Jaylen Nowell didn’t even need to think about it. He didn’t hesitate, didn’t so much as take a breath to consider before he answered the question.
He was sitting in Washington’s locker room at Nationwide Arena, about to take the court for the Huskies’ open practice. On Friday, the Huskies will pay their first NCAA Tournament game since 2011 — and it’s happening just two seasons into head coach Mike Hopkins’ tenure.
Nowell was the only member of the original 2017 recruiting class to stick with UW when Hopkins was hired. The two arrived at the same time.