WASHINGTON — Bryce Hopkins has had better offensive games, even in his brief time in a St. John’s uniform.
But he hasn’t impacted a game at both ends of the floor yet like he did on New Year’s Eve.
The Providence transfer was all over the court in the Johnnies’ 95-83 win at Georgetown on Wednesday night, grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out six assists and adding two blocks.
“Bryce did a lot of things that don’t go in the stat sheet tonight,” coach Rick Pitino said. “Obviously, the rebounds do, but he got very aggressive and came out with great fire, and so did the team.”
“He just had two unbelievable days of practice. … We want him to be great, not only because it helps the team, but because it helps him individually, and brings us to a different level.”
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The 6-foot-7 Hopkins helped turn the game’s momentum late in the first half, spearheading the St. John’s defense in a 21-9 run to close out the period.
He also was strong on the glass, more than doubling his season average.
“[Pitino] wants us to play with that type of tenacity and energy on defense every time and have a defensive mindset, and that’s going to lead to our offense,” said Hopkins, who was a team-best plus-21 in 29 quality minutes. “That’s more what I’ve been thinking about, doing it in practice. Me doing that in practice has led me to [flipping] my switch on the defensive end, and doing it in the game.”
St. John’s 15 made 3-pointers were a season-high and equaled a program mark for a Big East game.
Sadiku Ibine Ayo received the start with Joson Sanon coming off the bench. Sanon did start the second half.
St. John’s transfer Vince Iwuchukwu remained out for Georgetown. The 7-footer has been sidelined since mid-November after undergoing an undisclosed medical procedure.
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