Bryce Hopkins is Back (and Everybody's Celebrating)

Bryce Hopkins’ return to the Amica Mutual Pavilion floor couldn’t have gone any better. Eleven months after Hopkins tore his ACL, he returned in style with 16 points, five rebounds, four assists, and zero turnovers in Providence’s desperately needed 83-64 trouncing of BYU.

The Friars needed this on a number of levels. A winless week in the Bahamas led to an online onslaught from the faithful, with Hopkins and head coach Kim English’s offensive system receiving most of the ire.

As noted here last week, Hopkins was done no favors when reports broke that he was set to debut at the Battle 4 Atlantis, or by ESPN commentators repeatedly going back to the “he’s healthy enough to play, but he has to feel comfortable enough mentally” narrative.

The sky was falling in Friartown last week, but all that angst turned to anticipation once word broke that Hopkins was set to return on Tuesday.

That anticipation turned into exhilaration as the night unfolded.

Hopkins returned to an explosion of an ovation when his name was called last of all the starters — a roar that somehow blew away any of the expectations that had been building for months.

Providence was a different team with Hopkins on the floor — putting pressure on the rim, getting great looks from beyond the arc, and returning to form defensively against a favored BYU team.

By the end of the night Hopkins had taken 12 free throws (making ten of them) and finishing +29 in 26 minutes.

We saw Hopkins in attack mode:

And Hopkins finding teammates beyond the arc:

“It was amazing. Just being able to run back out there, and run up and down my favorite court in front of my favorite fans… It was long-awaited. It was a long process I was going through. A lot of long days and long nights,” Hopkins said afterwards.

No one could have rightfully expected Providence to look like this offensively: 59% shooting from the field (71% in the first half), 12-22 from three (with six players hitting from deep), 21-26 at the free throw line, and 39 points from the bench.

“I got wide open looks because they were worried about Bryce,” Jabri Abdur-Rahim said.

Abdur-Rahim came to life against Indiana on Friday, but Tuesday versus BYU he did a bit of everything. He finished with 21 points on 4-7 from beyond the arc and attacked the rim with a ferocity not seen from him this season (7-8 at the free throw line). Could playing with Hopkins unlock his game further?

Abdur-Rahim and Bensley Joseph (12 points on 5-7 shooting, 2-3 from three in 30 minutes) were both terrific off the bench, highlighting the potential depth of this club with Hopkins back in the fold.

It’s amazing what one player can do for a lineup and what one win can do for a fanbase’s psyche.

After getting torched defensively in the Bahamas, PC limited BYU to 33% shooting from the floor and stifled a potential top-five pick in Egor Demin. The star guard missed all ten shots he took from the floor. He had some good looks early, but in the second half Joseph really got into him, while Christ Essandoko held his own in space at times.

Here are all ten of his misses:

The 30 NBA scouts in attendance would have to find another night to see Demin at his best.

For all the question marks that surrounded them coming in, Providence stomped out any BYU rally. Two, in particular, stood out.

• The Cougars cut a double-digit Friar lead to four (34-30) late in the first half, but PC hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to rip off a 9-0 run in a span of 62 seconds.

• In the second half, a Trevin Knell three made it a 53-46 game with just over 13 minutes left. Kim English called a timeout, PC got the ball to Hopkins on its next possession, and he got to the foul line. After two makes and a stop, Abdur-Rahim buried a 3-pointer, followed by another three from Rich Barron (both assisted by Hopkins), and it was over at that point.

There would be no spoiling Hopkins’ return.

“He was great. I mean, we built the team around him,” English said of Hopkins. “Our team kind of makes more sense with him out there, when we can get a really good four or five shooter lineup.”

It looked like it all made sense on Tuesday.

“He’s been a great leader. He’s been a great leader since halfway through last season.” English continued, “He wanted to play. I wanted to make sure it was right, make sure everything was right.”

Everything was right for the Friars on Tuesday night.

The season is back on.