Mike Hopkins better hope media members who cover Pac-12 men's basketball teams and voted in the latest conference preseason poll have no idea what they're talking about.
If they do, as harsh as it sounds, the fifth-year University of Washington coach might need to update his resume.
On Wednesday, the Pac-12 men's poll compiled from votes supplied by 44 press types at media day in San Francisco predicted the Huskies will finish 11th in the standings, with only California finishing lower.
Ugh.
This can't be good news at all for Hopkins, whose past two UW teams have bottomed out and finished last and 11th, respectively.
While his selection as Pac-12 Coach of the Year in each of his first two seasons in 2018 and 2019 no doubt continues to buy him time to get his program in order, the personable Hopkins can only go so long with bottom-feeder teams before everyone loses interest in what he's doing and a coaching change becomes necessary.
Hopkins, a former Syracuse assistant coach for Jim Boeheim, is coming off a deplorable 5-21 UW season that saw six players flee an uncompetitive team as fast as they could for the transfer portal, with neither side displaying any angst over this parting of ways.
Restructuring the Huskies, the coach welcomes seven new players, counting portal transfers, a junior-college transfer, a high-school recruit and a pick-up from the African NBA Academy.
UCLA, drawing all but two of 34 first-place votes, comes off a national championship game appearance with most of its roster still intact and is favored to win the conference title. Oregon received the only other first-place ballots.
Tied for fourth is Arizona, now coached by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd after the firing of Sean Miller, and resurgent Oregon State, coming off an Elite 8 appearance.
The poll goes as follows:
PAC-12 PRESEASON MEN'S POLL
1. UCLA (32) 404
2. Oregon (2) 373
3. USC 320
T4. Arizona 245
T4. Oregon State 245
6. Colorado 235
7. Arizona State 224
8. Washington State 221
9. Stanford 151
10. Utah 105
11. Washington 85
12. California 44
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