BHop Testimonial

[due]

Sure, Hop's assist/TO ratio is not great, but given the circumstances (which I will explain), there is no basis for questioning his talent or his ability to, as Coach Tubbs has said, "lead a team". Instead, SMU fans should be looking at our program's penchant, to date in Hop's 3-yr career, to surround the greatest DFW prospect in recent history with player's who on average do not even belong in Division 1. The guard has had absolutely no help from teammates throughout his career; this leads to the opposition focusing on him to an insurmountable extent. Why else would anybody who possesses such rare vision and unmatched athleticism have a questionable assist/to ratio? If you dont believe Hop can lead a team, simply remind yourself of his high school campaign in which he lead the greatest high school team ever (anybody who saw them would have a hard time arguing differently) to an undefeated season and the number one ranking in the country - and they traveled the country to justify that ranking. Even Chris Bosh was a sidekick to Hop's presence on the floor. Everyone who saw Deron Williams in the NC game this year should realize that this guy could not be mentioned in the same sentence in Hop before Hop chose SMU - Hop made him look like an average Deadman pick-up player every time they played each other. Assuming SMU fans want the program to progress and care about Hop getting his rightful credit, take the focus off Hop and put the focus on a program which has yet proven capable of adding another decent, not even good, piece to the puzzle in which Hop could count on to relieve only 10% of his current burden - Is this too much to ask? If we can land Hop, why cant we land anyone else that is at least worthy of staring on his high school team? By the way, this message in this post does not include the recent signing of Dez W, only the past 3 seasons track record - hopefully, Dez will fill this void and SMU fans will realize what they have in Hop.

[Higher Authority]

Hold on there, friend. Let's walk through this slowly.
Note: I love watching Hopkins play, and I'm thrilled that he's a Mustang, and that he's coming back next year. However:

Sure, Hop's assist/TO ratio is not great, but given the circumstances (which I will explain), there is no basis for questioning his talent or his ability to, as Coach Tubbs has said, "lead a team". Instead, SMU fans should be looking at our program's penchant, to date in Hop's 3-yr career, to surround the greatest DFW prospect in recent history with player's who on average do not even belong in Division 1....

Don't let your enthusiasm get away from yourself here. Yes, he was a very good prospect coming out of high school, and he might still be the player we all hope -- he's a very good player now. But Chris Bosh, Deron Williams, Calvin Miles, Jeryl Sasser, LaMarcus Aldridge, Bracey Wright (depending on how far you go back with your "recent history" comment) … I'm not saying they're better, but let's not dismiss them as having been inferior, either. There have been some fantastic players coming out of the area recently. And do you really want to sit there and say that Quinton Ross -- who is in the NBA -- didn't deserve to be a Div. I-A player? We'd all like to see a team full of lottery picks at SMU, but let's not suggest we don't have players who deserve to be in Div. I.

.... The guard has had absolutely no help from teammates throughout his career; this leads to the opposition focusing on him to an insurmountable extent....

True, he's been the most talented player on the team, at least for the last year or two, but no help from teammates? Just because he's not flashy doesn't mean Eric Castro didn't have a fantastic season. Devon Pearson gave Hop a LOT more breathing room when he became a more reliable 3-point shooter last year. And are you really going suggest that Q didn't help when Hop first got to SMU?

.... Why else would anybody who possesses such rare vision and unmatched athleticism have a questionable assist/to ratio?....

Health -- he hasn't had a healthy season since he got here.

.... If you dont believe Hop can lead a team, simply remind yourself of his high school campaign in which he lead the greatest high school team ever (anybody who saw them would have a hard time arguing differently) to an undefeated season and the number one ranking in the country - and they traveled the country to justify that ranking....

OK, I smell either a family member or a former teammate. I did see his high school team, and they were very good. They smoked people, night in and night out. And frankly, he was as good or better then than he has been since his arrival at SMU, for many reasons: the system at Lincoln allowed him to free-wheel and improvise -- Coach Dement didn't coach that way; for all the talents of his SMU teammates, the margin between Chris Bosh and the high school big men they faced was monumental; and Hop was healthy. He was a completely different player. But greatest high school team ever? Let us know when you're opening at the Improv.

.... Even Chris Bosh was a sidekick to Hop's presence on the floor. Everyone who saw Deron Williams in the NC game this year should realize that this guy could not be mentioned in the same sentence in Hop before Hop chose SMU - Hop made him look like an average Deadman pick-up player every time they played each other. Assuming SMU fans want the program to progress and care about Hop getting his rightful credit, take the focus off Hop and put the focus on a program which has yet proven capable of adding another decent, not even good, piece to the puzzle in which Hop could count on to relieve only 10% of his current burden - Is this too much to ask? If we can land Hop, why cant we land anyone else that is at least worthy of staring on his high school team? By the way, this message in this post does not include the recent signing of Dez W, only the past 3 seasons track record - hopefully, Dez will fill this void and SMU fans will realize what they have in Hop.

