Mike Hopkins addresses hype to face Bronny James

Ahead of Washington men’s hoops’ game against USC, head coach Mike Hopkins commented on the Trojans and complimented Bronny James for his play and ability to overcome negative attention.

Hopkins has empathy for James and the overwhelming spotlight he sometimes has to deal with.

“You know what, I had I watched them in AAU and — and listen, I couldn’t imagine what he goes through on a day-to-day basis. A lot of people are hard on him,” said Hopkins. “To be able to handle that, you got to have some thick skin.”

But the Huskies’ coach had high praise for the Trojan freshman’s game: “He’s a heck of a basketball player, you know, he’s a talent, he can shoot it, he can defend. He’s a good player.”

Unfortunately, health issues wiped out most of James’ first couple of months, but luckily, he recovered just fine and has now been a major part of the rotation throughout Pac-12 play. He’s playing more than 20 minutes per game, a smidge over 50% of the clock, while starting six of 20 games and averaging just over five points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per outing.

Of course, Bronny James is far from the primary storyline for Hopkins. With a program like USC that has been a powerhouse in the conference lately, the crowd should be excited and he expects to face a well-coached team.

“It’s going to be it would be a great environment. Listen, USC when you play the L.A. schools, it’s a pretty special thing. USC’s been one of the top teams in the league in the last five years, I’d have to say, as well as anybody. They got a really good coach and it’ll be a really tough test.”

Washington is hot off a win Thursday night against the other L.A. school in the UCLA Bruins, where the Huskies racked up 94 points and won by 17. Meanwhile, USC just faced the other Washington school, a surging Washington State team who eked out the home win over the Trojans, 75-72.

With USC at just 5-12 in conference play and Washington still in pursuit of a .500 record at 8-10 with two to play, obviously needs to take care of business on their home court. For the Trojans, a win would end their three-game road trip 2-1 after losing to Wazzu and beating UCLA within the last couple of weeks.

Good one coming up at 1 p.m. PT.