Hopkins Comes Full Circle in Choosing Georgetown, Close to Home

Mikael Hopkins’ basketball journey has come full circle. The Washington, D.C. native will head back to the Nation’s Capital next season when he begins playing for Georgetown.

But it was that significant four-year step in between— spent at fabled —that made the dream of playing high level college hoops a reality.

Though far from the first player to improve his stock playing for the basketball powerhouse, the spotlight shone brightly on the combo forward during his run with the Stags. But it was the decision to make his college choice known early on that put the focus of his senior season not on an impending announcement, but where it belonged.

On the court.

Considering DeMatha claimed both the WCAC and City championships, that choice proved wise.

“I just wanted to focus on my season and not worry about the recruiting process for my senior year,” Hopkins said after participating in the The Capital Classic last weekend. “I thought it would be easier to get the process done and out of the way.”

By simply looking at the long-limbed, 6-foot-8 Hopkins, one can see why coaches from across the country were knocking on his door the last few seasons. After watching the forward run the court like a guard, but roam the paint like a center and score in variety of ways, it is no wonder he received an onslaught of attention from national powers like Ohio State and Kansas during his first three seasons with the Stags.

It’s also why the potential star-in-the-making took control of the circus known as college basketball recruiting by signing with the Hoyas before his final season with DeMatha.

“It was really difficult dealing with all the coaches coming in, telling me things I wanted to hear, even if it wasn’t true,” Hopkins said.

With that major distraction gone, Hopkins channeled his efforts into the Stags’ season. With their senior starter providing an interior presence on both ends of the court for the Hyattsville school. Hopkins finished with eight points, eight rebounds and five blocks in DeMatha’s WCAC championship game win over Gonzaga last month.

Beyond piling up a staggering amount of wins and recognition, playing in a highly competitive league and often against national powers home and away, is the basketball equivalent of advanced placement courses. Thus even before reaching college, Hopkins has already seen more than his fellow students, err, players.

“It’s great because you play against the best conference in high school and you get to travel like a college team so you get experience,” said Hopkins of his time at DeMatha.

While in some circles his senior season was considered uneven, Hopkins understands perhaps better than most there are many mouths to feed at the storied program. Learning to be a “team player,” was just one of the many takeaways he absorbed during his four years with the Stags.

“Playing with DeMatha, there is never going to be just one player that’s going to dominate the score sheet,” Hopkins said. “Some night I might have two points, the next time I might have 20 points.”

That attitude figures to serve him well at the Big East powerhouse, especially since forward figures to be Georgetown’s deepest unit next season. Two players that received heavy minutes last season–Nate Lubick and Hollis Thompson–are back and likely will start. Meanwhile the heralded five-player recruiting class includes four frontcourt options, all standing 6-feet-8 or taller.

(On Friday Georgetown confirmed that Thompson would be declaring for the NBA Draft, but would not be signing with an agent. The sophomore has until May 8 to determine whether he will return to the Hoyas without affecting his NCAA eligibility)

That’s a lot of size and height that you can’t teach,” said fellow freshman Greg Whittington, the All-Met player of the year. “With that on the floor [we] should be doing big things.”

Hopkins recently had the chance to play in a pick-up game with the two incoming players whose skills most closely resemble the sleek forward’s game—Whittington and Otto Porter. The two locals–Whittington hails from Howard County–were also honored with slots on the Capital All-Star team for the 38th annual Capital Classic.

Hopkins knows he’s not a finished product. After the all-star game, he said his perimeter shot needs improvement compared to those of his future teammates. Also hitting the weight room and working on his ball handling will be priorities before reaching the Hilltop. On the other hand, the soon-to-be Hoya believes he attacks the basket with more regularity than the others.

The differences in style, both subtle and vast, mean there is room for all on the court, eventually.

Simply put, Hopkins and the other freshmen will compete against one another for playing time, but that competition will fuel their respective development.

“We’ll complement each other a lot,” said Hopkins. We’ll push each other.”

Even if early playing time under coach John Thompson III is scarce, there are both big picture and close-to-home reasons why Hopkins chose to play for Georgetown.

“Their tradition with sending players to the NBA and the fact that I have a little sister at home—I’ll be able to watch her grow and she’ll be able to come to my basketball games,” he said.