I don't understand the timing of your rant. The season has been over for months. Hop is a very talented player. And yes, he's had some talented players around him. It clearly sounds like you're very close to Hop. The vast majority of PonyFans really like Hop -- I know I do -- and we're rooting like hell for him to have a huge senior season?

But why the unsolicited attack on his teammates?

[Stallion]

well he did go too far in suggesting they weren't Division 1A caliber but I totally agree with the general argument that b.Hop has been surrounded by some pretty mediocre Division 1A talent. Since SMU decided "to build for the future" by going with freshman interior recruits I expect B.Hop's career to end pretty quietly despite what I'll admit are a nice collection of backcourt and small forwards in B.Hop, Willingham, Roberts and Pearson. It didn't have to be that way. Give me the two upperclass interior recruits coming in at Baylor and B.Hop might have another shot at the Dance.

[SoCal_Pony]

Due,

If BHop is all you say he is and if all his problems stem from his lack of D1-A supporting cast, then why is he returning after declaring for the NBA draft, especially given the success of Chris.

I have seen BHop several times during his SMU career, but never during his Lincoln days. From what I gather, he has lost some of his spring. What do you think?

And I agree with you and Stallion that our failure to get legitimate big men has prevented us from dancing these last several years…for whatever reason, we simply got ZERO momentum in recruiting after BHop’s signing.

[due]

Im not a former teammate or friend but played against him and all those other guys you mentioned. Im not saying Bracey and Bosh arent good, but it hurts to see guys like Deron Williams being mentioned in the same breath as Jason Kidd, while Hop is probably going to have to enter free agency (Unless SMU fields a decent supporting cast this year).

"we simply got ZERO momentum in recruiting after BHop’s signing." - could not have said it better myself. As for questioning whether Hop lost a step since high school? that is a legit question - Hop has not been 100%(especially his Freshman year) since arriving to SMU. But, I think it also points out what those inside were saying about how poorly of a program Dement ran - poor conditioning program, didnt push players, etc. Also, Hop is not the type of person to sit with an injury - not his nature.


"Why is BHOP returning?" - because he has been unable to consistently show his superiority, which is understandable when objectively considering the reasons that i have laid out.

What you see is what you get with Hop: rare vision and passing skills, arguably unmatched speed and leaping ability, poetic ball handling skills, and a Lincoln toughness.
Too bad he has to force his offensive game against teams that know he is the only person they have to stop. This kid, as evident in high school, would be electrifying if he had a cast that could keep up with him and allowed him to deploy his passing game - this would also make things easier for him offensively. Can you imagine Hop teamed with Luther Head and Bottom Line, SMU has not lived up to their part of the deal - and I see no reason why anyone should be to blame other than Dement and the people who let Dement commit this crime against such a worthy kid and a worthy program. Time to stop focusing on Hop's anecdotal shortcomings (assist/to, shooting %), and start examining why?, or SMU will remain hopeless in the WAC.

Stallion - you seem to get the gist.
Higher Authority - not attacking his teammates whatsoever, your right Castro played his heart out and Q Ross beat everyone's expectations (Hop was 50% his freshman year, and overweight, and did not get the push that most players receive when entering a D1 program) - simply stating what I think is a realistic assesment of the SMU program. If your happy with the Status Quo, I sure hope that you are not a member of the Athletic Department.

[Hoop Fan]

this is an old debate, but I'll throw my 2 cents in again. I saw Hop play in high school and he did outplay Deron Williams head to head and Daniel Horton too. His explosiveness in high school was unreal, but he's never really showed that at SMU. His foot injury in the 5A championship must have been something long term. Having said that, he has been very good for SMU. The supporting cast has not rebounded or defended the post. We'll see if Brian Morris can come in and give us a little nastiness next year. But Willingham should help alot no matter what. Cant wait to see Dez and Hop run together.

[LA_Mustang]

HF, you and I have discussed this at length before, and we basically have the same opinion on Hop- SMU did not get the player we saw in high school. The reasons and blame can be debated, and honestly, I not sure what the answer is. As I have said MANY times on this board, Hop possessed the ability to take over a game in high school unlike I had ever seen before from a PG. And this was with and against NBA caliber players. I remember speaking with Coach Dement soon after Hop signed with SMU and he sounded like a guy who had just hit the lottery.....he thought he had landed the player that was going to take SMU to that next level.....and so did I.

