Kelsey Plum and Mike Neighbors: From a memorable text - to the Sweet 16

UW Womens Basketball Kelsey Plum and Mike Neighbors

UW Womens Basketball Kelsey Plum and Mike Neighbors

At the time, it might’ve felt like the worst day of Kelsey Plum’s senior year of high school: When the coach she committed to play for at Washington, Kevin McGuff, took a new job at Ohio State.

“I lost it. I didn’t know what to do,” Plum said.

What Plum did – while coaches from all over the country started calling - was request a release from her letter of intent to play for the Huskies.

“I tried to turn off my phone for like a week because I was just so sad. I felt like I’d been broken up with,” Plum said.

Close to three years later, there’s no bond more special than the one Plum shares with the coach who reconciled that connection. Mike Neighbors helped recruit Plum to Montlake as an assistant coach before getting his first-ever chance at coaching his own team.

“You know, it was kind of one of those situations where I told him ‘If you stay, I stay.’ And he kept his word, and I said I’ll keep mine,” Plum said.

Added Neighbors: “I still have the picture of the text message that she sent me that day: ‘You stay, I stay.’ I said, ‘Are you a person of your word?’ when I knew I’d gotten the job. That was the point when we knew it was going to work out like it did.”

Now, they’re in the Sweet 16. Plum, the Huskies all-time leading scorer, still with another full season to play. Neighbors, in just his third year, bringing the Dawgs back to heights they haven’t seen in 15 years.

“If you really look at it, I’m in the perfect system with the perfect players with the perfect coach,” Plum said. “Sometimes, things happen right. (Neighbors) is the one who allowed me to do that. And allowed me the opportunity.”

Added Neighbors: "It’s why you get into coaching. And I hope it’s able to continue over the years. Otherwise, you’re gonna look back at your first three years of experience and be comparing it the rest of your career.”