The Mikael Hopkins Thread

[professorhoya]

Watch Mikael Hopkins (#3) on the bench @ 4:53 on Otto Porter's 4 point play. He's first off the bench to stand up, cheer, and Larry Johnson flex pose and scream.

In fact for the remainder of the game he is the biggest cheerleader off the bench and first standing up which is saying something since Tyler Adams usually fills that role.

Even though Mikael was benched and had a bad game he's there supporting and cheering on his teammates and not sulking. This kid get's it.

[wahoohoya]

Hopkins seems to be a good kid who tries hard. It was always supposed to be a center by committee approach this season so glad to see Moses having that kind of game when Hopkins was physically overmatched. But aside from one bad turnover I wouldn't say Hopkins had a bad game - Moses was the better man for the job yesterday.

[blueeagle]

I completely agree. He is a team player. He has gotten opportunities and has fallen short of expectations. But you have to love that he buys into the team concept.

[Deleted]

Also, remember that he is only a sophomore. He has a lot of time for development. Remember that Henry Sims was considered a bust until his senior years.

[Deleted]

Better suited for some games than others, but he plays hard on D and has improved..

His effort against Rutgers won us that game and he played a major role in the Marquette win also..

[williambraskyiii]

Feb 24, 2013 11:31:15 GMT -5 @jerrylh said:

Also, remember that he is only a sophomore. He has a lot of time for development. Remember that Henry Sims was considered a bust until his senior years.

Man, I'm so tired of this argument. No one is writing off Mikael's career for good. We weren't relying on Henry's sophomore skill level for heavy minutes. We didn't need to at the time because we had Greg. This team could be something special this year. And we need some minutes from Mikael. And he is not very good right now. So, most importantly, he needs to play within himself in those limited minutes meaning don't try to force the facilitator role (he misses 2-3 open cutters per game), don't put ball on the floor and, relatedly, don't turn it over. If he can do all that in 15 minutes a game, were good. I'd keep playing Moses and/or a smaller lineup with Lubick at the 5 for the lion share of available C minutes. The team just functions better without Mikael in (stats bear that out).

He appears to be a great teammate and could be a good college player with some more seasoning. So let's just dispense with the useless Henry analogy.

[mapei]

The way I see it, we have just won 9 straight games, including some huge ones. Otto is our star but, beyond #22, someone else generally steps up, and it's likely to be a different guy or two each night. Nate, Jabril, Markel, DSR, Hop, even Bowen a little, now Moses. We're a TEAM, and it's working. JT3 is a hell of a coach, getting these guys ready for different lineups and roles, mixing and matching to fit situations. I'm really enjoying this and not criticizing anybody this week.

[calhoya]

Feb 24, 2013 11:32:02 GMT -5 @yaboynyp said:

Better suited for some games than others, but he plays hard on D and has improved..

His effort against Rutgers won us that game and he played a major role in the Marquette win also..

Totally agree. Hopkins is improving but still needs much work. Actually, when he played along with Moses it presents some interesting possibilities for the upcoming tournament. It also allows Hopkins to play against a smaller opponent when he is at the 4. Work in progress but definitely a kid worth developing. Starks and Lubick have both made major leaps this year in their games. Hopkins could be next.

[jwp91]

I wish the culture of our fanbase and board was not to eat our own. The excessive criticism of Hopkins this year and Lubick last year really aren't warranted...even if they are not having a great game/season.

I look forward to Hopkins future contributions to the team starting on Wednesday. Next year with Josh, Hop, and Moses, we will be especially deep on the front line.

[rockhoya]

Exactly I just don't understand the need for people to continually point our his deficiencies. They have been well know for a while and he has shown much improvement from the beginning of the year. Being negative over and over wont change anything.

[westendhoya]

Just a bad matchup for him....We will need him come March no doubt about it...

[Elvado]

Mikael gives everything he has for Georgetown. That means he deserves respect and appreciation. He has confributed and will again.

[This Just In]

His issues seem to partly stem from playing out of position at the 5 instead of the 4. Would not mind seeing him play the 4 with Moses at the 5 to give Nate a breather.

