Wright State senior guard Chrishawn Hopkins has worked over the offseason on getting on the “same page” as his head coach Billy Donlon after a junior season full of ups and downs.
Donlon likened Hopkins’ season last year to a power hitter in baseball.
“Fans don’t remember the outs, they remember the home runs,” Donlon said in June. “As a coach, we remember the outs. Chrishawn and I need to get on the same page that way, actually he needs to get on my page.”
What has Hopkins done to get on Donlon’s page?
“I have been working really hard on both ends of the court, on offense and defense,” Hopkins said. “I have worked really hard on my shot this summer getting it off quicker and my ball handling has gotten a lot better. I think I have made strides to where he wants me to get at.”
Hopkins joined the Raiders last December after taking a transfer redshirt from Butler. Hopkins missed the first month of the 2013-14 season as he had to wait until the end of autumn semester.
He played a role, albeit small one, in Butler’s run to the NCAA national title game in 2011 as a freshman.
“Last year, I had great energy coming into the season and then after I figured out I wasn’t going to play until the semester, it kind of died down,” Hopkins said. “This year, I brought the same energy and I get to keep it rolling.”
Fellow WSU guard Reggie Arceneaux said he has seen a big improvement from Hopkins over the offeseason.
“He has always been a piece, a big piece,” Arceneaux said. “He comes from a system, a system at Butler that is kind of similar. Same conference, he knew us from playing against us. He is very helpful, takes a lot stress of my back.”
In last week’s exhibition game, Hopkins struggled in the first half before bouncing back helping the Raiders to a 68-59 win over Findlay. Hopkins scored all 12 of his points in the second half.
“Chrishawn was pressuring himself,” Donlon said. “I told him at halftime, ‘You had a great summer, a great fall, you have been great at practice, just go out there and play.”
After averaging 9.1 points a game his sophomore season at Butler, Hopkins’ production dropped to 5.3 points a game last year as a Raider. With Donlon employing an up-tempo offense, the pace might better suit Hopkins’ game.
“We have been working on it all spring, summer and fall so it should be pretty easy when the season comes around,” Hopkins said.
