Bryce Hopkins is back in the fold at Providence, and there is another level to his game awaiting

By all accounts, Bryce Hopkins far surpassed any reasonable expectations in his first year at Providence. After watching almost all of his freshman season at Kentucky, Hopkins was the catalyst for a Friar team that won 21 games, averaging 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. For his efforts, Hopkins was named a unanimous choice for 1st Team All Big East.

When news broke on Friday that Hopkins and fellow sophomore Devin Carter were returning to Providence to play for new head coach Kim English, Friartown erupted in joy. Minus Hopkins and Carter, PC’s coaching staff would have had to work absolute magic in the transfer portal to remain in the top half of the Big East next season.

Now? The Friars are building a roster capable of competing for a league title.

And for all Hopkins did last season, there is still another level left for him to reach at PC.

Providence asked a lot of Hopkins in his first year in black and white, and understandably so. When the Friars were at their best in 2022-23, Hopkins and Ed Croswell were dominating the offensive glass, and PC was getting to the free throw line so much that opposing coaches were left shaking their heads when combing through box scores afterwards.

Two of those coaches were Marquette’s Shaka Smart and Dan Hurley of UConn. Smart led Marquette to a first place finish and a Big East title this season, while Hurley’s Huskies are the favorite heading into this weekend’s Final Four.

Hopkins went for 29 points and 23 rebounds on 18 free throw attempts against Marquette, and 27 points on 13-15 at the line versus UConn — both Friar victories.

His numbers late in the season show that the physical pounding Hopkins took throughout the year may have chipped away at his effectiveness.

Prior to traveling to UConn in February, Hopkins was averaging 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.5% from two and 39.3% beyond the arc.

Over the final five games of the season, he averaged around 10/5 and saw his shooting numbers plummet: 34.8% overall, 40% on twos, 18% from three in those final five games.

While so much of Hopkins’ game was predicated on getting to the free throw line, he didn’t attempt a single free throw at Georgetown, or in the home finale against Seton Hall. And after notching ten double doubles throughout the season, and missing out on five more by a single rebound by mid-February, he didn’t have a rebound at Connecticut. As Providence limped to a 1-4 finish to the season, Hopkins was held below ten points in three of those games, and never cracked double digits in boards again.

Had fatigue set in?