Whether you blame it on injuries, coaching, teammates, work ethic or whatever- I’m not sure, but I’m still really glad and proud that Hop decided to be a Pony. And yes, it should be a lot of fun watching him and Dez in the backcourt next season. People are going to be very surprised how good a player Dez is.

[EastStang]

BH went to some camps and had no NBA interest, and was told he would not be drafted. This is a deep draft and there a quite a few good players out there to be drafted. He was probably told he had some "holes" in his game. A point guard cannot turn the ball over as often as he does and stay in the NBA. True some of those turnovers were because his supporting cast missed passes or weren't where they were supposed to be. But until he can show that he can make assists and keep possession of the ball, he will have a tough time making it in the NBA. I saw a couple of games and my assessment was that he was not the quickest point guard in the world which may have been due to the nagging foot injury. Either way, he needs to get healthy and dominate. He's a senior, this is his chance.

[due]

East Stang-
just did a google search on the only NBA draft camp that BHOP attended and found only one artice which, and not in much detail, made an assesment of the draft camp attendees. Anyway, according to the one and only source I could find, BHOP did not receive as bad of a report that your post implies. Pay particular attention to the pg's that the author puts on the "wait until next year" list, some pretty notable players who get a lot more credit than BHOP from people - considering BHOP's situation at SMU, I am thinking he must have turned some heads to be ranked among and above some of these highly touted and well publicized pg's. - While i agree that BHOP should definitely return to erase any doubt, I would love to hear your source or how you can so bluntly dismiss his NBA potential. ...

2005 NBA Draft Top 10s
By Chad Ford

With the first NBA draft camp in Portsmouth, the Euroleague Final Four,
Nike Hoop Summit and the McDonald's All-American game behind us, it's
time to do another comprehensive update of our Top 10 rankings by
position.


The consensus top five? Marvin Williams, Paul and Bogut are clearly the
top three. Deron Williams, Raymond Felton, Fran Vasquez, Danny Granger
and Gerald Green are somewhere in the next group. A few players like
Martynas Andriuskevicius and Monta Ellis are watching their stock fall
while a few darkhorses in Portsmouth including Cincinnati's Jason
Maxiell, North Carolina's Jackie Manuel and UT-Chatanooga's Mindaugas
Katelynas helped their stock.


NBA Draft


TOP 10 POINT GUARDS
Rank Name Ht, Wt - Age School/Country
1. Chris Paul 6-1, 195 lbs - Sophomore Wake Forest
2. Deron Williams 6-3, 210 lbs - Junior Illinois
3. Raymond Felton 6-0, 180 lbs - Junior North Carolina
4. Jarrett Jack 6-3, 200 lbs - Junior Georgia Tech
5. Monta Ellis 6-3, 175 lbs - HS Senior Lanier High School (MS)
6. John Gilchrist 6-3, 200 lbs - Junior Maryland
7. Roko Leni Ukic 6-5, 185 lbs - 20 yrs Croatia
8. Nate Robinson 5-9, 190 lbs - Junior Washington
9. Dee Brown 5-11, 185 lbs - Junior Illinois
10. Luther Head 6-3, 200 lbs - Senior Illinois



Best of the rest: Daniel Ewing, Duke; Will Conroy, Washington;
Filiberto Rivera, UTEP; Chris Thomas, Notre Dame; Travis Diener, Marquette;
Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh; Anthony Roberson, Florida; Aaron Miles, Kansas;
Orien Green Louisiana-Lafayette; Jose Juan Barea, Northeastern; Chris
Hernandez, Stanford; David Logan, Indianapolis; Bryan Hopkins, SMU; Ivan
Koljevic, Serbia; Ender Arslan, Turkey; Marcelo Huertas, Brazil

Wait until next year: Daniel Gibson, Texas; Ronnie Brewer, Arkansas;
Mardy Collins, Temple; Guillermo Diaz, Miami; Uros Tripkovic, Serbia;
Rajon Rondo, Kentucky; Marcus Williams, UConn; Curtis Stinson, Iowa State;
Jordan Farmar, UCLA; Mustafa Shakur, Arizona; Justin Gray, Wake Forest;
Jeff Horner, Iowa; Taquan Dean, Louisville; Darius Washington Jr.,
Memphis; Tim Smith, East Tennessee State; Churchill Odia, Xavier; Sergio
Rodriguez, Spain; George Tsintsadze, Russia; Cenk Akyol, Turkey

