The Standard Has Been Reset For Husky Basketball According To Mike Hopkins

On what he hopes to see tomorrow... We've been working on our defense and being active, so that and then getting our guys on the court in front of fans again, so the energy in the building.On what he's been happy with so far from the new players... For the most part they have done a good job of getting down the basic foundation. They have really adapted well so far and I am really proud of them.On defensive stuff... We've been working on the zone and we've been working on our man-to-man. We've got some depth, some size, guys who can play both and we're excited about their potential.On the depth of the team... Right now, there's not much of a difference between our fifth guy and our sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th guys. They can all play.On the chemistry... I have been saying this, but these guys just really get along. They love to win, they love to work, they love to be connected and it's exciting. There's a lot of pride. The competition in practice is as good as we've had since we've been here. They battle in practice, but they leave it there and they just like hanging out with each other.On Nate Roberts' growth... He's just grown into being comfortable with who he is. Last year was tough for a lot of people. We had a scrimmage last week and you can see the growth in him, the maturity, the confidence, and it's really his actions. He's unselfish. He's always trying to pick up his teammates and lift them up. He's been great.On Quincy Pondexter's contributions so far... He's such a role model for these players. He's where they want to be. He had the chance to be a one-and-done, but he stayed all four seasons and his work with Jamal Bey has been great. Kids equate love with time and he's a guy who is always in the gym and always working with them. They feel how much he cares. He's been doing a great job.On the four local players coming home... It's almost like they're brothers. They fight like brothers, they argue like brothers. They have embraced everyone and the guys that are here are all bonded and I've had guys come up to me and say this is the closest team they've been on since they got here.On the rotation... All of our players are good players. It will be fun how things play out. Some guys need to get in better shape and understand the system better, but we've been working on how many (eight, 10) will be in the rotation and we'll have to see how it plays out.On the identity of the team now... You'll see a team that is tougher, has more heart, and a team that will have pride and be a team that people can be proud of. It's a long road and a tough season, but we like where we're at right now and we're not worried about that now. We're worried about where we are at the end of the season.On any 'wow' moments in camp... A lot of them. We've got a lot of guys who play above the rim. The luxury of having two point guards with experience (five and six years) and their assist to turnover ratio was really good, so we're hoping to see a shift there. Some lobs, transition runs, there's an I.Q. there that will allow them to make plays.On getting stops... One stat from our scrimmage was with Nate Roberts and he had just one foul. That's a guy who always struggled with foul trouble last year, so you can see his maturity and growth as a player. We've been focusing on defending without fouling and that will be huge for us and we'll see how we've progressed tomorrow night (against Central Washington).On his excitement for this team... My first year here, we had a g ...