Bryce Hopkins’ return to Providence was as high on the calendar of the Friar fanbase as the annual return of former head coach Ed Cooley.
The crowd has a vendetta against Hopkins for the way his time with the program ended and is not afraid to express its opinion about it, whether it be in person or online. Its social media presence about the series this year was so loud it boiled into the heads of its players which translated on the court.
Gasoline could only be poured on the fire for so long and it exploded on Saturday as the two teams got into a massive fight during the second half following a Flagrant 2 foul in which Duncan Powell clotheslined Hopkins attempting a breakaway layup.
The brawl, which Powell subsequently threw a punch in, directly led to six ejections and turned Hopkins’ return into a spiteful circus.
Powell, who never played with Hopkins at Providence, was ejected immediately for the foul but remained on the court as the referees reviewed the sequence. During the delay, he laughed, joked, and smiled with his teammates, and riled up the fans as they chanted his name like a hero as he eventually left the court.
"The crowd lost objectivity of what they're here for," Rick Pitino said after the 79-69 victory for the Red Storm. "If they're just here to poke fun at Bryce Hopkins and not get a win for the Friars, that's not the Friars I remember in '87.”
Hopkins was the centerpiece of all the jeers, as expected. He was booed every time he touched the ball and cheered every time he missed a shot. Fans also serenaded him with a vulgar chant multiple times, which escalated after the melee.
“I don’t like when anyone is talking about F U,” English explained. “We have a great home court. It’s still great if we did without that…I don’t think you should say F U to people, I think it’s disrespectful.”
Bryce Hopkins didn’t have one of his best games, scoring just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting, but was impactful in pulling down nine rebounds as the Red Storm struggled on the glass against the Friars.
"I feel like we responded in the best way possible," St. John's center Zuby Ejiofor said after the win. "Coming into this game we knew exactly how rowdy this environment was going to be -- not only for [Hopkins], but for all of us. We knew it was going be tough. You have to have a great mindset to come in here and win, and I think that's what we did."
St. John’s outscored Providence by 11 points after the fight. The Big East will issue any further punishment to the players involved in the skirmish, although Duncan Powell appears to be the only player involved that could be subjected to a suspension.