Washington basketball: 2 best candidates to replace Mike Hopkins as head coach

March is a month of haves and have-nots. So many teams fall short of the NCAA Tournament, while a select few create memories that will last a lifetime. It is also a time of renewal, moving on, and cutting ties, as many programs look to separate themselves from the failure of recent years. Several head coaches have already received their pink slip, and on Friday, Washington Men's Basketball head coach Mike Hopkins also left the workforce.

The Huskies fired Hopkins, who was 116-104 in his seven years at Washington with just one NCAA Tournament appearance in that span (2018-19). The 54-year-old coach had one year left on his deal and the school paid a $3.1 million buy-out. Hopkins will stay on during the Pac-12 Tournament and any potential postseason games.

Washington will now look for a coach who can bring them sustained success — a rarity for the program. Hopkins took over for Lorenzo Romar who — while leading the Huskies to a trio of Sweet Sixteen appearances — went six straight seasons without an NCAA Tournament bid to end his tenure. In the early days of this inquiry, who are the top candidates to take over as the basketball coach for the Washington Huskies?

Danny Sprinkle (Utah State)

After coming over from Montana State, Year One for Danny Sprinkle at Utah State was supposed to be a rebuild. Head coach Ryan Odom left for VCU and the Aggies had to replace all 10 players who scored a point last season. Sprinkle — fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance with Montana State — brought along two of his key players in guard Darius Brown and big man Great Osobor.

Both have blossomed in the Mountain West despite the step up in competition, as USU is 25-5 and one win away from becoming the outright regular season champs in the MWC. The Aggies are on pace for yet another NCAAT berth, and considering that every major contributor on this team played elsewhere last season, Danny Sprinkle is coaching as well as anyone in the country.

Anonymous college basketball insider account Trilly Donovan (who is very often right about these kinds of things) immediately listed Sprinkle as “a name to watch, ” putting the Utah State coach at the top of the list.

Leon Rice (Boise State)

Another talented Mountain West coach, Leon Rice has experienced a slower rise than his compatriot Sprinkle. Rice has coached in Boise since 2010, leading the Broncos to four (soon to be five) NCAA Tournaments. Rice is still searching for his first tournament victory, but it is an impressive turnaround for a team that reached March Madness just one time in 16 years before he took over — especially considering he helped steady the team during its transition from the WAC to the Mountain West.

Boise State's average projected NCAA Tournament seed is 8.10, per Bracket Matrix — right in line with the seeds the Broncos earned the last two seasons. With BSU seemingly approaching its ceiling, now might be the time for Leon Rice to accept a new challenge as Washington moves to the Big Ten next year. Leon's son, Max, is a sixth-year senior on the team and is in his final year with the program — making the timing ideal for Leon Rice to move on.

With Power Conference money calling, will it be enough to lure Leon Rice away from the Mountain West?