game however the Huskies only allowed 65 points. This game
was so astounding to me that watching the Jayhawks I wanted to know how in the
world did they average over 90 points a game.
Instead the Huskies made them look like an average team at best.
Whatever the way the rest of the season goes for the Huskies one thing I do
know it looks like the defense will be outstanding unless other teams figure
the zone out. The Huskies don’t look like they will have the same offense as a
year ago but they don’t need it I believe so. This group of guys are showing
that defense wins games and they continue playing this way they might make the
NCAA tournament this year. Mike Hopkins looks like a great fit at Washington
and I look forward to seeing more of Husky basketball. Go Huskies!!
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