NCHoya
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Post by NCHoya on Feb 22, 2011 13:34:31 GMT -5
It sounds like this kid just needs to be honest with himself and determine if he wants/enjoys playing basketball. Is basketball what he is "supposed" to do or what he "wants" to do? If he is just going through the motions to get a free education then we will all see it for ourselves over the next 4 years. IMO, this will not be on the coaching staff. Too many players have been developed by JT3 and company to put it on them.
We already have read about Sims being distracted by college life last year as the main culprit behind his lost season. Now he seems to be more focused, though you can see the kid is not 24/7 about basketball. That is fine, it is part of the deal with 18-22 year olds. If Hopkins wants to be great, sounds like he has everything at his disposal. It really is on him. From GU's perspective, it is worth the chance, but I think everyone has the same concerns.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Feb 22, 2011 16:27:00 GMT -5
Ya Ya won scholar athlete, but he won it partially because he made himself a good enough player to be considered for it.
He went from barely playing to a quality rebounder -- I wouldn't be shocked to see him and Henry end up with very similar careers.
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Post by rustyshackleford on Feb 22, 2011 20:21:07 GMT -5
The post article says Hopkins had 15-10 in a 57-52 Dematha win. The stat line and result look pretty good.
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damnhoya
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Post by damnhoya on Feb 23, 2011 14:39:25 GMT -5
By the way, Hopkins had 9 pts, 8 boards and 2 blocks on Monday in a 53-50 win over St. John's (picture in the attached link). www.hs2zoom.com/2011/2/22/2007257/dematha-53-st-johns-50-stags-clinch-top-seed-in-wcac-on-senior-night"He tallied nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks, and was especially dominant on the defensive glass, preventing the Cadets from getting second-chance points. "He hasn't had the most consistent year," DeMatha Coach Mike Jones said after the game, "but the one thing that he's always done is in big games he's always showed up. You can go down his career and look at that. Even as a sophomore in the championship game he played well." "We just need to get him to those big games," Jones continued, "and every game's big from here on so I think you're going to see the best out of Mikael Hopkins."
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damnhoya
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Post by damnhoya on Feb 23, 2011 14:51:05 GMT -5
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SirSaxa
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Post by SirSaxa on Feb 23, 2011 15:22:13 GMT -5
By the way, Hopkins had 9 pts, 8 boards and 2 blocks on Monday in a 53-50 win over St. John's (picture in the attached link). www.hs2zoom.com/2011/2/22/2007257/dematha-53-st-johns-50-stags-clinch-top-seed-in-wcac-on-senior-night"He tallied nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks, and was especially dominant on the defensive glass, preventing the Cadets from getting second-chance points. "He hasn't had the most consistent year," DeMatha Coach Mike Jones said after the game, "but the one thing that he's always done is in big games he's always showed up. You can go down his career and look at that. Even as a sophomore in the championship game he played well." "We just need to get him to those big games," Jones continued, "and every game's big from here on so I think you're going to see the best out of Mikael Hopkins." Sounds just like our Hoyas of recent years.
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alleninxis
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Post by alleninxis on Feb 26, 2011 20:30:25 GMT -5
Hopkins dominated the end of the game, pulling down defensive rebound after defensive rebound, hitting his free throws and blocking shots. He finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks. "It's a little bit more serious now," said Hopkins. "We can't lose any games. So I'm just doing everything possible to keep my team on this winning streak. It's championship time and I'm going to try to leave with my third championship. www.hs2zoom.com/2011/2/26/2016125/dematha-54-archbishop-carroll-46-hopkins-leads-stags-to-wcac
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alleninxis
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Post by alleninxis on Feb 28, 2011 9:42:52 GMT -5
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deacon
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Post by deacon on Feb 28, 2011 9:45:44 GMT -5
Second time this season, by my count, that Mikael started the game on the bench due to an "internal matter."
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Post by bronxhoya87 on Feb 28, 2011 9:55:24 GMT -5
Hopefully he is not happy with not getting the rock and showing some fire and fight. That is a good thing.
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Oh My!
