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Hopkins Coach of the Year, Thybulle Defensive Player of the Year
EDIT 5:31 p.m:
During the conference award show tonight, the Pac-12 announced that Mike Hopkins was selected as the Coach of the Year and Matisse Thybulle was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
Hopkins took over a team that went 9-22 (2-16) last season and lost the #1 overall pick in the NBA draft. He led the Huskies to a 20-11 (10-8) record this season for one of the largest turnarounds in the country. Lorenzo Romar won the award 3 times most recently in 2011-12 when the Huskies won the regular season title but missed the NCAA tournament.
"It's a team effort, it's a team award, and I'm happy to receive it on behalf of everybody in the program."
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 6, 2018
Newly named #Pac12Hoops Coach of the Year @Coach_Hopkins stayed humble in his interview with our @Mike_Yam following his award announcement.
More: https://t.co/ZhZuI5ezsa pic.twitter.com/HQ7F1wQ3EK
Matisse Thybulle becomes the first Husky to win Pac-12 defensive player since the award was given in the 2007-08 season.
Only two players in Pac-12 history have recorded 90+ steals and 40+ blocks in the same season.@UW_MBB’s @MatisseThybulle is one of them.
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 6, 2018
He’s your #Pac12Hoops Defensive Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/l6bmC4V5vh
Dickerson, Nowell, Thybulle named to all-conference teams
The Pac-12 announced its all-conference teams this morning and a trio of Huskies received recognition. Noah Dickerson was named to the 10 member all-conference 1st team. Jaylen Nowell was named to the 5 member all-freshman team. And Matisse Thybulle was named to the 5 member all-defensive team. Nowell also received an honorable mention for the overall all-conference team.
Last season the only Husky to receive any recognition whether as a member of the team or honorable mention was PG Markelle Fultz who made both all-conference 1st team and all-freshman team.
Noah Dickerson ended the regular season averaging 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 56.6% from the field and 77.6% from the free throw line. He ranked 13th in the conference in points scored and 3rd in rebounds. Last season Dickerson averaged 12.5 points and 8.2 rebounds and shot just 67% from the line.
Jaylen Nowell finished 9th in the conference in points scored putting up 16 points per game to go along with 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He shot 45.2% from the field, 33.7% from 3-point range, and 80.2% from the free throw line. His scoring total was 2nd among all freshmen in the conference. He also took the highest percentage of his team’s shots of any Pac-12 player during conference play which showed just how integral he was to the UW offense.
Matisse Thybulle averaged 10.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. His defensive team case was made on the basis of his 3.0 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Thybulle was 7th in the conference in blocks and every player above him was at least 4 inches taller. He not only led the conference in steals but finished 2nd in the entire country in steals per game.
The player of the year, freshman of the year, defensive player of the year, coach of the year, 6th man of the year, and most improved player will be announced live on Pac-12 networks at 5p tonight. Washington Coach Mike Hopkins is among the favorites for coach of the year while Matisse Thybulle is considered the favorite for defensive player of the year.
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