[Problem of Dog]

Feb 24, 2013 11:04:05 GMT -5 professorhoya said:

Watch Mikael Hopkins (#3) on the bench @ 4:53 on Otto Porter's 4 point play. He's first off the bench to stand up, cheer, and Larry Johnson flex pose and scream.

In fact for the remainder of the game he is the biggest cheerleader off the bench and first standing up which is saying something since Tyler Adams usually fills that role.

Even though Mikael was benched and had a bad game he's there supporting and cheering on his teammates and not sulking. This kid get's it.

Someone named professorhoya using an apostrophe after the 't' in gets... :facepalm

[CAHoya07]

Both Mikael and Moses are a bit inexperienced, and have had their ups and downs this season. Yesterday, Mikael was down. Thankfully, Moses was up. Those rebounds and blocks were just huge.

I think Mikael is better offensively when he plays smart, and when he doesn't, then that's what leads to the groans. However, overall I think Moses has shown he can be a beast of a defensive player. Both have some glaring weaknesses in their games, but both have plenty of time over their Georgetown careers to work on them.

That said, both Mikael and Hopkins are very important to our success for this season. Here's hoping that they continue to play at a high level, without too many hiccups, and that JT3 continues to pull the right strings with them, which he has done a masterful job of doing so far.

And as the first post mentioned, both seem to have very good attitudes and seem to be good teammates.

[DanMcQ]

Although I am 100% in line with all the Otto praise for the SU game, the fact is that Hop WAS the Hoya offense for the first 6:35 of the first half, scoring on a nice interior move after a nice entry pass. Check the PBP:

www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2012-2013/022313.html#GAME.PLY

He's been a work in progress the entire year, playing at a position he isn't best suited for but at the same time clearly making progress.

[TC]

Feb 25, 2013 9:42:02 GMT -5 DanMcQ said:

Although I am 100% in line with all the Otto praise for the SU game, the fact is that Hop WAS the Hoya offense for the first 6:35 of the first half, scoring on a nice interior move after a nice entry pass.

That's taking it a little far. He made a layup, turned the ball over, and missed a shot. And then at 10:58, Moses subbed in and the offense actually started working.

[This Just In]

Feb 25, 2013 10:00:43 GMT -5 TC said:

Feb 25, 2013 9:42:02 GMT -5 DanMcQ said:

Although I am 100% in line with all the Otto praise for the SU game, the fact is that Hop WAS the Hoya offense for the first 6:35 of the first half, scoring on a nice interior move after a nice entry pass.

That's taking it a little far. He made a layup, turned the ball over, and missed a shot. And then at 10:58, Moses subbed in and the offense actually started working.

Thats a good point too TC

[sleepy21]

Hopkins is a work in progress. I think anything we get on offense from him at this point is icing on the cake. I do appreciate his effort defensively. If he somehow managed to eliminate the mistakes on the offensive end playing more within himself while still providing active defense, he'd be fine as a 17-25 mpg player. Going into Saturday's game, he's the one guy i worried about responding to the moment and the atmosphere at the Carrier Dome. I'm just glad JTIII was quick with the hook and willing to ride with Moses because he was definitely the difference in the game IMO. Hopefully we see more of Moses going forward.

[DanMcQ]

Feb 25, 2013 10:00:43 GMT -5 TC said:

Feb 25, 2013 9:42:02 GMT -5 DanMcQ said:

Although I am 100% in line with all the Otto praise for the SU game, the fact is that Hop WAS the Hoya offense for the first 6:35 of the first half, scoring on a nice interior move after a nice entry pass.

That's taking it a little far. He made a layup, turned the ball over, and missed a shot. And then at 10:58, Moses subbed in and the offense actually started working.

Who else made a shot in the first 6:34? That's my only point. Starks threw the ball out of bounds for one of the turnovers - are you crapping all over him or was that Hopkins' fault too?

I'm not arguing that Hopkins is the second coming of Dwight Howard nor am I arguing that he should have played a second more than he did on Saturday, but the degree of scorn for the kid on this board is over the top.

While you were listing Hopkins' faults you conveniently overlooked his offensive rebound at 16:38. But then that doesn't fit your tidy narrative.