Hopkins Names Former UW Standout Quincy Pondexter Assistant Coach
SEATTLE – University of Washington men's basketball head coach Mike Hopkins has finalized his coaching staff as he named former UW standout Quincy Pondexter an assistant coach. The coaching bench now features former head coach Wyking Jones, current assistant and Husky legend Will Conroy alongside 8-year NBA veteran Pondexter.
"We are thrilled to add Quincy to our staff," said Hopkins. "His Husky pride runs deep and what he accomplished as a player both in college and in the NBA is going be a great role model for our players. He's achieved what they all dream of and brought it to reality through professionalism, hard work and resiliency. His passion for developing players is going to immediately infuse our program with energy and we can't wait to have him back on the sidelines in Seattle."
"I always knew that at some point, I would come back to Seattle because my heart has always been at UW," said Pondexter. "Coach Hopkins has such a great reputation and you can't help but love his energy, enthusiasm and work ethic. He makes you work harder, makes coming to work enjoyable and I'm excited to grow my relationship with him. I'm eager to help us get back to the top of basketball prominence and develop our men into the best that they possibly can be on and off the court. It's also going to be incredible coaching alongside Will Conroy as he has been a great mentor to me over the years. I'm ready to get back inside that arena and get to work."
Pondexter donned the purple and gold from 2006-10 and his name can be found etched all over the UW record book. He finished his Washington career with 1,786 points, which ranks fifth all-time. Pondexter recorded 83 career double-digit scoring games in a UW-record 136 games played while his 30 career 20-point nights rank fifth.
Pondexter accumulated numerous awards during his career being named First Team All-Pac-10, NABC All-District First Team, USBWA All-District, AP All-American Honorable Mention, a FoxSports.com Fourth Team All-American and won a Pac-10 record five Player of the Week honors in one season. The forward was also a member of the 2009 Team USA squad that won the bronze medal at the World University Games.
Husky squads had unprecedented success with Pondexter on the roster as they won the Pac-10 Regular season Championship (2009) outright for the first time since 1953 and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Washington made two-straight NCAA appearances when Pondexter was the team captain, making the second round in 2009 and the Sweet 16 in 2010 while recording back-to-back 26-win seasons.
As a senior, the Dawgs also won the Pac-10 Tournament Championship in a dramatic 79-75 victory over California where Pondexter had a team-high 18 points. He finished his senior season averaging a team-high 19.3 points which ranks fourth all-time. Pondexter led the team in scoring, rebounding (7.4) and free throw percentage (82.7) during the 2009-10 campaign while putting up 17 20+ scoring nights.
Following college, Pondexter was selected as the No. 26 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by Oklahoma City and was traded to the New Orleans Hornets. He went on to play for five teams spanning eight seasons in the league. After one year in New Orleans, Pondexter was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies where he stayed from 2011-14 playing in 168 games and averaged a career-best 8.9 points during the Grizzlies 2013 playoff run. He was sent back to New Orleans during the 2014-15 season and averaged a career best 9.0 points in 45 games played. Pondexter's NBA career was slowed due to injury following a season with the Chicago Bulls (2017-18) and the San Antonio Spurs (2018-19).
While starring in the NBA, Pondexter started his coaching path with the AAU teams California United in 2015 and Las Vegas Elite developing youth basketball players and helping them prepare for collegiate ball.
Originally from Fresno, Calif., Pondexter starred at San Joaquin Memorial High school where he averaged 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game during his senior season. He was a highly touted recruit being ranked in the top 50 in the country by all the recruiting sites. He was the MVP of the Pangos All-American Camp and an All-Star game starter at the Adidas Superstar Camp in 2004 and 2005.