Mike Hopkins (basketball)

Last updated
Mike Hopkins
Mike Hopkins.jpg
Hopkins in 2019
Phoenix Suns
PositionAssistant coach
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1969-08-06) August 6, 1969 (age 55)
San Mateo, California
Career information
College Syracuse
Coaching career1995–present
Career history
As coach:
1995–2015 Syracuse (assistant)
2015–2016Syracuse (Interim HC)
2016–2017Syracuse (assistant)
2017–2024 Washington
2024–present Phoenix Suns (assistant)
Career highlights and awards

Michael Griffith Hopkins (born August 6, 1969) is an American basketball assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously, he was a longtime assistant at Syracuse University before taking over as a college basketball head coach for University of Washington from 2017 until 2024.

Contents

The 6-foot-5 Hopkins, from Laguna Hills, California, was a fan favorite during his playing days at Syracuse, known for his all-out hustle and general scrappy play. [1]

High school career

Born in the Northern California city of San Mateo and raised in the Southern California city of Laguna Hills, Hopkins was a member of the 1987 California state championship team at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California that also featured future NBA player LeRon Ellis. [2] Having graduated from Mater Dei in 1988, Hopkins enrolled at Syracuse while Ellis went on to a two-year career at the University of Kentucky. After Kentucky was placed on probation, Hopkins would play an instrumental role in convincing his high school teammate to transfer to Syracuse. [3]

College career

Mike Hopkins College Career
SeasonGFG%FT%RebPts
1989–9020.556.7501.22.9
1990–9131.514.5481.93.3
1991–9231.448.6293.96.5
1992–9329.438.7383.79.2
Totals111.462.6702.85.7

Hopkins played sparingly in his first two seasons at Syracuse before becoming the team's starting shooting guard in his junior year. That year, Hopkins hit the game-winning free throws with three seconds remaining against Connecticut to propel the Orange to the 1992 Big East Championship. [3]

Hopkins was named captain in his senior season and posted a career high of 9.2 points and added 3.7 rebounds per game. He also had a flair for the clutch, heaving a three-quarter court pass to Conrad McRae for a buzzer-beating, game-winning shot against Villanova. In his final game in the Carrier Dome, Hopkins scored a game-high 20 points and tallied six rebounds and five assists in a 78–74 win over Pittsburgh. [3]

Hopkins played 111 games throughout his four-year career spanning from 1989 to 1993. He finished with averages of 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

Professional career

Hopkins spent time in the Continental Basketball Association with the Minnesota-based Rochester Renegade. He also played in Europe with teams in the Netherlands and Turkey.[ citation needed ]

Coaching career

Mike Hopkins in 2012 MIke Hopkins.jpg
Mike Hopkins in 2012

Hopkins returned to Syracuse in 1995 and was primarily involved with recruiting and the development of guards. Hopkins played a large role in developing future NBA player Jason Hart and SU standout Allen Griffin. He has also been credited for recruiting Gerry McNamara and Billy Edelin. [3]

In May 2007, it was reported that Hopkins was picked to be Jim Boeheim's successor, even though there was no timetable for Boeheim to retire. [4] However, in October, Athletic Director Daryl Gross refuted that story, saying that his quote was taken out of context. [5]

Away from Syracuse, Hopkins was the Court Coach for Team USA in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2010, and 2012.[ citation needed ]

In March 2010, Hopkins' name surfaced in connection with the head coaching vacancy at Charlotte. [6] Hopkins was reported to be a finalist for the Oregon State University head coaching vacancy in May 2014. [7]

On June 25, 2015, Hopkins was formally named Men's Basketball Head Coach-Designate by Syracuse University. [8]

Hopkins served as Head Coach during Jim Boeheim's controversial nine-game suspension from December 5, 2015, to January 5, 2016. [9] Hopkins would later receive credit as coach for the nine games he served while Boeheim was suspended.

On March 19, 2017, it was announced that Hopkins had been hired as head basketball coach at the University of Washington for the 2017–18 season. [10] Hopkins signed a six-year deal worth $12.3 million. He will earn $1.8 million in his first year and an additional $100,000 each subsequent year of the deal. [11]

Coach Hopkins earned the Pac-12's Coach of the Year award in each of his first two seasons at the University of Washington, while also leading the Huskies to a regular season conference title in the 2018–19 season.

