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Post by professorhoya on Nov 16, 2014 14:12:23 GMT -5
I agree with most of the above. Hopkins is best at the 4. He should try to remain a 10-15% usage player but when open should take his shot. If he avoids shooting he would become like Nate(black hole)on offense. I do love that he has taken up the Nate role on Defense which he really did not do as well last year. I hope that hustle translates quickly to the freshmen on defense. I was under the impression that SF-B was a senior laden team but reading the comments appears they had 7 new players on their team yesterday so that tempers some expectations. I really wish Hopkins and Hayes had mastered the jump hook by now. Minor quibble.. Isn't a black hole on offense a player who when gets the ball never gives it back....the ball goes away as if lost in a black holeI thought I saw the beginning of a black hole, but it was Peak and not Hopkins. He went to the rim just about every time he got the ball. I loved the aggressiveness...just hope we didn't the beginning of poor judgement Kevin McHale was the classic black hole. Once you passed it into him in the post you would never see the ball again as he would look to score. Lubick was the reverse black hole. Once you passed it to him, he would be looking to pass it away at all costs.
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Hopkins
Nov 16, 2014 14:45:12 GMT -5
Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Nov 16, 2014 14:45:12 GMT -5
I have heard from people with more access to the team than me that lubick did not put in the work so I'm not making it up. As for suggesting that he be MORE like Lubick and not even shoot is asinine. Yes, let's have 4 on 5 offense. I'd rather him be aggressive and at least keep the ball moving and let people grab offensive boards off his misses than just sitting there, scared to shoot and waiting for passing lanes that don't open because his man is not guarding him. Whatever. It is what it is. Some people seem to have a hard on for hating on Hop. I don't. And to that double standard accusation, that's just not true. I never fault somebody if they are working hard (I still love Vaughn to this day for how hard he worked despite his flaws). But we have had people that did not put in the work and those people are the ones I criticize. I don't think anybody suggests that he never shoot. But the fact is that Hopkins has never been an efficient shooter, and he will likely have several teammates that are efficient shooters. I don't think Hopkins should NEVER shoot - just not very often, and certainly not in situations where he doesn't have an easy shot. I don't think anybody here "hates" Hopkins. I certainly do not, and I have been on record several times here saying I like him and think he's a good guy and a good Hoya, I just think he just has significant limitations on offense. That's just telling the truth about him, and it is backed up by the last two seasons in which he was extremely weak on the offensive end. I'd love more than anything for Hopkins to show improvement, and maybe he will, but he cannot be the offensive focal point on this team. I would say that on offense, you'd almost always prefer that - at the very least - DSR, Trawick, Peak, Smith, and probably a few of the other freshman take the shot than Hopkins. That's the reason why he shouldn't be shooting much.
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SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 17,705
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Hopkins
Nov 16, 2014 15:03:03 GMT -5
Post by SFHoya99 on Nov 16, 2014 15:03:03 GMT -5
I don't think he should never shoot. But I do think he really shouldn't be trying to initiate the offense - he should be one of the lower members of the team in terms of Shot % and Poss %. And he really needs to finish when his teammates give him easy chances. Shooting 42% when you mostly take layups is losing a lot of points.
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jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Hopkins
Nov 16, 2014 15:11:33 GMT -5
Post by jwp91 on Nov 16, 2014 15:11:33 GMT -5
Minor quibble.. Isn't a black hole on offense a player who when gets the ball never gives it back....the ball goes away as if lost in a black hole I thought I saw the beginning of a black hole, but it was Peak and not Hopkins. He went to the rim just about every time he got the ball. I loved the aggressiveness...just hope we didn't the beginning of poor judgement According to the official game statistics, Peak had three assists and one turnover. He was second on the Hoyas in assists, only behind D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera with six. Let's not call him a black hole just yet, because it isn't borne out by the numbers. I, for one, love seeing a Hoya drive to the basket with explosiveness, such as Peak; who has done that consistently since AI? Good point. Glad to see the assists. I just had a momentary impression.
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,408
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Post by HoyaChris on Nov 16, 2014 15:15:35 GMT -5
I agree with most of the above. Hopkins is best at the 4. He should try to remain a 10-15% usage player but when open should take his shot. If he avoids shooting he would become like Nate(black hole)on offense. I do love that he has taken up the Nate role on Defense which he really did not do as well last year. I hope that hustle translates quickly to the freshmen on defense. I was under the impression that SF-B was a senior laden team but reading the comments appears they had 7 new players on their team yesterday so that tempers some expectations. I really wish Hopkins and Hayes had mastered the jump hook by now. Minor quibble.. Isn't a black hole on offense a player who when gets the ball never gives it back....the ball goes away as if lost in a black hole I thought I saw the beginning of a black hole, but it was Peak and not Hopkins. He went to the rim just about every time he got the ball. I loved the aggressiveness...just hope we didn't the beginning of poor judgement I'm not sure that I have ever disagreed more with a comment on this board than the suggestion that LJ showed the beginnings of being a black hole - and that is saying something. LJ was 9-9 on his shots - which one was a bad one? He was fouled on three other shots - which was a bad shot? He had three assists, and had two other passes that would have been assists if the receiving players' shots had gone in. When LJ played in the Jordan Clasic last year he stood out as the only player other than the point guards who was willing to give the ball up in the context of what goes by the name of offense in an all star game.
