SAN FRANCISCO — For Washington Huskies duo Jamal Bey and Keion Brooks Jr., Pac-12 men’s basketball media day was a 10-hour extravaganza of old reunions and new introductions.
“I was pretty comfortable being here last year, but now I know what I like, I know how I like to talk in interviews and I’m not as indecisive anymore about certain stuff,” said the 22-year-old Bey, a fifth-year senior, who was making his second trip to media day and has more games (119) than anyone in the conference. “It makes doing stuff like this and playing basketball much easier.”
So, what should UW fans know about a Husky team that lost seven players from a team that finished 17-15 and brings in seven newcomers?
“I want them to know that we’re a team that’s going to give everything we have,” Bey said. “This is probably the hardest-working team since my freshman year. The competitive edge that everyone has. Everyone wants to win. That’s what people need to be ready for.
“As for me, people have all the film in the world on me. I just want to get really good at the stuff I know I’m good at. Get better at the stuff I need to work on and play at my own pace.”
Meanwhile, Brooks, a former five-star recruit from Fort Wayne, Ind., is a bit of an unknown commodity despite playing the past three years at Kentucky.
“My story isn’t finished,” said Brooks, a 6-foot-7 senior forward who is poised to become the next UW breakout star. “I’m pretty sure some people probably wrote me off or forgot about me after what I’ve been through at Kentucky. But my story is still being written.
“As far as our team, it’s the same thing. People might be underestimating us and think we might do this or that, but I believe in the group that we got. We play extremely hard and we play really well. That’s what I’m looking forward to and trying to get that story out.”
The Huskies spent much of the afternoon on Wednesday offering projections about the upcoming seasons and downplaying their No. 9 spot in the Pac-12 preseason men’s basketball poll.
“The only thing that matters is the standings at the end of the season,” Brooks said. “I believe in the coach and the staff that we got. I feel like we’re going to win some games. Being picked ninth doesn’t mean anything because they haven’t seen us play yet.”
The dour preseason prediction is a byproduct of a roster churn in which the Huskies lost four starters and four of their top six scorers, including Terrell Brown Jr., who led the Pac-12 with 21.7 points per game.
“It’s hard to replace what Terrell did,” Brooks said, who averaged 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds last season. “But I think it’ll be done by committee. Every team has to have a leading scorer, but that doesn’t mean one person has to take on the whole load by himself. We got some good players that can make some shots and guys that can really shoot the ball. Guys that are good in the paint. So, collectively I think we can get that done.”
Right now, everything in regards to the Huskies is speculation because there’s just so many unknown variables and questions.
Does Cole Bajema and Bey give UW enough perimeter shooters?
Can Washington State transfer Noah Williams and returning guard PJ Fuller run the offense?
Will UW’s 2-3 zone defense find its bite that’s been missing for the past two years?
Which unheralded newcomer (Franck Kepnang, Braxton Meah, Keyon Menifield, Koren Johnson and Tyler Lindhardt) will have the biggest impact?
And will Langston Wilson or Jackson Grant make significant improvement in year two?
“I know this, I know we have high-character kids,” coach Mike Hopkins said. “I know we have experience. I know we guys that are selfless and good student-athletes. Learning the basketball system is a struggle a little bit early. Yes. So, how do you speed up the process? Well, there is no speeding up the process. You just have to do it every day. It is what it is.
“But when you have the right people with character, then whenever you struggle, you’ll be able to recover. … We’ve had growing pains early, but it’s good to have that now because that’s how you get better and improve.”
Last year, Hopkins was in a similar spot with a team that lost eight players, including seven via transfer, and brought in eight newcomers, including six transfers.
The Huskies started slowly at 5-5, including embarrassing home losses to Northern Illinois, Winthrop and Wyoming that nearly derailed the season.
Washington rallied and went 11-9 in the Pac-12, which tied for fifth in the standings before a quarterfinals defeat in the Pac-12 tournament.
Few teams have benefited more from the transfer portal than UW last season, but Hopkins admits he’s learning how to mitigate the negative impact from the frequent turnover.
“I’ll tell you this, we put in our system a little earlier,” he said. “Yes, nobody really practices defense in the offseason. That’s true. And there’s only so much contact we have with the kids, but we introduced some (defensive) schemes and concepts hoping they come back with a better understanding of what we’re trying to do.
“Look, the learnability is a difficult thing. Some people learn quicker than others. But we’re chipping away every day. We got size. We got depth and we got athleticism. Now we got to build that chemistry.”
Washington hosts Division II Alaska Fairbanks on Tuesday in an exhibition game. The Huskies’ Nov. 7 season opener against Weber State is the first matchup in a four-game homestand before traveling to Anaheim, Calif. for a pair of nonconference contests in the Wooden Legacy.
Heading into his sixth season at UW, Hopkins is no longer dogged with constant questions about his job security, but another slow start and losing season will likely return him to the hot seat. After the 2022-23 season, he has two years and will be owed $6.3M on a six-year contract that expires 2025.
The Huskies have made just one NCAA tournament appearance during his tenure, which has produced an 85-75 record, including 45-39 in the Pac-12.
“What we teach our guys is it’s all how you respond,” Hopkins said. “Last year wasn’t our standard because 17-15 is not where we see ourselves.
“But I do believe there was a lot of positive that came out of last year. We won 11 games in the league. We were on a trajectory going up. We tied for fifth (in the league). We feel like we can build on last year with what we felt we needed to take the next step and we’re ready to take that next step.”
When told a trip to the NCAA tournament would quiet the critics who want a coaching change, Hopkins smiled.
“I don’t think about things like that,” he said. “Our goal every year is to win the Pac-12. I want to go to the NCAA tournament. I want to win the national championship. When you focus on things you can’t control, then that’s when you get in trouble.
“You just do what you do every day. It’s all about how do you get better? How do we stay connected? That’s what we teach our kids. To be a good leader to these guys, we got to live that life.”