Moses Lake – Big Bend’s new head coach, Jason Hopkins, is coming to Moses Lake to bring excitement back to the Vikings’ basketball court.

“I was very drawn to the history and tradition of this program,” Hopkins said. “I’m from Edmonds, Washington, but I was always intrigued by the idea of ​​going back home to coach and being a head coach in the state.”

Hopkins brings a myriad of experiences to Big Bend, including: He has worked as a junior college assistant, assistant coach at Idaho State University, high school coach in Hawaii, club coach in Seattle, and a college and professional career at Lipscombe in Mexico and China. Big Bend’s new head coach said his own playing and coaching career has helped him see what types of players can contribute to the program.

“What really matters to me are people of character and hard work who want to make sacrifices for the greater good,” Hopkins said. “Representing the community in a positive way. I think that if you have a group of people who care and are more concerned about the good as a whole, good things happen most of the time.”

Lessons learned from his time as an assistant coach under Jerry Carrillo at Cochise College in Southern Arizona, recently came as a result of the Apaches putting together a 29-3 and 29-4 season over the past two years. played an important role in the career of

“We didn’t always have the talent that was markedly better or even better than others, but what we did have was what the team needed to outperform and succeed.” It was the desire to do whatever it took,” Hopkins said. “We want to bring that mindset, the blue-collar mindset, to Big Bend.”

Big Bend athletic director John Meeks noted his coaching and playing career.

“Jason is a tremendous addition to our staff and the rich heritage of men’s basketball,” Meeks said in an email to the Herald. “Jason came to Big Bend with extensive experience playing and coaching at Cochise College, one of the best-known Hispanic educational institutions in the country. Awareness of Big Bend’s mission as an institution quickly increased.”

In terms of hiring, Hopkins said his philosophy is to focus on local players first and then fill remaining roles to complement local talent. Hopkins also added that this is the first year at Big Bend and will be the “lowest” season for local players due to their timing of arrival.

“I think we’re going to have some players from all over the world (this year), but my goal going forward is to look at local talent and challenge it as long as it meets the talent standards necessary for success,” he signed. Please,” Hopkins said. “So to speak, whatever holes are missing, we fill them as best we can.”

Hopkins said he doesn’t have any serious goals for the upcoming 2023-24 season, but he prefers his on-court efforts to speak for themselves.

“I don’t want to be too daring, except to make sure we’re working with the right mindset every day, attacking every day, and letting the results speak for where we are and how we’re working,” Hopkins said. said Mr. “I think we’re going to bring the pretty exciting, uptempo style that Cochise is known for to Big Bend.”

Connecting with fans and community is another focus for Hopkins, he said.

“We really want to invest in the community,” Hopkins said. “We want to invite locals across the county to make this program theirs. I really want to reach out and restore that connection.”

The Vikings will aim to improve their 4-21 record in 2022-23.

“We’re going to move up and down the floor, press pretty relentlessly, and how we’re going to attack the game,” Hopkins said. “I think it’s a really fun style and way to play, and I think it’s going to be exciting for people to watch.”

Ian Bivona can be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.