• last year
Mike Hopkins turned emotional after coaching his final UW game.
Transcript
00:00 Coach, we all know how passionate you are and I know this has just been kind of
00:04 maybe a little bit of a tough week, a little bit of a relief as well, but
00:08 what's next for Coach Hopp?
00:11 Poise, I tell you, poise.
00:28 (Crying)
00:30 But great places are made by having and being around great people and I've been
00:49 very lucky in my seven years at the University of Washington, very blessed.
00:55 He decided to come back. It's all about the people. Places are just places. Great
01:01 people make great places and we have great people. And the program, the
01:06 athletic program that Jen Cohen helped build, the culture, the coaches all
01:12 backing each other, really, really special to be a part of that. She gave me a
01:17 chance. Wish I had some more wins and losses or more wins, less losses, but I'm
01:24 really proud of getting through COVID, you know, getting kids, helping kids
01:31 graduate, making a difference in their lives. That's what it's really about in
01:33 college athletics. I'm emotional. I didn't want to cry, but this is who I am.
01:39 Like it or lump it. This guy, to see a guy, I told him, I said, and he's not
01:47 for saying this, but I said, the biggest upset in your life, your whole life,
01:51 people said you're gonna be one and done, two and done, and no one ever talked
01:53 about you graduating. He's gonna graduate. He's gonna get drafted. He's one of the
01:57 most improved players, not just what I think if we had better, more wins, he'd
02:01 been player of the year in the league. To see the growth and the
02:04 professionalism of this young man, the leadership has been just a joy. And like
02:09 I told the group in there, we'll be connected for the rest of our lives.
02:12 That's what makes being part of a team so special. And yeah, I have no, I'm a
02:19 UW fan. You know, I just be for the rest of my life, just giving the
02:26 opportunity and represent the university as best as I could. And so, you know, thank
02:33 you all for being great to me. Percy, Kim, Chris, Jen, Andy, Jan, Sammy, you know, it's
02:41 been a great, it's been a great run. And I just appreciate you being great people
02:45 to me. Thank you.