TOP 10 SHOOTING GUARDS
Rank Name Ht, Wt - Age School/Country
1. Gerald Green 6-7, 210 lbs - HS Senior Gulf Shores Academy (TX)
2. Antoine Wright 6-7, 210 lbs - Junior Texas A&M
3. Martell Webster 6-7, 235 lbs - HS Senior Seattle Prep (WA)
4. Marko Tomas 6-8, 210 lbs - 19 yrs Croatia
5. Rudy Fernandez 6-5, 200 lbs - 19 yrs Spain
6. Rashad McCants 6-4, 200 lbs - Junior North Carolina
7. Francisco Garcia 6-7, 190 lbs - Junior Louisville
8. Julius Hodge 6-7, 205 lbs - Senior North Carolina State
9. Salim Stoudamire 6-1, 185 lbs - Senior Arizona
10. Louis Williams 6-2, 165 lbs - HS Senior South Gwinnet Academy
(GA)


Best of the rest: Von Wafer, Florida State; Brandon Rush, HS senior;
Thabo Sefolosha, Switzerland; Kelenna Azubuike, Kentucky; Bracey Wright,
Indiana; Tiras Wade, Louisiana-Lafayette; Nikolaos Zissis, Greece; Alex
Acker, Pepperdine; Jackie Manuel, Kansas; B.J. Elder, Georgia Tech;
Romel Beck, UNLV; Keith Langford, Kansas; Alan Anderson, Michigan State;

Wait until next year: Malik Hairston, Oregon; Hassan Adams, Arizona;
Jawann McClellan, Arizona; J.R. Giddens, Kansas; J.J. Redick, Duke; Roy
Bright, Cincinnati; Rashad Anderson, UConn; Brandon Roy, Washington; CJ
Miles, HS senior; Costas Vassiliadis, Greece; Marko Belinelli, Italy;
Vasily Zavoruev, Russia; Marcus Vieira de Souza, Brazil

TOP 10 SMALL FORWARDS
Rank Name Ht, Wt - Age School/Country
1. Marvin Williams 6-9, 230 lbs - Freshman North Carolina
2. Danny Granger 6-8, 235 lbs - Senior New Mexico
3. Nemanja Aleksandrov 6-10, 220 lbs - 17 yrs Serbia
4. Joey Graham 6-7, 220 lbs - Senior Oklahoma State
5. Yaroslav Korolev 6-9, 215 lbs - 18 yrs Russia
6. Ersan Ilyasova 6-9, 220 lbs - 18 yrs Turkey

7. Kennedy Winston 6-6, 230 lbs - Junior Alabama
8. Linas Kleiza 6-8, 233 lbs - 21 yrs Missouri
9. Mickaël Gelebale 6-7, 210 lbs - 22 yrs France
10. Matt Walsh 6-7, 205 lbs - Junior Florida


Best of the rest: Ryan Gomes, Providence; Mindaugas Katelynas,
UT-Chattanooga; Milan Majstorovic, Serbia; Luka Bodganovic, Serbia; Shawne
Williams, HS Senior;Dijon Thompson, UCLA; Rawle Marshall, Oakland; Jawad
Williams, North Carolina; Eddie Basden, Charlotte; Sean Banks, Memphis;
Quemont Greer, DePaul; Steven Smith, LaSalle; Marcus Slaughter, San
Diego; Brandon Bowman, Georgetown; Mike Hall, George Washington; Mike Bell,
Florida Atlantic; Carlos Powell, South Carolina; Omar Thomas, UTEP;
Keith Brumbaugh, HS Senior; Dusan Sakota, Greece; Stefano Mancinelli,
Italy; Zhu Fangyu, China; Ivan Chiriaev, Russia

Wait until next year: Rudy Gay, UConn; Andrea Bargnani, Italy; Adam
Morrison, Gonzaga; Jared Dudley, Boston College; Rodney Carney, Memphis;
Jeff Green, Georgetown; Juan Diego Palacios, Louisville; Corey Brewer,
Florida; Vladimir Veremeenko, Belarus; Damir Omerhodzic, Croatia; Regis
Koundjia, LSU; Damjan Rudez, Croatia; Ricky Sanchez, Puerto Rico;