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Post by Oh My! on Feb 28, 2011 10:48:20 GMT -5
Hopefully he is not happy with not getting the rock and showing some fire and fight. That is a good thing. I was at the game, and while he did not start, he had the ball in his hands plenty of times. He had a pretty poor shooting night, to be honest: perhaps 1-4 from 3pt & 3-11 from the floor.
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NCHoya
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Post by NCHoya on Feb 28, 2011 11:16:10 GMT -5
I feel like expectations are so low for Mikael at this ooint, that perhaps he will be the sleeper in the class next season. I would hope he has some sort of chip on his shoulder with all the continuous questions about his motor and make-up comign from all corners. Seems like the type of kid that has the talent and just needs to "see the light" per se or he could just be a 4 year "going through the motions" type of guy. It will be an interesting story-line next season for sure.
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idhoya
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Post by idhoya on Feb 28, 2011 11:57:31 GMT -5
If GW comes, that would be two of those types in a class of four. Now, the other two bring toughness and intensity.
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hsb
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Post by hsb on Feb 28, 2011 12:02:56 GMT -5
One thing he does better than anyone in the DC area in my opinion is defend the paint. His on the ball defense and weak side help (along with his team mate BJ Anya) makes it very difficult for anyone to get points inside against DeMatha in a half court set.
However, I dont ever see him being much of a scorer for the Hoyas. Look for him to be better than Sims on defense but not much better on offense.
The question is whether he can improve his strength and motor to be a consistently good rebounder and to prevent Biug East bigs from pushing him under the bucket (or out of the paint).
We'll see.
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RDF
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Post by RDF on Feb 28, 2011 13:14:43 GMT -5
How do you find yourself involved with "an internal matter" when it's the postseason? Geez, this guy is just someone who doesn't seem to get it and putting some BS ahead of the team/season is just silly.
Get feeling that inspite of his ability--Dematha will be better without him next year. Also think it's very telling that without Cook who was the guy who supposedly "held back Hopkins"--he's had a SR season that is nothing special and filled with weird stuff. Just might be Grady Mateen Part II.
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alleninxis
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Post by alleninxis on Feb 28, 2011 13:34:50 GMT -5
I think he's a lot more fluid than Henry and the skill set/foundation is there.
But we don't know if he'll work at it. As said, with Lubick/Moses/Adams in practice, I imagine they'll knock the snot out of him. We'll see how he responds.
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Post by bronxhoya87 on Feb 28, 2011 14:29:24 GMT -5
Competition in practice will either destroy him or develop him.
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deacon
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Post by deacon on Feb 28, 2011 15:10:18 GMT -5
I've said it from day one, if the light ever comes on for him, he'll be a really good college player and potential pro but I've been waiting for it happen for three years now.
If he played with Nate's motor, he'd be a monster but he's just way too content to float during games and I've always heard he was a little immature, but I hope he leaves that behind as well when he gets to Georgetown.
Will be pulling for him and it will be interesting to see how he develops.
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idhoya
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Post by idhoya on Feb 28, 2011 15:14:03 GMT -5
He's got a better post game than Henry already.
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hoyajmw
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Post by hoyajmw on Mar 1, 2011 9:44:24 GMT -5
Dematha beats Gonzaga 51-48 for third straight WCAC title last night; Hopkins with 8 points, couple blocks, don't know about boards. Thorough game story linked below. Highlight for Hopkins: smooth baseline jumper from 15 feet for second basket; Dematha students start chanting "He's a Hoya!" for about 15 seconds. Lowlight: got thoroughly out-maneuvered/pushed around in the low post by Gonzaga's much smaller but MUCH more aggressive DJ Fenner for most of second half, who consistently beat him to spots and just pounded on him (refs really should've called a couple fouls, but when they didn't would've liked to see Mikael do a better job jockeying back). He's gonna have to be a big wing type player in the Big East, plain and simple. In contrast, teammate sophomore Beejay Anya (maybe 6'7" LOAD of a center -- think Dajuan Blair or Arinze Onahaku) had 5 or 6 blocks on timing/smarts, showed soft hands in scoring 10 points and is exactly the kind of physical beast we could use. dcsportsfan.com/article.aspx?aid=4556
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