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Is he still considering going pro? He is not listed by Andy Katz on ESPN.com on the list of early departures, or is that more of a reflection of how little people are thinking about his NBA chances.....thanks

I suppose he's still thinking about it, but my guess is that he'll be back, and we'll be better off for it.

Think he did the right thing by at least exploring his options, however, now it is time for him to recommit to the team and help us nail down one last good recruit for the 2005 class

I have heard that he is seriously considering going pro - even if it is not the NBA as due to his family situation, he really needs some income to help support his family. Hopefully he will decide to stay in school but as we saw with David Page, taking care of your family is much more important than college athletics.

PonySnob wrote:Hopefully he will decide to stay in school but as we saw with David Page, taking care of your family is much more important than college athletics.

Yeah, but Page got his degree--Hopkins is not good enough to play pro ball yet and he has no degree.

Not that it really matters, but Hopkins is not shown as being drafted on nbadraft.net's current mock draft.

This would be the worst year for an upperclassman to come out, IMO. There are going to be a ton of young HS and foreign players in the draft to get ahead of the age limit which will likely go in effect next year. He is much better off staying in school and working on his game.

BHop is figuring that even if it is CBA money (which in all likelihood it would be) that is way more than he will make next year and that he can play his way into the NBA.

I think he'll be back. But if he isn't, he'd be better off (in terms of money) going to Europe instead of the CBA.

The best thing for Bryan in the long run is to get his degree. He has not show an ability to get to the NBA for sure and CBA money isn't much. I'm not sure he can play long term in Europe either. I really don't think he will be playing b'ball in 5 years so unless he can get a very good salary, he should stay put and graduate. By staying at SMU, he can inprove the image he has built in Dallas, especially if he can become the essense of a team player, and will have a lot of name recognition going for him in job searches. After 3-4 years in Europe, no one but those on this board will remember him. I'm sure Jimmy T is giving him the best advice he can in private. BHop- Listen.

CBA????? If I'm not mistaken, you can make more money working part-time at Walmart than in the CBA full-time!! If he has a KILLER CBA season, he gets a coulpe of 10 day day contracts - MAYBE. If he has a KILLER SENIOR SEASON, he could be a late 1st round NBA choice or make real cash in Europe. CBA - Pleeeeeeze say it ain't so - I don't even think most of those guys can read! I am ALL FOR leaving early, but ONLY when it's a sure thing.

If BHop is smart, he'll return for his senior season (like Q did), work his A@@ off to demonstrate to the NBA and European teams that he can be a floor leader (with high ASSIST-TURNOVER margin), and keep working, working , working on his shot.

Then, AND ONLY THEN, will he have developed what it takes to play a few seasons in Europe, have some fun, sock away some money, and MAYBE have a shot at the NBA. STAY, and you've got a shot. LEAVE, and you'll be pumping gas. AND GET YOUR DEGREE!

Cheese, relax about the CBA thing. PonySnob doesnt know what he's saying, he's just talking out of his [deleted] to try and get a rise out of people. He's making this up. If you havent noticed, thats the guys complete MO, everything he types is designed to create a sort of low-level annoyance. Right now he's laughing his pitiful little head off because someone actually took his crap seriously.

Since Bryan's twin brother obviously values the concept of an SMU education those values hopefully are instilled in Bryan, as well. He may have wanted to float a trial balloon, see if any NBA scouts came calling, perhaps take in a camp to test his skills, and then go back for his senior year.

If he comes back, declaring like B-Hops has done is actually a good way to draw attention to his senior year campaign. A name in the draft pool has to be scrutinized at some level.

Agreed - declaring and then withdrawing his name would be ideal .... for him, as well as for SMU. And he is a smart guy. I echo the sentiment that the best thing he could do would be to come back.