On March 8, 2024, the University of Washington announced that Hopkins would not be returning for the 2024–25 season. However he would finish the season with the Huskies. [12]

On June 11, 2024, the Phoenix Suns were reported to have Hopkins sign up as a new assistant coach hiring under new head coach Mike Budenholzer's coaching staff. [13] His addition to the team would be made official on August 6. [14]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Syracuse Orange (Atlantic Coast Conference)(2015–2016)
2015–16 Syracuse 4–50–3T–9th* NCAA Division I Final Four*
Syracuse:4–5 (.444)0–3 (.000)
Washington Huskies (Pac-12 Conference)(2017–2024)
2017–18 Washington 21–1310–8T–6th NIT second round
2018–19 Washington 27–915–31st NCAA Division I Round of 32
2019–20 Washington 15–175–1312th
2020–21 Washington 5–214–1611th
2021–22 Washington 17–1511–9T–5th
2022–23 Washington 16–168–12T–8th
2023–24 Washington 17–159–11T–6th
Washington:118–106 (.527)62–72 (.463)
Total:122–111 (.524)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

* Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim was suspended for nine games, during which Hopkins served as the interim head coach and was credited for those games.

Related Research Articles

Jason Keema Hart is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is currently an assistant coach for the University of Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Boeheim</span> American basketball coach (born 1944)

James Arthur Boeheim Jr. is an American former college basketball coach and current Special Assistant to the Athletic Director at Syracuse University. From 1976 until 2023, he was the head coach of the Syracuse Orange men's team of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Boeheim guided the Orange to ten Big East Conference regular season championships, five Big East tournament championships, and 34 NCAA tournament appearances, including five Final Four appearances and three appearances in the national title game. In those games, the Orangemen lost to Indiana in 1987, and to Kentucky in 1996, before defeating Kansas in 2003 with All-American Carmelo Anthony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Posey</span> American NBA basketball coach and former player(born 1977)

James Mikely Mantell Posey Jr. is an American professional basketball assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns and former player. He played the small forward position for the Denver Nuggets, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics, the New Orleans Hornets, and the Indiana Pacers. Posey won NBA championships as a member of the 2006 Miami Heat and the 2008 Boston Celtics, and as an assistant coach for the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darvin Ham</span> American basketball coach and former player (born 1973)

Darvin Ham Sr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the top assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders before playing nine seasons in the NBA from 1996 to 2005. He won an NBA championship playing with the Detroit Pistons in 2004. Ham also had a brief international experience in Spain and later in the Philippines, as well as in the NBA Development League in 2007 and 2008. As an assistant coach, he won a second championship in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorenzo Romar</span> American basketball player and coach (born 1958)

Lorenzo Romar is an American basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Loyola Marymount Lions, a position he has held since 2024. He previously was the head men's basketball coach at Pepperdine University, a position he held from 1996 to 1999 and resumed from 2018 to 2024. Romar also served as the head men's basketball coach at Saint Louis University from 1999 to 2002 and the University of Washington from 2002 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Orr</span> American basketball player and coach (1958–2022)

Louis McLaughlin Orr was an American basketball player and coach. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and became a college basketball coach. Orr was the head coach at Bowling Green State University from 2007 to 2014 and at Seton Hall from 2001 until 2006. He was formerly an assistant at Xavier University, Providence College and his alma mater Syracuse University, before getting his first head coaching job at Siena College. He was also an assistant coach at Georgetown under his former New York Knicks teammate Patrick Ewing.

Charles Lee is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a two-time NBA champion, having won his first championship with the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach. He was previously an assistant coach of the Boston Celtics, helping to coach them to the 2024 NBA Playoffs, where he won his second NBA Championship. A 6'3" guard from Bucknell University, he spent most of his professional career in Israel and Europe.

The 1995–96 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented Syracuse University as a member of the Big East Conference. The head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 20th year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The team finished with a 29–9 (12–6) record, while making it to the Championship Game of the NCAA tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quincy Pondexter</span> American professional basketball player (born 1988)

Quincy Coe Pondexter is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the USC Trojans men's team. He played high school basketball in Fresno, California, at San Joaquin Memorial High School. Pondexter played four years of college basketball for the Washington Huskies. At the end of his senior season, he earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors and an All-American honorable mention by the Associated Press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Budenholzer</span> American basketball coach (born 1969)

Michael Vincent Budenholzer is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

David Wayne Rice is an American college basketball coach for Salt Lake Community College. He is also the former head men's basketball coach at UNLV where he ranks as the program's third-winningest coach. He spent the 2016-2017 season as an assistant coach at the University of Nevada, Reno, and an assistant coach at the University of Washington for the past three seasons (2017–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Fizdale</span> American professional basketball coach (born 1974)

