Bryce Hopkins hasn’t necessarily been himself in St. John’s recent stretch.
He’s had games in which he ended with a pretty stat line but there’s been something missing lately when watching him on the court.
Tuesday night against Harvard looked much better from the 6-foot-7 forward who finished with 14 points, three rebounds, and four assists. He was aggressive, decisive, and efficient.
“I think I did okay tonight,” Hopkins said. “Obviously there’s always room for improvement, but I think I was just more focused on what coach was telling me to do and come out with effort, not focused on scoring as much, focus on the defensive end more and that’s going to lead to my offense.”
Last week, Rick Pitino said Hopkins needed to change his mentality and become an “alpha dog” on the court.
“Bryce is highly, highly intelligent,” Pitino said after the 85-59 victory over Harvard. “I really think when you come off any injury and you’re not used to playing a game, it just takes a little time to get back in the action, even thought he was practicing a little bit at Providence. He’ll get it. I don’t doubt for one minute he’ll get it.”
Hopkins didn’t put any of his struggles on his recovery from an ACL injury that kept him sidelined for nearly two seasons. He said that it was in the back of his mind at the beginning of the year but mainly a concern during the three games he played at Providence last season.
Still, St. John’s is counting on Bryce Hopkins to regain his All-Big East form in order to achieve its goals this season.
“That’s what I came [to St. John’s] for. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy coming here. I know what type of coach Coach P is,” Hopkins explained.
“He’s a legend in the game and I came here to be pushed, so whatever that is, I know he’s seen great players, he’s coached great players, and he knows what it takes to be a great player, so whatever he expects from me, I’m going to do it and I’m going to do it to the best of my abilities. If that means changing my personality, I’m going to do it. I’m bought into the team.”