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jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,977
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Hopkins
Nov 16, 2014 17:52:44 GMT -5
Post by jwp91 on Nov 16, 2014 17:52:44 GMT -5
Minor quibble.. Isn't a black hole on offense a player who when gets the ball never gives it back....the ball goes away as if lost in a black hole I thought I saw the beginning of a black hole, but it was Peak and not Hopkins. He went to the rim just about every time he got the ball. I loved the aggressiveness...just hope we didn't the beginning of poor judgement I'm not sure that I have ever disagreed more with a comment on this board than the suggestion that LJ showed the beginnings of being a black hole - and that is saying something. LJ was 9-9 on his shots - which one was a bad one? He was fouled on three other shots - which was a bad shot? He had three assists, and had two other passes that would have been assists if the receiving players' shots had gone in. When LJ played in the Jordan Clasic last year he stood out as the only player other than the point guards who was willing to give the ball up in the context of what goes by the name of offense in an all star game. Being a black hole has nothing to do with going 9 for 9. For a period in the 1st half, every time he received the ball, he went to the hole. It was strong aggressive play and yes he made the shots. Good. It was my first time watching him play. If he becomes a player that when he gets to the ball, always goes in for the shot, then he could become a black hole. Good to hear that in all-star play that he had a sense of sharing the ball. As another poster pointed out, he also had a couple of assists. As I later mentioned, it was a momentary impression.
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Hopkins
Nov 16, 2014 19:28:43 GMT -5
Post by bicentennial on Nov 16, 2014 19:28:43 GMT -5
Again back to definitions. I believe the definition of a black hole is that the ball goes in to a player and is never seen again ie. goes to the other team without points scored. In past years Hopkins has often been a high utilization player but with a low eFg%. In past years Lubick was a very low utilization player but with a high eFg%. Hopefully Hopkins can be a lower utilization player than in years past but with a continued excellent assist rate for a big and a substantially higher eFg%. If he can accomplish those things he will be a great asset to the team. LJ was not a black hole by any definition. His eFg% in college may be an all timer high number after his first game. If in the future his eFg% suffers as a result of opposing offenses keying on him, then having an exceedingly high usage would be a problem. At present it is not a problem as he was unbelievably efficient. I wish the Hoya Prospectus guys were around to comment, it would be nice to know if statistically any players have gotten off to a better start as a freshman than LJ.
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SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 17,705
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Hopkins
Nov 16, 2014 19:37:17 GMT -5
Post by SFHoya99 on Nov 16, 2014 19:37:17 GMT -5
It's one game, but given the fact that LJ is the highest scorer ever in GU history for a freshman debut, it seems safe, at least from a scoring sense.
Semantically: a black hole would be a player who insists on shooting or attempting to shoot the ball most times he touches it, especially culminating in the player attempting to score when there's no real opportunity to do so. Mikael did that a lot last year, turning constantly into double teams and basically looking like he'd decide he was shooting before even starting his shot.
There's really no direct stat for that, though there are proxies, I suppose. Good news is that Hopkins only really did that once in this game, and generally didn't use a lot of possessions.
And for Peak, every time he attacked the rim it was a good opportunity, so he didn't really exhibit black hole tendencies -- especially since he actually didn't use more than 20% of the possessions while out there -- just average. Given that, and given that he got a few assists -- including giving up the ball more than once on the break, in his home element, makes me think he's not a black hole of any kind.
We should welcome his aggressiveness, given how good at finishing he is.
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Hopkins
Nov 16, 2014 19:48:28 GMT -5
Post by bicentennial on Nov 16, 2014 19:48:28 GMT -5
Agree welcome LJ hope you make the hilltop your home for a number greater than one year!
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richfame
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,266
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Hopkins
Nov 19, 2014 8:31:18 GMT -5
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Post by richfame on Nov 19, 2014 8:31:18 GMT -5
Minor quibble.. Isn't a black hole on offense a player who when gets the ball never gives it back....the ball goes away as if lost in a black holeI thought I saw the beginning of a black hole, but it was Peak and not Hopkins. He went to the rim just about every time he got the ball. I loved the aggressiveness...just hope we didn't the beginning of poor judgement Kevin McHale was the classic black hole. Once you passed it into him in the post you would never see the ball again as he would look to score. Lubick was the reverse black hole. Once you passed it to him, he would be looking to pass it away at all costs. In the meantime Kevin mchale more than made up for it on the defensive end as he took the tougher defensive assignment so Larry bird did not have too. Clearly a huge help to the team and bird.
