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Ed Cooley won a recruiting battle for Bryce Hopkins once before — but not this time.
And now the Georgetown head coach will have to deal with Hopkins at St. John’s this season, with the 6-foot-6 forward expected to be one of the top players in the country after his transfer from Providence.
“Did I think we had Bryce? No,” Cooley said at Big East media day at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. “It’s recruitment. It’s the portal. I think he chose where he could go develop and be the best player he can be and I thought he chose a coach that’s gonna push him to be the best player he can be.”
That coach is Rick Pitino, who bested Cooley to win Hopkins’ services for his final season of eligibility.
The Illinois native began his college career at Kentucky and left after one season for Providence, where Cooley was the head coach.
He averaged more than 15 points and eight rebounds per game in his season-plus at Providence before he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee.
After returning late last season, he entered the portal again and ended up in Queens, where Pitino hopes he’s an integral part of a top team.
He didn’t start in the preseason opener against Towson, with Pitino wanting Hopkins to up his game and reach his potential.
But Pitino said Tuesday Hopkins would be in the starting five when St. John’s hosts Michigan at MSG for another exhibition game.
“Bryce has been great the last week,” Pitino said. “He played terrific in the opening exhibition game. He’ll start out against Michigan. … His body looks great. He’s lost a lot of weight. He’s toned it down. He’s shooting the ball well. He’s playing good basketball.”
It’s what Cooley expected when Hopkins got to Queens.
“Bryce is a really good player,” Cooley said. “We were really fortunate to take him from Kentucky and come into Providence and to go into St. John’s, I think he’s gonna be one of the better players in the country.”
And Pitino is a big reason why.
“I think he’s playing for arguably the best college coach in the history of college basketball in Rick Pitino,” Cooley said. “I think he’s an incredible motivator [and] innovator of the sport. … I think [Hopkins] chose where he could go develop and be the best player he can be and I thought he chose a coach who was gonna push him to be the best player he can be.”
Despite his disappointment, Cooley added he had no regrets in not getting Hopkins.
“I don’t think you can ever look in the rearview mirror when you think about recruiting in today’s day and age,” Cooley said. “It’s [about] today. What have you done for me lately? He’s playing for an incredible team, he has this building [MSG] to play in.”
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