Hopkins still hasn't matured

[Hoop Fan]

As I said above, I respect what he has done and people should quit bagging on him. He is a very good college player. I don't know why he hasn't been as good as we hoped but he is probably 3rd best player signed by Dement. That is no slouch.
The hyperbole, though, sometimes gets out of hand on this board but ususally not from you HF. He is not in the Top 100 college players in the country in anyone's rankings at this point. Do you believe that if he declared for the draft that he would be taken? Mentioned? Offered a tryout with someone without him doing the calling?-- maybe.

Hyperbole? Saying Top 100 is certainly not unrealistic for Hopkins. Before the wrist injury, he was WAC player of the week twice and a candidate for POY. Just because he has not been as consistent as everybody would like through 2 1/2 seasons filled with injury does not prove the guy cannot play. In fact, he has had a few great games, Baylor game comes to mind. As for being drafted, I don't know, his size hurts him alot, but he was 5'10 when we recruited him so no surprise there. Only 60 guys get drafted and Hopkins isn't even a senior yet. Player #100 in college is still 40 spots outside the draft. Lets let him finish his career before we write him off as a bust.

[Stallion]

plus half the draftees are not American-let's not forget that.

[OldPony]

So what is your point Stallion? I just called him the 3rd best recruit in the Dement era. That isn't being critical. Do you think he is as good as advertised?
Is anyone saying he is a bad player?
If you don't like his supporting cast now, I don't see anything getting better yet. We did get a good transfer from KSU. Otherwise, it looks like same ole same ole to me.
With the apathy shown by SMU admin, alums, and students in their support of SMU sports, it won't get much better. I ask again, How do you recruit to an empty gym? If Tubbs can do that, he will be known as a miracle worker even if all the other restrictions are removed.

[SoCal_Pony]

OK, I crunched BHop’s career numbers.

283 assists and 283 turnovers; FG% of less than 40%.

I agree with OP that he is the 3rd best Dement player, although I think he is closer to the 3-5 range than the 1-2 range if you catch my drift.

To have any player with the above stats still be your 3rd best player over the past 10 years speaks volumes as to the talent level of this program.

Too bad he suffered these injuries; a healthy BHop could have done more for attendance than any player in recent memory. BTW, check out today’s picture…looks like plenty of courtside seats are available.

[Mike Damone]

about how many games would we win without Hopkins? About 2? He may not be the answer but he damn sure ain't the problem either. You want to know the real underacheivers why don't you look at guys touted by Ponyboy and his cheerleader friends-Dontas Raskaskas who I was assured was a Top 15 Center in America despite not getting another scholarship offer. How about Ike Obufuque who disquised the fact that he was no better than the No. 62 player in Texas High Schools with one average season at a low level CC to be touted as a saviour. How about Patrick Simpson that cheerleaders touted as the greatest Forward recruit in SMU history. How about the other 8 players on the team-I'll give Castro a break since based on limited skills he's probably accomplished all that could be expected. HOW ABOUT SOME OF YOU GETTING A CLUE about the actual talent level at SMU.

Just wait until Bamba Fall gets here.........

[Stallion]

you forgot to use the adjective "great" as in "The Great Bamba Falls". My concern about him is that he is so used to playing about 3 minutes a half that it may take him until about 2009 until he's built up enough stamina to play an entire game. On the other hand just think how skinny he would be if he played basketball regularly.

[Hoop Fan]

OK, I crunched BHop’s career numbers.

283 assists and 283 turnovers; FG% of less than 40%.

stats don't tell everything and you have to have a context for them. Can we agree that Deron Williams is a good benchmark? Williams is the same age as Hop, same experience. Williams is All-American, favorite for Big 10 POY and plays for the current #1 team in the nation, Illinois. They have been good for the past 3 years, real good as a team. Guess what Deron Williams career field goal percentage is? A whopping 41.3%. BHops career average is 39.7%. You can call it less than 40% to make a point, but if you are rounding to the nearest decimal, DWilliams is a 41% shooter and BHop is a 40%. Not much difference. My point is not to say BHop is all world or anything, my point is that 40% is not unusual for a good guard to shoot these days. The reason is everybody is taking alot of 3s because the game has changed and simple math dictates the 3 point shot is effective. Deron Williams is a career 37% shooter from 3 range, and BHop is a career 37% shooter from 3. Identical. I would submit to you that Bhop gets fewer open looks.

