The Seattle Times · Nov 1, 2019
Analysis: Three impressions from UW Huskies’ 87-63 exhibition win over Western
Mike Hopkins has a knack for coming up with clever nicknames and colorful metaphors to describe his players.
In past years, the Washington men’s basketball coach would refer to Matisse Thybulle as Spider-Man or Deion Sanders to highlight the former UW star’s defensive prowess.
But Hopkins may have one upped himself Thursday night after the Huskies’ 87-63 exhibition win over Division II Western Washington while describing touted freshman Jaden McDaniels.
When asked if he felt McDaniels’ length frustrated the Vikings, Hopkins likened the 6-foot-9 forward with the 6-11 wingspan to the literary whale in Herman Melville’s novel.