{disclaimer: I used to run a website called OrangeNation.net and got to interact with Hopkins several times over my 7-8 year stretch of running the site. I will admit to being a big fan of his during this time period (2000-2008). Keep in mind that my impressions were formed a decade+ ago and that I haven't interacted with him since, so things could obviously have changed over that length of time.
General Impression: It was very clear to me that he bled orange and was a tireless worker who wanted nothing less than the highest level of success for SU basketball. He was extremely passionate about basketball in general and Syracuse in particular. He was a very high energy guy. I will admit to having a pretty biased favorable perception towards Hop, but I will try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge in an unbiased manner. Ok, now that that is out of the way, on to your questions.}
Washington fan here, got some questions if you guys don't mind asking. Just skimming through your forum, it seems that Mike Hopkins is thought of very highly here.
Overall, what do you think of the hire? How did he do as the HC during Boheim's suspension? I think he was 4-5.
Regarding his coaching debut last year - he wasn't exactly inspiring during his short stint. In fairness, he was put in a tough position having to coach in the middle of a season. It's not like he could really imprint his own style on the team when Boeheim's system is so unique, what with Boeheim coming back to resume the reins.
But that said, his on-court demeanor was surprisingly... bland? Not sure what other word to use, but he didn't showcase the fiery and passionate personality that I know he has. It was really somewhat of a shock to me that he didn't show much emotion out there, and also seemed a step slow on in-game adjustments.
I have heard that Hopkins has basically been running the program for the past few years while Boheim is just the head figure. Is this true?
Yes and no. Hop has been the daily captan of the ship for a long, long time. I was a grad student at SU from 1998-2002 and went to more than 75 practices during that timeframe and Hopkins ran drills and practices and did all of the heavy lifting. I'd say he took on about 80% of the organizational and leadership roles at practices. Boeheim would observe most of the practice, then at the end when the team would run scrimmages, JB would stop from time to time for a teaching moment, and he'd also usually gather the team together to talk about game situations and strategies after the end of practice, but overall the kids interacted with Hop much, much more than they interacted with JB.
Hop has also been the head recruiter for quite some time and has a lot of input on evaluating and targeting talent. He watches and analyzes a ton of game film (for example, during the 2003 Final Four Hopkins pulled an all-nighter watching game film of Kansas after SU beat Texas in the semi-finals). But JB always has the final word on offers and what players to pursue the hardest. JB also sets all of the strategy and implements gameday preparation and calls all the shots on the bench. So Boeheim is by no means just a figurehead, but Hopkins has had a lot of freedom over the last 20 years. I'd venture to say he's been entrusted in a bigger role than 90+% of other head assistants.
Is Hopkins considered a good recruiter? What are his strengths and weaknesses when it comes to recruiting?
Hop has been SU's best recruiter for a long, long time. This year's recruiting has been a mess though, and by many accounts Hopkins hasn't been as visible on the recruiting scene and hasn't been out grinding like we are used to seeing. Not sure what that means. We do have to figure in the fact that SU is still under NCAA recruiting sanctions, so that may have some impact on the perception of his recruiting efforts this year.
I do know that for quite some time he was a tireless worker. During the time I ran OrangeNation (2000-2008), I used to go to recruiting evens like ABCD, Rumble in the Bronx, Tournament of Champions, Peach Jam, Primetime Shootout, Jordan Classic, McDonald's All-American game, Charm City Classic, Capital Classic, local high school games, etc... Hop would work as hard as anyone at the events that I saw him at.
My impressions from both observing him, and speaking with him directly many times: He relates to the kids really well. He's quirky, smart/sharp, personable, fun, and a really interesting guy. He genuinely cares about the kids he recruits and brings into the program.
Keep in mind that these are opinions formed over a decade ago though. My last interactions with him were in 2008 and I am not 'in the know' with regards to the SU program the way I used to be.
Probably not likely, but do you see any of your current players following him to UW?
I'd think this is highly unlikely.
I'm well aware that he will likely run the 2-3 zone, but what kind of offense do you guys run? Or what kind of offense do you expect him to run at UW?
The SU offense is rather simple overall. We don't run a lot of sets and we rely a lot on our best athletes to make plays. It's a strategy that works great when we have really talented multidimensional athletes, but less well when the team isn't as athletic or doesn't have a good primary ballhandler/distributor. I expect Hop to try to recruit skilled players who can shoot and handle, and he's gonna like long/lanky forwards... I know the PG position is very important to him.
Defensively I expect that you will see a lot more versatility than what we see out of Boeheim now. I expect Hop to mix up defenses more than Boeheim (JB only has 2 defensive settings: 1) all-zone-all-the-time-zone-o-rama, and 2) desperation chaotic press). I know in the past Hop told me he wanted to use the press as a weapon rather than a last resort, and that he was planning to implement man-to-man some of the time, and that he wanted to use more half-court traps and such. But I don't expect him to ditch the zone, you'll see a lot of that I'm sure.
I expect him to be a pretty good X's and O's guy. He always impressed me as having pretty deep knowledge of the game whenever I spoke with him and talked about basketball strategy.
Any further insight on him would be great. As a huge fan of UW Hoops, I was a little disappointed at first, but after hearing how highly thought of he is, I'm starting to really like the hire. As many of you know, the past several years for UW basketball has been pretty rough.
One of the concerns that many have expressed is "Can Hop be the bad guy?" For most of the time that he's been at SU, Hopkins has been the 'good cop' to Boeheim's 'bad cop'. He's been on the frontline of keeping kids prepared and focused when they're not getting playing time or they're in JB's doghouse. As an example of this, we had a PG named Allen Griffen who struggled through his first 3 years at SU but Hopkins worked with the kid to get him through the tough times. I would see the 2 of them at Flanagan gym at 7 AM on Fridays (guys in my grad program had a running 7 AM Friday game for years) and Hop always kept pushing him to work hard and improve his skills. Griffen ended up have a great senior season and guided a very flawed team to a 25-9 record. It was a testament to Mike's ability to be the 'good cop', but he's never really been put in the position to be the bad guy, the one who demands more from his players and has to make the really hard decisions. He's always been very buddy-buddy with the players and it will be interesting to see if he can make the transition to a position that will require a more hardnosed approach.
Overall final thoughts: If Hop can bring the same intensity and drive that I witnessed from 99-08 then I think that you will be getting a really good coach. Whether or not he has maintained that fire, I'm not sure? I really hope he has, and I will be pulling for him to succeed. To be honest though, I would have more faith in his ability to excel if he had started as a head coach 6-8 years ago.