Hopkins a bust

[fan]

Can we call it official?

[scostas]

They guy's halfway through his soph. year, and coming off an injury. I'm half way across the country, so I may not be in the best position to make the call. He may not be living up to the enormous hype, but he still has over half of his career to go. I don't think he's anywhere near bad enough to be called a bust yet.

[Cheesesteak]

How can anyone pass judgement on a sophomore who hasn't even completed two basketball seasons on the Hilltop?

[PG]

So the best player on the team is a bust? What does that say about the rest of this bunch? Since he's such a bust, let's go ahead and play Voc 40 minutes a game and see how he does. That would make this team even more exciting to watch. I'm not sure if we would score. I'm sorry if Hop doesn't shoot 100% from the floor and have a 10-1 assist-TO ratio. It's not like everyone on this board expects that from him or anything.

[Waz]

BS. If we don't get another coach, watch him blossom someplace else. If we do, watch what happens next year. A piece of clay needs to be molded before it becomes a work of art.

[ponybutt]

a bust...get serious! Bhop may not be playing to his full potential yet, but to call him a bust is just plain dumb!!

[Charleston Pony]

you call yourself "fan" and you post something like this? I could understand someone saying his performance has been disappointing compared to the hype surrounding his signing, but to call him a bust? Let's see: he leads the team in minutes played, scoring, FT %, assists (which you expect from your PG) and steals. Surprisingly, he has the 3rd highest shooting % among our guards...and 2nd highest 3-pt shooting % on the team. He's also has the 3rd highest total of defensive rebounds. Bottom line is that he's as good as we've got, if not the best player on this team.

I will say my biggest disappointment is the 71 assists vs 72 turnovers and the fact that BHop has taken more shots than anyone on the team. That tells me he's forcing things and trying to do too much on his own. I want my PG to make everyone around him better and I was hopeful BHop would do that for this program. It may be that he just doesn't have the supporting cast, but I like what I've seen from Castro, Simpson & Isham (in terms of their offensive skills). If this team is going to wake up and compete down the home stretch and in the WAC Tourney, BHop will be the key and his getting others involved will be critical.

I am looking forward to next year when we have 3 seniors (leadership?); BHop, Rack, Pearson & Bennett have had a full season to mature as collegiate players and Derrick Roberts comes on board. I haven't seen him play, but he sounds like a big time scorer and we definitely need one of those. Early this season, I thought we'd get by spreading the scoring around, but right now it's obvious we are really missing Q.

<small>[ 01-31-2004, 04:51 AM: Message edited by: Charleston Pony ]</small>

[angryfan04]

he's "forcing things" because that's what the coach wants him to do just like every other PG who has played for Dement. In his system it appears to be OK for anyone to walk the ball down court and jack up a 3 with plenty of time in the shot clock and nobody in rebounding position - it is very entertaining basketball when the shots go down - but its tough when they don't - add a defense that hardly attacks and just sits there and waits for opponents to do whatever they want and you end up with the current product. Its stupid to say BHOP is a bust - he came from a defensive minded system in high school to this. Yes, he needs to cut down on the TOs, but I'd rather have him than a lot of other guards in the WAC

[OldPony]

I think bust may be too strong. All of us expected a TJ Ford type player so he has been very disappointing. Now when we defend him by saying "I'd rather have him than a lot of PG's in the WAC" it is like damning him with faint praise. The disapointment in BHop is huge but I am also very, very disappointed in Isham this year and just a little less so in Simpson. The lack of desire and hustle is baffling. I doubt a new coach will do anything to change the character of these players but something new has to be tried. The only "name" coach who can't get a job right now and who is young enough to be what SMU is really looking for is Matt Doherty. He worked his little sissies too hard at UNC and was undermined by Dean and the alums when the players complained even though everyone knew and they recognized the cupboard was bare when he took the UNC job. He got a bad rap but might still turn out to be a great coach. You can't play for Dean and then coach for Roy wihout learning basketball. He did a great job of recruiting at UNC (although that is easy as pie compared to SMU) and restocked the talent for Roy's arrival. This is a guy that the natonal press will follow and has a great pedigree. He may be desperate enough to take the SMU job. All of our sissies might quit if he came because he believes in hard wrok and conditioning but I don't know if that is good or bad right now.

[Fresh]

Calling BHop a "bust" is premature and wildly inaccurate. He's young, coming off a an injury-plagued freshman year and is being asked to lead a team that is in a state of chaos. The fact is that BHop is a supremely talented guy who's trying to work his way through a minefield of a season, and he's maturing on the job. But let's remember this is a game that requires five players, not one. BHop will be fine. He's had a trying year, and we need to support him. When we have a better point guard, we can raise questions, but we haven't had a better point guard in ages, and the fact is that he is our point guard. Let's support him, not drag him down, huh?

[OldPony]

Hancock was better. Davis was better and so was Jemeil. Why don't you just look at the facts. This guy isn't performing. Make all the excuses you want. He can't shoot and gets the ball taken away from him way too often. He is part of the problem as well as hopes for a solution.

[Hoop Fan]

What facts are those OP? Sounds like mostly an opinion to me. The guy went 6-10 from the field yesterday and was the leading scorer, so you felt the need to pile on? You might have expected more, but its not exactly a 'bust'. As for the season, he shoots a little over 40% and 36% from 3. 36% from 3 is equivalent production to 54% from two. I'm sure he is not happy with 40%. But every time he goes up for a jumper it looks like it has a chance to drop and from the stands you expect it to drop. There arent many guys in Red & Blue that I said that about, not Sasser or Davis. I had confidence in Q, but his shot was too flat. Not since Jay Peorner do I think I expected a guys shot to fall when it leaves his hand. Hopkins is not the leaper many of us saw in high school. I don't know why. Even so he leads this team in scoring by a margin of 5 pts a game, leads the team by far in free throwing at 78%, is 3rd on the team in defensive rebounds. He is the leader in assist and turnovers, but his ratio is far better than 3 other starters and equal to Kris Lowe, who is a senior. Hopkins can play better and probably will but he is hardly a bust and the 'facts' actually indicate that several other areas of the teams are the culprit such as rebounding.

[FloridaMustang]

I've been away from PF.Com for a few weeks.. did we fire Dement yet?


*cough*

[OldPony]

OK- First look abov3e. I said he wasn't a bust. Only that we expected more. Now for your facts. A 40% shooting rate is not good nor is 36% from 3 point range. Many teams 2 or 3 outside shooters average 36% together. The high number of TO's isn't a star. When I see a great PG, he either has a tremendous amount of assists and a low amount of TO's- see Aaron Miles -or he can light up the scoring- see many. Hop does neither. You can say he is our best player but that is saying in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king

[Hoop Fan]

I didn't say 40% was good, but the 60% he shot on Saturday is very good. Part of what I am saying is that I don't think he deserves to be dogpiled on here for everything, including shooting, not immediately after going 6-10. It looks more like some of the other positions are the problem with this team. Its hard to get assists if guys cant put the ball in the basket. Maybe being the one eyed king of the blind is a fair description, but isnt exactly his fault.