The perpetually positive Mike Hopkins delivered a sobering midseason assessment of the slumping Washington men’s basketball team and a warning to the Huskies as he attempts to repair a broken offense amid their five-game losing streak.
“If you don’t move the ball, then you’re going to be sitting next to me because we got a lot of good guard options,” Hopkins said. “It’s one of those things, just buying into what we’re doing is a big piece of it.
“And limit some of the guys. I think sometimes we have guys who are trying to make plays that aren’t great at it. I don’t think they’re doing it in a selfish way, they’re just trying to move (the ball).”
Since scoring a season-high 90 points against Idaho State on Dec. 17 in a blowout nonconference win, the Huskies have tallied 61, 67, 49, 67 and 65 points during the recent downturn.
“I haven’t yet,” senior guard Noah Williams said when asked if he’s figured out why UW’s offense has sputtered. “That’s probably something that we would have to keep inside the locker room until it happens.”
Williams echoed Hopkins’ call for more movement.
“We need to keep up with player movement as much as ball movement,” he said. “We tend to get stagnant when we throw the ball in the post and ball watch. We need to be doing backside cuts and little things like that. It’s just playing with each other. But we’re finding it.”
Since Hopkins took over in 2017, Washington has had a rudimentary offense that’s never finished higher than seventh in the Pac-12 in scoring and averaged 70.7 points over the past five seasons.
However, UW’s offensive numbers have been abysmal recently. In the past the five games, the Huskies are averaging 61.8 points, which is seven fewer than their season average.
Washington ranks last in the Pac-12 in field-goal shooting (42.4%) and 11th with 11.3 assists per game.
The Huskies are tied for sixth in the Pac-12 with 352 three-point attempts despite shooting 30.4% behind the arc, which is 11th in the conference.
“We got to score the ball better,” Hopkins said after Sunday’s 73-65 loss at Arizona State. “I think sometimes that can get deflating for your defense. You’re playing for 30 seconds (on defense), get a stop and you come down and there’s a turnover. Those types of things can be disheartening.”
The conundrum for the Huskies, who rank 11th in the Pac-12 with 14.5 turnovers per game, is how do they move the ball like Hopkins is demanding without creating the turnovers that he loathes?
“We have to limit some of the things that the guys are trying to do and make sure the playmakers have the ball in their hands,” said Hopkins who hinted the Huskies would simplify the offense. “And then you got to be smart.”
Washington’s offensive troubles can be attributed – at least in part – to a roster that doesn’t include a true pass-first point guard.
Freshman Keyon Menifield, who has started the past four games, has joined Williams and senior Cole Bajema to comprise a three-guard backcourt.
Menifield has been the Huskies’ most reliable ball handler who averages 2.5 assists and 1.0 turnovers, but at times he’s their best scoring option with 26, 21 and 18 points over the last three games.
“That’s my little guy for sure,” Williams said. “I try to keep him confident. I want him to have confidence at all times because he’s unstoppable. Like for real, he’s unguardable and people can’t stay in front of him. I let him know that.”
Admittedly, Williams is finding his groove since suffering a right knee injury in the season opener and undergoing surgery that forced him to miss 12 games.
“I’m still trying to get my wind back and my legs back under me,” said Williams who is averaging 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 29.5 minutes since returning Dec. 30. “I feel like I’m finding my flow in these first four games. I’m just taking it day by day to see a better day.”
Hopkins doesn’t believe Thursday’s 8 p.m. game against Stanford (5-10, 0-5) is a must-win situation, but time is starting to run out on Washington (9-8), which has fallen to 11th in the Pac-12 at 1-5.
“We got to execute,” Hopkins said. “We got to be confident. We got to be flying around. And when you get a win in this league on the road or at home, it’s awesome.
“But you got to put everything into it like we do every game. I don’t want to make this game bigger than (the next one). We just have to play better. What’s right in front of us right now is what we worry about. This is how we’re going to win. This is what we need to execute to win and then let’s go out there and execute and get better.”