Mike Hopkins is in his seventh season as the head coach of the University of Washington’s Men’s Basketball program, and outside of the 2018-2019 season, has failed to find much success with the program.

Sunday’s 83-76 loss to Nevada marks the seventh consecutive year that Hopkins has lost in one of his first four games of the season, and now leaves Washington as one of three PAC-12 teams to be defeated so far in non-conference play.

After last season’s disappointing season with a talented roster, all eyes were on Hopkins to lead Washington toward the top of the conference this season with uncertainty regarding his job status. After trailing in all three games so far this season, the hot seat keeps getting hotter and hotter.

What does Hopkins need to do to keep his job and Washington fans happy?

Let’s look it over.

The rest of November and all of December will be massive for the program to see where it stands heading into conference play. With six of its next seven games coming against unranked opponents, Washington has to finish with at least five wins to keep itself on pace with last season, and that’s the easiest of the remaining schedule.

The stakes have never been higher in the concluding Pac-12 season, and this team will have to overcome a lot of adversity if Hopkins wants to be the head coach of the Huskies in the future.

Last season, the Huskies finished 8-12 in conference play, with a win over unranked Oregon to snap a four-game losing streak coming as the highlight of the season. During the 2018-19 season, Washington was 15-3 in conference and earned a tournament bid.

Hopkins will have to guide Washington somewhere in the middle of those conference records this season, with 10 wins being the bare minimum and 12 being a big success. Anything lower will almost certainly be the end of Hopkins’ tenure.

With Colorado, USC, and Arizona all ranked and on the Huskies’ schedule this season, it will take some big upsets for Jopkins and Washington to finish the final year in the conference with a bang.

How realistic is it that Hopkins can pull it off?

Without a more explosive offense to begin games, not very realistic at all. 

The Huskies have been very slow to start off games, and don’t seem to get into a rhythm until they’ve gotten comfortable with a lead. It’s difficult to expect that to suddenly start changing once they begin facing more competitive teams. 

Mike Hopkins will have to hit the 20-win range in order to keep his job, one win shy of his total in the 2017-18 season. They kept him around because they knew he had succeeded in the past, but four straight years under 20 wins would be the final straw for a program moving into the Big 10 next season.

However, this team has talent and anything can happen. If Keion Brooks Jr can deliver 20/10 a night and the supporting cast can remain consistent, perhaps the Huskies will shock the world.

Predicting the remainder of the 2023-24 Basketball season

I hope for the most part I am incorrect, Hopkins totally proves the fanbase and myself wrong, and completely turns around the ship. Here is how I think the rest of this season will pan out.

November:

Xavier: Loss (2-2)

San Diego State OR Saint Mary’s: Loss (2-3)

UC San Diego: Win (3-3)

Xavier is in the same boat as Washington, yet after losing to a good Purdue team, they will bounce back well against the Huskies. SDSU and Saint Marys are both arguably top 30 teams and should handle business against Washington. A big win against UC San Diego will be the bounce-back they need.

December:

Colorado State: Win (4-3)

Montana State: Win (5-3)

Gonzaga: Loss (5-4)

Seattle University: Win (6-4)

Eastern Washington: Win (7-4)

Colorado: Loss (7-5)

Utah: Win (8-5)

The Huskies can find a spark in December and win some close games while falling to a pair of ranked teams in Gonzaga and Colorado. If Washington can get to the new year with more than eight wins, this team will have all the confidence in the world to make a run for the conference. Last year, Washington lost four games in December, so this would be an improvement. 

January:

Oregon: Loss (8-6)

Oregon State: Win (9-6)

Arizona State: Win (10-6)

UCLA: Loss (10-7)

Cal: Win (11-7)

Stanford: Win (12-7)

Colorado: Loss (12-8)

Utah: Loss (12-9)

UW splits with Utah and loses one of their two games, but either way, a 4-4 January feels on par for Washington this season. After going 4-5 last year in January, it wouldn’t be a surprise to expect a lot of the same.

February:

Washington State: Win (13-9)

Oregon: Loss (13-10)

Oregon State: Loss (13-11)

Stanford: Win (14-11)

Cal: Loss (14-12)

Arizona State: Win (15-12)

UCLA: Loss (15-13)

February is when things will start to get away from Hopkins. Lots of tough road games and although the Huskies were 3-4 in February last year.  Oregon will be improved this year and I’m not sure if the Husky offense will produce at a high enough level towards the end of the year to win the big ones.

March:

USC: Loss (15-14)

Washington State: Win (16-14)

In the last-ever Basketball Apple Cup for the Pac-12, the Huskies will come out on top. Otherwise, it may be another mediocre season ahead for Hopkins and the Huskies without some major changes, whether that’s to the staff or to the game plan.

Final Analysis—Working against Hopkins is that he wasn’t hired by Troy Dannen, Washington’s new Athletic Director.  Falter in the middle of the season and Dannen may choose to make a bold move.

Protecting Hopkins’ job, however, may be Keion Brooks, with whom Hopkins of exceedingly tight.  Any move to extricate Coach Hop could backfire and would most likely necessitate an internal interim tag on an assistant.

If, somehow, the team exceeds expectations, with Dannen’s arrival, the previous few years may still cost Hopkins his job.  In fact, barring a post-season run the new AD may choose to make a move.

Safe to say that when Jen Cohen departed, the BTUs under Hopkins’s seat were cranked up considerably.  The margin for error is likely non-existent.