Bhop Article

[ponyboy]

An article on Bryan almost exactly one year ago:

Anticipation soars at SMU over high-flying Bryan Hopkins' arrival
10/12/2002

By RICK ALONZO / The Dallas Morning News


UNIVERSITY PARK – The mere thought of losing point guard Bryan
Hopkins drove a man to drink vinegar.

When Hopkins, the most prized basketball recruit in SMU history, told
Jimmy Tubbs during a late-night call that he was withdrawing his
commitment, Tubbs couldn't bear the thought.

Tubbs, SMU's assistant coach in charge of recruiting at the time, lay
in bed, sweating. The perilous news induced a sudden fever and
high-blood pressure, Tubbs said. He stumbled into his kitchen to find
a home remedy: vinegar.

"I felt dizzy – I just couldn't take it," said Tubbs, who
since moved on to Oklahoma.

That's the level of anticipation that surrounds the arrival of
Hopkins, a Lincoln graduate who briefly wavered but did, indeed, end
up signing with SMU in November. The first day of college basketball
practice is Saturday, and perhaps not since running back Eric
Dickerson chose the Mustangs have so many clamored over the arrival
of an SMU freshman.

Bryan Hopkins
Ht./Wt.: 5-10/190

Class: Freshman

Position: Point guard

Nickname: B-Hop

Notable: Scored a career-high 38 points for Lincoln his senior year
against The Colony. ... Averaged 15.1 points per game as a senior.
Scored 18.2 per game as a junior and averaged 5.7 assists. ...
Although he was unable to play because of a toe injury, Hopkins was
selected to play in the Jordan Brand Capital Classic all-star game
last summer along with players such as Amare Stoudemire, Shavlick
Randolph and Bracey Wright.

Hopkins will shoulder heavy expectations as he tries to help SMU make
the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993.

His explosive leaping ability, his hunger for the ball with the clock
winding down and his playmaking skills make him one of the nation's
top freshmen.

"There's a lot of people looking forward to me coming in and
helping to turn the team around," said Hopkins in a typically
low-key but confident tone. "There's a lot of hype. I'm looking
forward to it myself because I like a challenge."

Those who have witnessed Hopkins' skill give testimony as if it were
a religious experience to be cherished and replayed over and over.

"He's a freak of nature," said Rick Williams, who coached
the guard with Team Texas in recent summers. "We were playing a
game during his freshman year. He went up over two kids 6-5. He left
the floor about a step inside the free throw line. I thought he left
too early, and he just kept rising up – and then boom, he dunked up
on them."

Hopkins, who led Lincoln to a 40-0 record and a pair of No. 1
national rankings, is regarded as the top recruit in the Western
Athletic Conference this year. In its college basketball preview, The
Sporting News named Hopkins its preseason WAC Newcomer of the Year.

Street & Smith's says, "Don't be surprised if ... a freshman
turns out to be the league's Most Valuable Player. Bryan Hopkins may
be that good." Hopkins is already "drawing comparisons to
T.J. Ford" of Texas, says Lindy's.

As a senior, Hopkins was the motor behind one of the most dominant
seasons in Texas high school history as he led Lincoln to the Class
4A state championship.

"I had the privilege of watching Joe Dumars play in high
school," said Troy Mathieu, the Dallas Independent School
District assistant superintendent in charge of athletics, "and
in my opinion, I would rank Hopkins' basketball skills ahead of Joe
Dumars as a senior."

As a high school freshman, Hopkins was known for his ability to carve
his way to the basket with his quickness. His ability to elevate
around the basket dropped jaws around the state. At 5-10, he can dunk
two-handed without a running start.

As he matured, Hopkins developed an all-around game. He displayed it
all his junior year in the state semifinals in Austin.

With Lincoln center Chris Bosh on the bench in foul trouble, Hopkins
scored 26 points and single-handedly kept his team in the game
against San Antonio Lanier. He hit an NBA-range 3-pointer with 24
seconds left tie the score. He added a team-high eight rebounds.

"I do whatever I have to do for my team not to lose, whether
it's defense, scoring points, assists, whatever," Hopkins said.
"I really don't see it as me taking over; I just see it as
playing hard for the team."

He went on to average 26 points per game with Team Texas that summer
against the top point guards in the nation, Williams said.

"He annihilated [Duke signee] Sean Dockery and [Illinois signee]
Dee Brown," Williams said. "They were scared of him."

SMU basketball coach Mike Dement tries to downplay expectations,
perhaps to take pressure off his freshman.

Hopkins had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right big toe
this spring, and that kept him off the court this summer. He sat out
this week with an abdominal strain, but he should be ready for
practice Saturday.

How quickly Hopkins recovers his form will be a key to this season.
The Mustangs have four starters back from last season's 15-14 team.
Senior Quinton Ross averaged 17.4 points per game last season, and he
will be Hopkins' primary target.

"My biggest concern is his health," Dement said.
"People have always talked about how explosive Bryan is, how
entertaining he is. He is all those things. And all those things will
be there if he can get healthy and stay healthy.

"The length of the season, the attention he'll get from media,
defensive players, fans – it's going to be a lot to handle. He's done
it before, and if he's healthy, I feel confident he can do it
again."

[OldPony]

Now if he'll only prove that he can play college basketball. For a lot of reasons, none of the hype that preceeded him was apparent last year. Let's all hope he can live up to it this year but I've been seeing things on the board that suggest he is hurt again. Does anyone know if this is true? Man-I hope we don't have another Voc injury situation on our hands. He must play and play well for this team to go anywhere.

[ponyboy]

Hopkins played well enough INJURED to garner WAC Freshman of the Year honors. I don't know what more you'd expect from the guy, OP.

[OldPony]

And who was the competition? His year could be described at best as mediocre last year. So far he hasn't been able because of injuries to show he belongs anywhere near the class of top guards in college. He wouldn't have been in the top 7 in Big 12 last year. KU alone had 2 better. If you look at point guards only, Miles was better as a freshman and so was our friend from UT. Hop must prove otherwise. OP was born in Missouri so SHOW ME.
I am all for him and hope to see someday why all of his press was so good. He is a huge key for SMU and if I didn't somewhat believe you guys, I would say SMU has no chance at dancing this year. It's you guys and the press that I am relying on though because it sure hasn't been his performance. His shooting has been horrendous, defense solid as he got well and assists OK. That is not an All America review! I realize he was hurt and that Dement wanted him to play anyway to get some experience. I keep hearing rumors that he is hurt again(still) though. I have no idea what to expect from him this year.