All new at Washington under first
Mike Hopkins
SEATTLE (AP) — In the view of  Mike Hopkins    his  first season as the head coach at Washington will be filled basically with freshmen.
That's not to be taken in the literal sense. What  Hopkins  means is that with a new coaching staff  a new style and new expectations  even the players that are returning from last year are just like the incoming freshmen.
"I think the biggest thing is we've focused on the day-to-day  how we're going to do the process of getting better "  Hopkins  said. "That's the standard of excellence every day and everybody here is learning a new system. A lot of the players end up being freshmen again because they're learning  from our zone to our press to how we're going to play offensively  defensively. I think they've made the transition pretty smooth."
 Hopkins  also had to recruit those who slogged through a 9-22 record a season ago to keep them around. A number considered leaving. Most  including starters David Crisp  Noah Dickerson and Matisse Thybulle  all ended up staying with the chance to create the new foundation for the next chapter at Washington.
"The biggest concern with a new coach is the buy-in there "  Hopkins  said. "I think from the beginning our staff did a great job of really connecting with the kids  working with them  developing them  getting them to stay  that was our first priority. I'm very happy with the guys."
IN THE ZONE: Yes  Washington will play zone. Yes  it will be the same zone defense that  Hopkins  helped teach at Syracuse.
Defense was a major problem in the waning years of Romar's tenure. The Huskies' defense was more of a liability that an asset. How  Hopkins  is able to implement the zone will be important since the Huskies don't have a lot of size on the interior. A year ago  Washington allowed 81 points per game  11th in the conference.
"I know the benefits of it. The biggest thing I want to do is control tempo. So if you're fast  I can slow you down; if you're slow  I can speed you up "  Hopkins  said.
FINDING SCORING: One of  Hopkins ' first tasks will be finding enough scoring. Crisp is Washington's leading returning scorer at 13.8 points per game  while Dickerson averaged 12.5 points last season. But the Huskies don't have an obvious scorer on the roster that can carry the load or get points in crucial situations. In recent seasons  the Huskies have had Markelle Fultz  Andrew Andrews and C.J. Wilcox. Fultz averaged 23.2 points last season  while Andrews scored 20.9 per game the season before.
DIFFICULT BEGINNING:  Hopkins  certainly isn't shying away from having a challenging schedule to begin  his  Washington tenure.
SEATTLE (AP) — In the view of  [TGT]    [TGT]  first season as the head coach at Washington will be filled basically with freshmen.
That's not to be taken in the literal sense. What  [TGT]means is that with a new coaching staff  a new style and new expectations  even the players that are returning from last year are just like the incoming freshmen.
"I think the biggest thing is we've focused on the day-to-day  how we're going to do the process of getting better "  [TGT]said. "That's the standard of excellence every day and everybody here is learning a new system. A lot of the players end up being freshmen again because they're learning  from our zone to our press to how we're going to play offensively  defensively. I think they've made the transition pretty smooth."
 [TGT]also had to recruit those who slogged through a 9-22 record a season ago to keep them around. A number considered leaving. Most  including starters David Crisp  Noah Dickerson and Matisse Thybulle  all ended up staying with the chance to create the new foundation for the next chapter at Washington.
"The biggest concern with a new coach is the buy-in there "  Hopkins  said. "I think from the beginning our staff did a great job of really connecting with the kids  working with them  developing them  getting them to stay  that was our first priority. I'm very happy with the guys."
IN THE ZONE: Yes  Washington will play zone. Yes  it will be the same zone defense that  [TGT]helped teach at Syracuse.
Defense was a major problem in the waning years of Romar's tenure. The Huskies' defense was more of a liability that an asset. How  [TGT]is able to implement the zone will be important since the Huskies don't have a lot of size on the interior. A year ago  Washington allowed 81 points per game  11th in the conference.
"I know the benefits of it. The biggest thing I want to do is control tempo. So if you're fast  I can slow you down; if you're slow  I can speed you up [TGT]said.
FINDING SCORING: One of  [TGT] first tasks will be finding enough scoring. Crisp is Washington's leading returning scorer at 13.8 points per game  while Dickerson averaged 12.5 points last season. But the Huskies don't have an obvious scorer on the roster that can carry the load or get points in crucial situations. In recent seasons  the Huskies have had Markelle Fultz  Andrew Andrews and C.J. Wilcox. Fultz averaged 23.2 points last season  while Andrews scored 20.9 per game the season before.
DIFFICULT BEGINNING:  [TGT]certainly isn't shying away from having a challenging schedule to begin  [TGT]  Washington tenure.