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How Kelsey Plum and Mike Neighbors formed the perfect player-coach pairing

After Kevin McGuff abruptly left UW for Ohio State in 2013, Kelsey Plum nearly didn’t come to the Huskies. Her bond with Mike Neighbors (and her word) kept her in the program, and nearly three years later, Washington finds itself in the Sweet 16.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — What has become for Washington star guard Kelsey Plum the perfect player-coach pairing almost didn’t come together.

A McDonald’s All-American from Poway, Calif., Plum had already signed a letter of intent with the Huskies and she was just a few months away from moving to Seattle when she was blindsided by the abrupt departure of then-UW coach Kevin McGuff in April 2013.