Washington Huskies freshman guard Wesley Yates III details at an NIL event on Aug. 14, 2023, why he chose to come play for Mike Hopkins.
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00:00 It's been pretty good to see improvements on the defensive end.
00:04 Just learning college things, just learning different rotation and
00:08 things like that.
00:09 I feel like just coming in, being ready,
00:14 focus every day, that's really the main thing.
00:19 Really just, I've been getting way better on defense and
00:23 just fine tuning the offense and just doing little things to help improve my game.
00:28 >> Now I know also you're a freshman, how unique is this opportunity for you?
00:32 Have you ever done anything like this before?
00:35 >> You mean like this?
00:36 >> Yeah, yeah.
00:37 >> No, not really.
00:38 I mean, I did a couple community things back in Beaumont, but
00:42 this is pretty much new to me.
00:44 Just doing good things, good cause, helping people out, I'm all about it.
00:49 So just very great, just knowing that it'll change somebody's life.
00:54 >> Now I know you also got to play for the Portland Gentles this summer.
00:57 How much of a impact did that summer, that opportunity have for you?
01:00 >> I actually didn't get to go, actually, yeah.
01:02 The flights, my flight ended up getting canceled, so I didn't get to go.
01:07 >> So being a kid from Texas, how do you acclimate it to being up in Washington?
01:11 And what made you decide that Washington was the best fit for you?
01:14 >> It's very nice out here.
01:17 I loved it from the beginning, honestly.
01:22 I didn't see myself coming here until I actually came on a visit.
01:26 Saw how nice it was and saw how everybody has love for each other, and
01:30 coaching staff, and how they treat their players, and everything like that.
01:33 And just having family out here really made it easier,
01:35 the easiest transition would have been so far from home.
01:38 So I really just feel like I could be comfortable here, and
01:41 I feel like I can thrive in our system.
01:44 >> And you guys are going to Europe tomorrow from Paris and Barcelona.
01:47 How much are you looking forward to doing that?
01:49 >> I'm looking very forward to it.
01:51 Never been out of the country before, so that's new.
01:53 Just looking to build, go out with my teammates, coaches, just meeting new people.
01:57 See how they live out there.
02:00 I just wanna go out there and have as much fun as possible.
02:02 Just create memories that last forever.
02:04 >> And how much does something like this help from a team bonding perspective?
02:07 Obviously, you got a bunch of guys coming up in the pool, and you're a new freshman.
02:10 Just kinda how do you notice that team bonding?
02:12 >> Yeah, it helps a lot because it's a pretty new team.
02:15 Like I said, a lot of people come out the portal.
02:17 Just really getting to know everybody, see what people like,
02:20 see what they don't like.
02:20 How it really shows you how to talk to them, how to communicate with them.
02:24 But as you can see out there, everybody laughing, playing around,
02:27 just having fun, still getting our work done.
02:29 So it's really main thing, just learning each other and
02:32 just figuring out each other the best as possible.
02:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]