ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — His eyes gleaming and his purple tie flapping, Mike Hopkins traversed the sideline. His sideline. He surveyed the court and set his gaze on Washington senior forward Noah Dickerson.

“Good job!” he yelled toward Dickerson. He folded his arms and paced the sideline a few feet.

“Good D now,” he said as his Huskies ran back on defense after an early basket.

The next 115 minutes served as a reminder of the Hopkins that Syracuse came to know. As sneakers squeaked Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall, Hopkins wiped his forehead of sweat. He removed his jacket less than eight minutes into the game. He tilted his head down, looked stern and clapped his hands forcefully, a mirror image of the assistant coach he was in central New York. His title was just changed.

Saturday became a sort of homecoming for Hopkins, who under Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim spent 22 seasons recruiting in New Jersey and the suburbs of Philadelphia. He coached at Boardwalk Hall in 2010, when Syracuse beat Michigan, and he recruited in the area with former associate coach Bernie Fine and current assistant Gerry McNamara. This season would’ve been his first as head coach at Syracuse.

Instead, he left the only life he knew in March 2017, moved 2,740 miles and a lifetime away from Syracuse to be a head coach in the Pacific 12 Conference. He felt he needed to be close to his ailing father, Griff, The Athletic’s Brian Hamilton revealed. For one weekend this month, Hopkins could reminisce about the trips, how he enjoyed stopping at local landmarks, and how he found a number of Syracuse stars in the Garden State.

“I’ve spent a lot of time here, man,” Hopkins, 49, told The Daily Orange outside the Washington locker room on Saturday night. “Philadelphia especially, it’s just one of those places where you get happy. The people are great. I almost feel like it’s a second home.”

Courtesy of Bill Streicher | Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Maybe Washington (7-4) will build on last year’s NIT result and make the NCAA Tournament. They may not. On Saturday in a 73-61 loss to No. 13 Virginia Tech — one of three top-20 opponents Hopkins scheduled — they replicated their coach’s high-energy way of life. It elevated them from a 9-22 record in 2016-17 to a NCAA Tournament bubble team last season, winning 21 games.

He couldn’t count how many times he’s driven down Interstate 81 or flown into Philadelphia International Airport to recruit for the Orange. He courted Malachi Richardson, Tyler Roberson and Tyus Battle in New Jersey, and he recruited at Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) High School often. Rick Jackson and Scoop Jardine are among the former SU players who went there.

On every trip, Hopkins chowed at Jim’s Steaks on South Street, a Philadelphia staple. He took his Huskies there for a meal this week, then showed them the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The father of three previously made a few stops to Atlantic City, where he coached SU, recruited and attended a coach’s clinic at the convention center. Up north, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, he was on the sideline during his first season as a Syracuse assistant for the 1996 Final Four at the Meadowlands.

“It’s fun to come back,” Hopkins said of New Jersey and Philly, adding: “I’m loving Seattle. Little bit of rain, but we’re good.”

Daily Orange File Photo

A small subset of Washington fans trekked to Atlantic City for the game. Larry Larson, a UW fan, flew from Seattle to spend the weekend. He sat courtside with a Huskies jacket and football jersey. His socks were purple.

Larson attends many of Hopkins’ Monday night radio shows at Anthony’s Restaurant in Seattle, where the head coach turns a Pacific-Northwest seafood establishment into a locker room.

“It’s like he’s giving a coach’s speech before going out on the court,” Larson said. “Getting Mike, not a local Washington hire who knows what it takes to get to the top, he brings a sense of relief. I can’t think of another person we’d rather have for the job than Mike Hopkins.”

Against the Hokies, a future Syracuse opponent, the Huskies tried to keep it close late. Hopkins’ energy didn’t waver all game. Every time a player jogged from the bench to the scorer’s table, Hopkins offered a word of encouragement and smacked the player on the butt. He stomped his feet after a UW missed layup, emitting a sound that echoed to the other end of Boardwalk Hall. After a Huskies dunk, the UW bench erupted. Hopkins yelled, “Get back!” to UW’s 2-3 zone he brought from Syracuse.

For more than two decades, Hopkins recruited players to Syracuse and produced dozens of NBA players. For one night, he was equally flamboyant, energetic and impassioned. He believes in his approach, and he leaves nothing to chance.

Published on December 17, 2018 at 11:24 pm

Contact Matthew: [email protected] | @MatthewGut21