Fresno State Athletics
Photo by: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
SI.com projects Fresno State’s Hopkins as one of the NCAA’s best
10/16/2017 3:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Fresno State senior guard Jaron Hopkins is excited for his senior season after working relentlessly in the offseason as the Bulldogs are focused on making another postseason appearance.
FRESNO, Calif. --- As the Fresno State men's basketball team begins its third week of official fall practice, Bulldogs' senior guard Jaron Hopkins is projected as one of the best players in the country, according to economist Dan Hanner and Sports Illustrated's Chris Johnson and Jeremy Fuchs.
Through SI.com's metrics, Hopkins is slotted at No. 93 on SI's Top 100 scorers for the upcoming 2017-18 season. Hopkins is one of six Mountain West student-athletes included in SI's Top 100 list.
"Jaron has spent a lot of time on fundamentals, pivoting, passing, ball-handling and shooting," Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry said of some of Hopkins' offseason focuses. "The basic fundamentals of the game are what he has spent a lot of time working on and he is getting a real good grasp of that and what that means."
Last season, Hopkins averaged a team-best 13.2 points, while also adding 5.5 rebounds, along with a team-high 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He finished the season 15th in the nation in steals per game.
Regarded as one of the better two-way players in the country, Hopkins was a 2016-17 MW All-Defensive Team selection by the league's head coaches and earned All-MW third-team honors from a select media panel.
Hopkins takes great pride in his defense and will run the Bulldogs' offense with a dynamic ability to ferociously attack the basket. But even after a strong junior campaign a year ago, Hopkins took advantage of the offseason to shore up his skills in an effort to elevate his game to an even higher level.
"I worked on just about everything," Hopkins said of his offseason game plan. "I was in the weight room, worked on ball handling and shooting, and focused on being a better leader as well. I had to tweak a lot of little things. I was able to improve my jump shot, dribbling, passing and all the other fundamentals. Our team is focused more than ever this year. I really feel like we had a good offseason."
Before transferring to Fresno State in 2015, Hopkins played at Colorado for his freshman and sophomore collegiate seasons. He started a total of 26 of his 67 games played during two years with the Buffaloes.
Hopkins was a prep scoring standout at Dobson High School in Mesa, Arizona, averaging 22.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per game during his senior year. He scored at least 40 points in a game five times in high school, including a then-school record 43 points in 2012.
Fresno State will host exhibition games on Oct. 30 and Nov. 3 before opening the season at home for the third straight season. The Bulldogs tip off the regular season on Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. PT versus UC Santa Cruz.
Ticketmaster.com is currently running a special $15 upper bowl ticket flash sale for the Bulldogs' Dec. 16 home game versus Oregon. The sale ends on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. PT or while supplies last.
Season ticket packages and mini-plans are currently on sale through the Bulldog Ticket Office at the northeast corner of the Save Mart Center or by calling 559-278-DOGS (and then pressing "1"). Season ticket packages start at $149 while six-game mini plans start as low as $78 and group outings are available opening at $8 per ticket.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
Through SI.com's metrics, Hopkins is slotted at No. 93 on SI's Top 100 scorers for the upcoming 2017-18 season. Hopkins is one of six Mountain West student-athletes included in SI's Top 100 list.
"Jaron has spent a lot of time on fundamentals, pivoting, passing, ball-handling and shooting," Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry said of some of Hopkins' offseason focuses. "The basic fundamentals of the game are what he has spent a lot of time working on and he is getting a real good grasp of that and what that means."
Last season, Hopkins averaged a team-best 13.2 points, while also adding 5.5 rebounds, along with a team-high 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He finished the season 15th in the nation in steals per game.
Regarded as one of the better two-way players in the country, Hopkins was a 2016-17 MW All-Defensive Team selection by the league's head coaches and earned All-MW third-team honors from a select media panel.
Hopkins takes great pride in his defense and will run the Bulldogs' offense with a dynamic ability to ferociously attack the basket. But even after a strong junior campaign a year ago, Hopkins took advantage of the offseason to shore up his skills in an effort to elevate his game to an even higher level.
"I worked on just about everything," Hopkins said of his offseason game plan. "I was in the weight room, worked on ball handling and shooting, and focused on being a better leader as well. I had to tweak a lot of little things. I was able to improve my jump shot, dribbling, passing and all the other fundamentals. Our team is focused more than ever this year. I really feel like we had a good offseason."
Before transferring to Fresno State in 2015, Hopkins played at Colorado for his freshman and sophomore collegiate seasons. He started a total of 26 of his 67 games played during two years with the Buffaloes.
Hopkins was a prep scoring standout at Dobson High School in Mesa, Arizona, averaging 22.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per game during his senior year. He scored at least 40 points in a game five times in high school, including a then-school record 43 points in 2012.
Fresno State will host exhibition games on Oct. 30 and Nov. 3 before opening the season at home for the third straight season. The Bulldogs tip off the regular season on Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. PT versus UC Santa Cruz.
Ticketmaster.com is currently running a special $15 upper bowl ticket flash sale for the Bulldogs' Dec. 16 home game versus Oregon. The sale ends on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. PT or while supplies last.
Season ticket packages and mini-plans are currently on sale through the Bulldog Ticket Office at the northeast corner of the Save Mart Center or by calling 559-278-DOGS (and then pressing "1"). Season ticket packages start at $149 while six-game mini plans start as low as $78 and group outings are available opening at $8 per ticket.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
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