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KennaHoya
Century (over 100 posts)
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Hopkins
Nov 19, 2014 10:59:29 GMT -5
Post by KennaHoya on Nov 19, 2014 10:59:29 GMT -5
To take the discussion back to Mikael, keying off the previous comment on defense, and trying to avoid constant negativity in the face of clear loyalty, sacrifice, and hard work, I thought it was worth it to rip off comments from the Casual Hoya site:
When he's not casually attacking eastern Ukraine, Mikael Hopkins is playing some tremendous interior defense. Next time you watch a Gtown game, just focus on Hopkins for a couple of plays. He calls out all the screens, he communicates well, and he's telling others how to move into position. Yes, it's frustrating when he misses dunks and is a little too soft on offense (and really, there's no excuse for not making a single basket against St. Francis). But on the defensive end, he has looked really good. There's a reason why Napoleon and Hitler found it so difficult to win a land war in Russia. And that reason is Comrade Hopkins' defense.
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jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,977
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Hopkins
Nov 19, 2014 11:10:15 GMT -5
Post by jwp91 on Nov 19, 2014 11:10:15 GMT -5
Hopkins did have an overall good game last night. He played well defensively and carried us offensively to start the game.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2014 11:13:50 GMT -5
To take the discussion back to Mikael, keying off the previous comment on defense, and trying to avoid constant negativity in the face of clear loyalty, sacrifice, and hard work, I thought it was worth it to rip off comments from the Casual Hoya site: When he's not casually attacking eastern Ukraine, Mikael Hopkins is playing some tremendous interior defense. Next time you watch a Gtown game, just focus on Hopkins for a couple of plays. He calls out all the screens, he communicates well, and he's telling others how to move into position. Yes, it's frustrating when he misses dunks and is a little too soft on offense (and really, there's no excuse for not making a single basket against St. Francis). But on the defensive end, he has looked really good. There's a reason why Napoleon and Hitler found it so difficult to win a land war in Russia. And that reason is Comrade Hopkins' defense. Anything he gives us on offense is a plus. His value is strictly on the defensive side. Looks like he recognizes this as well and hasn’t let his offense effect what he’s doing on the boards and on defense. TBH I never pay attention to his offense
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hoyas2006
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
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Hopkins
Nov 19, 2014 11:14:35 GMT -5
Post by hoyas2006 on Nov 19, 2014 11:14:35 GMT -5
agree. never shoot or pass
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blueandgray
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Hopkins
Nov 19, 2014 11:15:13 GMT -5
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Post by blueandgray on Nov 19, 2014 11:15:13 GMT -5
He had some nice rebounds out of his area as well. Love what the kid brings on D. We were playing such an undersized team that we had the luxury of going with Bowen at the 4. Against most other teams however, Hopkins will be critically important. Like I've said, hop is most important frontcourt player we have.
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hoyainspirit
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
When life puts that voodoo on me, music is my gris-gris.
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Hopkins
Nov 19, 2014 11:16:13 GMT -5
Post by hoyainspirit on Nov 19, 2014 11:16:13 GMT -5
He's just got to stop turning the ball over when he puts it on the floor trying to make a play. Given that type of turnover occurs so frequently, and has for so long, I just wonder if it's something that he'll ever overcome. Other than that, and getting stuffed, thus far the other aspects of his game have shone brightly.
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Hopkins
Nov 19, 2014 11:25:33 GMT -5
Post by HometownHoya on Nov 19, 2014 11:25:33 GMT -5
I'm willing to bet that we will deal with a good/bad Hopkins game to game. As long as he stays active on the defensive end and does take himself out of the game with silly fouls, it should be more of the good games then bad.
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Post by Ranch Dressing on Nov 19, 2014 11:42:20 GMT -5
Given Josh's continuing weight issues and lack of mobility/jumping ability, pairing him with a mobile, athletic PF is critical. Hopkins is by far the best man to fit this role. I have not seen Copeland or White show signs yet of being able to fill that role any better.
We will take our lumps with Hopkins on the offensive end this season, in return for what he brings us in rebounding and defense. No sense in dumping on Hopkins. We know who he is. And he is a vital piece to the puzzle.
My one hope is that JTIII can limit his usage on offense. Hopkins does tend to try to "make things happen" when he touches the ball, when sometimes a kick-out or simple pass to a superior offensive player would be the better decision.
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jwp91
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Hopkins
Nov 19, 2014 11:52:57 GMT -5
Post by jwp91 on Nov 19, 2014 11:52:57 GMT -5
No sense in dumping on Hopkins. We know who he is. And he is a vital piece to the puzzle. My one hope is that JTIII can limit his usage on offense. Hopkins does tend to try to "make things happen" when he touches the ball, when sometimes a kick-out or simple pass to a superior offensive player would be the better decision. Agree 100%
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Nov 19, 2014 11:56:36 GMT -5
His across the lane hook shot early in the first half was a thing of beauty. I'd be happy with one of those a game along with some putbacks.
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