TOP 10 POWER FORWARDS
Rank Name Ht, Wt - Age School/Country
1. Chris Taft 6-10, 250 lbs - Sophomore Pittsburgh
2. Fran Vazquez 6-10, 230 lbs - 21 yrs Spain
3. Martynas Andriuskevicius 7-3, 230 lbs - 19 yrs Lithuania
4. Tiago Splitter 6-10, 240 lbs - 19 yrs Brazil
5. Hakim Warrick 6-8, 218 lbs - Senior Syracuse
6. Sean May 6-9, 260 lbs - Junior North Carolina
7. Andray Blatche 6-11, 230 lbs - HS Senior South Kent (CT)
8. Charlie Villanueva 6-11, 240 lbs - Sophomore UConn
9. Wayne Simien 6-9, 255 lbs - Senior Kansas
10. Ike Diogu 6-8, 255 lbs - junior Arizona State


Best of the rest: Ronny Turiaf, Gonzaga; David Lee, Florida; Brandon
Bass, LSU; Axel Hervelle, Belgium; Erazem Lorbek, Skipper Bologna
(Italy); Angelo Gigli, Italy; Lawrence Roberts, Mississippi State; Jason
Maxiell, Cincinnati; Pops Mensah-Bonsu, George Washington; Kevin Pittsnogle,
West Virginia; Torin Francis, Notre Dame;Michael Harris, Rice; Chevon
Troutman, Pittsburgh; Ivan McFarlin, Oklahoma State; Jeremiah Massey,
Kansas State; Chuck Hayes, Kentucky; Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont; Juan
Mendez, Niagara; Yiannis Bouroussis, Greece; Drago Pasalic, Croatia; Uros
Slokar, Slovenia;

Wait until next year: Shelden Williams, Duke; Taj Gray, Oklahoma; Al
Horford, Flordia; Josh McRoberts, HS Senior; Julian Wright, HS Senior;
Tyler Hansbrough, HS Senior; Amir Johnson, HS Senior; Oleksiy Pecherov,
Ukraine; James Augustine, Illinois; Nick Fazekas, Nevada; Ekene Ibekwe,
Maryland; Paul Davis, Michigan State; Craig Smith, Boston College; Glen
Davis, LSU; LaMarcus Aldridge, Texas; Vilmantas Dilys, Lithuania; Ian
Mahinmi, France; Miguel Marriaga, Venezuela

TOP 10 CENTERS
Rank Name Ht, Wt - Age School/Country
1. Andrew Bogut 6-10, 240 lbs - Sophmore Utah
2. Johan Petro 7-1, 250lbs - 19 yrs France
3. Andrew Bynum 7-0, 300lbs - HS Senior St. Joseph's High (NJ)
4. Randolph Morris 6-11, 250lbs - Freshman Kentucky

5. Channing Frye 6-11, 250 lbs - senior Arizona
6. Peja Samardziski 7-1, 255lbs - 19 yrs Macedonia
7. Mile Ilic 7-1, 240lbs - 21 yrs Serbia
8. Kosta Perovic 7-3, 245lbs - 20 yrs Serbia
9. Deji Akindele 7-0, 240 lbs - sophomore Chicago State
10. Jared Homan 6-10, 250 lbs - senior Iowa State


Others to watch: Dwayne Jones, Saint Joseph's; Marcin Gortat, Poland;
Mustafa Al-Sayyad, Fresno State; D'or Fischer, West Virginia; Mohammed
Kone, Southern Idaho (juco); Edu Hernandez-Sonseca, Spain; Luke
Schenscher, Georgia Tech; Matt Nelson, Colorado State; Ioannis Bourousis, AEK
(Greece); Lucas Tischer, Brazil; Moussa Badiane, East Carolina; Rob
Rothbart, France; Ante Tomic, Croatia

Wait until next year: Josh Boone, UConn; Semih Erden, Turkey; Martin
Iti, Charlotte; Dimitri Soklov, Russia; Pavel Mroz, Poland; Tan Zhendon,
China.

[jtstang]

Hey Hopkins had a lot of offers and he chose to come to SMU. It's not like he came to a school riding on the top of the NCAA hoops wave. If his choice of school and its inability to surround him with blue chips is the reason you think he's gonna have to "enter free agency" then I say he made his own bed, let him lay in it.

[EastStang]

If he was going to be drafted at all, he would be in the low second round, no guaranteed money, tough time making the team, he clearly wasn't in the first 50 players and they only draft 60.

[Stallion]

getting drafted in the NBA Draft is not the definition of a great college career. Last year I bet there were only about 30 Seniors or Junior American BB players drafted.

[EastStang]

I have nothing against his college career due. I think I have been saying that he was not draft calibre this year and has some areas he needs to improve upon to get into position to get drafted next year.

[jtstang]

getting drafted in the NBA Draft is not the definition of a great college career.

Well, whatever the definition is, he's not met it yet. Got one more season to do it.