David Sean Fizdale is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously was an associate general manager for the Utah Jazz, an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, the head coach for the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies, and was an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat. He won two championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Autry</span> American basketball coach (born 1972)

Adrian "Red" Christopher Autry is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016–17 Washington Huskies men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2016–17 Washington Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Washington in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Members of the Pac-12 Conference, the Huskies were led by fifteenth-year head coach Lorenzo Romar and played their home games on campus at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 Washington Huskies men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2017–18 Washington Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Washington in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by first-year head coach Mike Hopkins, the Huskies played their home games at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington as members of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 21–13, 10–8 in Pac-12 play, in a tie for sixth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyking Jones</span> American basketball coach (born 1973)

Wyking L. Jones is an American basketball coach, former college and professional player, basketball broadcasting analyst, and actor. He was head coach of the California Golden Bears men's basketball program for two seasons (2017–19), and was most recently an assistant coach on the men's basketball team at the University of Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matisse Thybulle</span> Australian-American basketball player (born 1997)

Matisse Vincent Thybulle is an Australian-American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers the following day. Thybulle was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team as a member of the 76ers in 2021 and 2022. He was traded to the Trail Blazers in 2023.

Chaisson Allen is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, he stands at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall and played as a point guard / shooting guard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddy Boeheim</span> American basketball player (born 1999)

Jackson Thomas "Buddy" Boeheim is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. The son of Hall of Fame basketball coach Jim Boeheim, he played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange.

The 2024–25 Phoenix Suns season is the 57th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 32nd season at the Footprint Center. It is also their second full season under the ownership group led by Mat Ishbia and Justin Ishbia after the brothers purchased the team on February 8, 2023, and their second season with their "Big Three" superteam of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal together. This will be their second season in a row with a new head coach taking over since Monty Williams' firing following the announcement of Frank Vogel's firing on May 9, 2024, this time having 2021 NBA Finals champion coach Mike Budenholzer taking over as the new head coach two days later. This is also their first season since the 2019–20 season where the Suns would properly utilize the NBA G League again with their own squad after previously selling the Northern Arizona Suns to the Detroit Pistons during that season's suspension/reinstatement period and subsequently shutting down that G League team for the following season afterward in a move unrelated to their sale, thus marking the first time where every NBA team would utilize their own G League affiliate during a season. Entering this season, the Suns are looking to improve upon their previous season's record of 49–33, which left them with a sixth-place finish in the Western Conference, as well as look to enter the playoffs for the fifth straight season after previously missing the playoffs for a decade straight and improve upon their first round sweeping exit from the last postseason.

References

  1. ↑ "#11 / 33 Mike Hopkins". orangehoops.org. Archived from the original on 2007-05-06.
  2. ↑ "Mike Hopkins". www.usab.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Mike Hopkins". www.cuse.com. Syracuse University Athletics. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  4. ↑ Katz, Andy (15 May 2007). "No timetable, but Hopkins will succeed Boeheim". ESPN . ESPN.com.
  5. ↑ "AD tells newspapers his comments taken out of context". ESPN . ESPN.com. 17 October 2007.
  6. ↑ Stone, Larry (November 17, 2017). "Will Mike Hopkins' maniacal, tough-as-nails approach turn around Huskies' program?". www.seattletimes.com. The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  7. ↑ Letourneau, Connor (19 May 2014). "Montana coach Wayne Tinkle, Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins finalists for Oregon State Beavers' head coaching job". oregonlive.com. Oregon Live LLC.
  8. ↑ Quinn, Kevin (25 June 2015). "Mike Hopkins Formally Named Men's Basketball Head Coach-Designate". news.syr.edu.
  9. ↑ McCallum, Jack (5 January 2016). "How did Jim Boeheim spend his 9-game suspension?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  10. ↑ Auerbach, Nicole (March 19, 2017). "Washington hires Mike Hopkins, Syracuse's coach-in-waiting". USA Today . Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  11. ↑ Caple, Christian (March 22, 2017). "New Huskies basketball coach Mike Hopkins signs 6-year, $12.3 million deal". www.thenewstribune.com. The Tacoma News Tribune. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Washington Announces Leadership Change In Men's Basketball". gohuskies.com. Washington Huskies. March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Sources: Suns to hire Hopkins as assistant coach". ESPN.com. 2024-06-11. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  14. ↑ "Suns Announce Head Coach Mike Budenholzer's Coaching Staff". NBA.com .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.