Both are good rebounders for guards. Bhop actually gets more steals which surprised me given his injuries. Deron Williams has an excellent assist-to ratio of 2.5. Like you say, Bhop is only 1.0. That is significant, but Bhop is asked to do more and has been hurt, plus Deron Williams is one of the best assist men in the country.

[LA_Mustang]

very interesting, HF. It doesn't hurt Deron's assist to turnover ratio that he has Luther Head, Roger Powell and James Augustine on the other end of his passes.

[Hoop Fan]

very interesting, HF. It doesn't hurt Deron's assist to turnover ratio that he has Luther Head, Roger Powell and James Augustine on the other end of his passes.

No sir, it doesn't hurt at all. And one of the things that makes Illinois so good is that the 3 guards move and pass so well that it leads to alot of open looks for everybody.

[jtstang]

Both are good rebounders for guards. Bhop actually gets more steals which surprised me given his injuries. Deron Williams has an excellent assist-to ratio of 2.5. Like you say, Bhop is only 1.0. That is significant, but Bhop is asked to do more and has been hurt, plus Deron Williams is one of the best assist men in the country.

And the reason his team is number one in the country? As LA says, his surrounding cast is excellent, contributes mightily to his assist numbers and hence A/T ratio, and generally is the reason he is not asked to carry the Illini on his shoulders. Now HE is a great college point guard. Hopkins is not, but through no fault of his own--if you switched the two, I'm guessing you'd see the same things in reverse.

[Hoop Fan]

And the reason his team is number one in the country? As LA says, his surrounding cast is excellent, contributes mightily to his assist numbers and hence A/T ratio, and generally is the reason he is not asked to carry the Illini on his shoulders. Now HE is a great college point guard. Hopkins is not, but through no fault of his own--if you switched the two, I'm guessing you'd see the same things in reverse.

I think you are exactly right. Same goes in my opinion for BHop and John Lucas Jr. If Lucas was at SMU, he would have alot of the same issues you saw when he was at Baylor, ie he would get worn down and bodied more. Put BHop with the Graham brothers, Daniel Bobick and Jameson Curry and company and something tells me he would look a little better to most people.

[Hoop Fan]

by the way, LA, I think Illinois goes down tonight at Wisconsin. A loss will be actually be good for them. Look for a new #1 next week, I just hope they dont fall as hard as KU.

[Pony_Fan]

I saw Hopkins play in High School on several occassions. He was impressive and could leap out of the gym. During warm ups he had some of the best dunks. When he had a fast break or steal people would freak out to see what he would do....

Now, it is a completely different story. I would agree with a lot of what has been said. He has to carry the team etc...There is a marked difference btwn what he did in high school and now....I wish we could get the High School Hopkins again. I suspect his injury initially did something but I am surprised it made that much difference. For those who did not see him in high school, you have no idea what we are talking about.

There are a lot of things he does that just plain irritate me the way Sasser and Damon did. Shooting at the wrong times, turnvers, etc......just not playing smart basketball. I am hoping that Roberts can become more of a scoring threat and take the pressure off Hopkins toward the end of the season into next year. Unfortunately, he does have to carry the team a lot of nights. So, I am glad we have him and obviously the talent on this team is lacking for surrounding support. Was he worth 2 scholarships? I don't know....the old Hopkins...maybe.

I do not think there is any way Hopkins goes to the NBA. He is not fundamentally sound enough and now has a lot of trouble with seperation from defenders....his only move is the crossover.

I think our problems reach a lot farther than Hopkins....I said this in a post when Ross left that scoring would be an issue. Castro is doing a great job this year but I can't say there is anyone else that is consistent every night. Simpson and Isham are pretty big disspointments for me being consistent scoring options.

[SoCal_Pony]

HF, I agree with a lot of what you are saying. Don’t get me wrong, I like BHop and believe he is hands down the best player we have. I guess I just got caught up in all the hype.

I will stand by my statement that I am disappointed with the end-product so far. I suspect BHop is as well. I also do not believe he would have the same success Deron has had at Illinois. That to me is a stretch (to what degree this is injury related is of course a different story). I checked the Illinois website. Deron has 464 assists and 191 turnovers. Yes he has a better supporting cast, but the level of competition is also much higher which IMO balances it all out to a degree.

PF, you are right, I do wish I had seen him play in high school.

[LA_Mustang]

HF, what a great game. They said tickets to that game were going for $1,500-$2,000 on ebay. How good would Wisconsin be if Harris had stayed for his senior year? And Illinois - most schools would love to have one guard as good as their three. Did you hear Dickey V compare Deron to Jason Kidd? That’s a pretty big complement.