Well, if you haven’t heard by now…Bryce Hopkins is officially a member of the St. John’s Red Storm.
In-Conference transfers might be the new norm, but let’s be real, this one just hits a little different. Watching him suit up against the Friars next season? That’s gonna sting. First, Ed Cooley left. Now Bryce follows. But you know what? Let them go. Because here’s the thing, Friartown doesn’t back down. I was starting to wonder if the student section had cooled off, if the fire had faded a little. But not anymore. This? This is fuel. This is exactly what we needed. The energy is back. So mark your calendars. Circle the dates. When St. John’s comes to town, the Amp better be shaking. Friartown, it’s time to show them what loyalty really looks like.
I’m not going to rehash all the drama surrounding Bryce last season. How his return to the court was handled or how things were managed by him and his “team.” But if there’s one silver lining in all of this, it’s that he didn’t follow Cooley to Georgetown. And to every Hoya fan who’s been running their mouth about how Bryce Hopkins and Devin Carter would’ve followed Cooley if today’s transfer rules had been in place, we’ll it looks like they were never going there anyway. Instead of dreaming about what could have been, maybe start coming to terms with how far Georgetown still has to climb, and not just to be relevant in the top tier of college basketball, but to even sniff the top of the Big East again. Because right now, that hill is still looking steep.
I still wish him all the best, except for when he plays the Friars…obviously.
Christ Essandoko’s journey has been an interesting one as he seemingly continues to fail upwards. Rising from the Atlantic 10 to the Big East and now to the SEC, despite not having much on-court production to back it up. Christ found his way to South Carolina with the ole reverse Devin Carter/Justin Minaya route. There’s no doubt he has potential, but unlocking it will take real dedication. If he comes into this season in shape and ready to work, he could finally take that next step. The talent is there, it’s just a matter of putting it all together.
The Christ Essandoko experiment didn’t pan out in Providence, but there’s still a good player in there if he can ever put it all together. It might not happen until his senior year, but I wouldn’t rule it out just yet.
On the flip side, speaking of players who once committed to Providence before heading elsewhere for their freshman season…Daquan Davis is back in Friartown…right where he belongs.
I never hit the unfollow button on Daquan’s socials, always holding out hope that he’d find his way back to Friartown. So, for me, this one feels extra sweet.
Davis originally committed to Providence before decommitting and landing at Florida State last year. What’s funny is, when he first chose the Friars, his other finalists were Maryland, Mississippi State, and Notre Dame. Florida State wasn’t even in the mix. And yet, Kim English still managed to win that recruiting battle over Davis’s hometown school in Maryland, at least for a little while.
Now, after a detour, he’s back where he was meant to be. Welcome home, Daquan.
In dire need of frontcourt reinforcement to supplement Oswin, Kim English and staff reeled in Drexel big Colee Hargrove.
As you can immediately see from his highlights below, Hargrove is athletically gifted and does almost all of his damage exclusively around the rim where he shot 73% last season while taking 69% of his field goal attempts there.
Cole thrives in the pick-and-roll, especially when diving to the basket which is something the Friars were severely missing whenever Oswin wasn’t on the floor. That said, his approach differs from Oswin’s in that Hargrove tends to roll from farther out rather than catching lobs off a guard driving into the lane. Drexel gave Cole some freedom to shoot from the outside last season, but ideally, that should be limited to only wide open looks next year. His game is much more effective around the rim. It’s just a shame he only has one year of eligibility left because he feels like the kind of one-and-done Friar that fans immediately embrace a la Al Durham, Josh Oduro, Justin Minaya, and Ticket Gaines.
The Morning Hangover 