The odds are stacked against a player if they are invited to the NBA G-League Combine but St. John’s basketball forward Bryce Hopkins rose above the obstacles and got invited to the NBA Combine with a strong performance this weekend in Chicago.
There were only five invitations available for the 44-invitees and Hopkins managed to make an impression on the NBA evaluators after posting 17 points and eight rebounds on 7-for-11 shooting in a scrimmage on Saturday and following that with 11 points and four rebounds on Sunday.
Hopkins was 9-of-16 across the two games, making 1-of-3 attempts from 3-point range and 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
He will join Zuby Ejiofor and Dillon Mitchell at the NBA Combine in Chicago this week as it is believed to be the first time St. John’s has sent three players to the premier pre-draft showcase since its inception in 1987.
Ejiofor will go through on-court drills on Monday despite not being scheduled to participate in the 5-on-5 scrimmages on Wednesday and Thursday while Mitchell and Hopkins will take the floor on Tuesday and are slated to play in the exhibitions.
All three players will meet the media on Wednesday.
In his first season with St. John’s, Hopkins averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 46.9-percent shooting but took his game to a new level in the postseason, specifically in the NCAA Tournament, where he shot 71.4-percent (10-for-14) from 3-point range.
In most mock drafts, Zuby Ejiofor is the only former Red Storm player that is consistently projected to be selected, ranging from the late first round to early second round, while Mitchell has made appearances late in the second round.
Hopkins, however, has not been projected to be drafted and even if his strong week in Chicago is not good enough to have him be picked by an organization, he’s showing that is worth at least an NBA Summer League roster spot to continue to prove he is good enough to play in the NBA.
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