Murray State University Athletics
Racers Sign 6-2 Guard Darnell Hopkins
5/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Murray State head coach Mick Cronin added more depth and talent to his backcourt for next season by signing Darnell Hopkins of San Jacinto (Texas) Community College to a national letter of intent last week.
Hopkins, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard, averaged 13.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for a San Jacinto team which went 27-3 last season. His career-high at San Jacinto was 29 points.
“Darnell is a very versatile guard who can play many different positions for us,” said Racer head coach Mick Cronin. “He comes from a great program which played for a national championship his freshman year, and he played for one of the top coaches in the country in Scott Gernander.”
Hopkins, considered a shooting guard, shot 49.5 percent from the field, including 31.6 percent from three-point range, and 78 percent from the free throw line.
“He's a strong kid who gets to the basket and finishes,” said San Jacinto head coach Scott Gernander. “He's a decent outside shooter but his game is getting to the rim. And, he takes pride in his defense and works hard on that end of the floor. He's really just a good all-around player.”
As a freshman at San Jacinto, Hopkins was the sixth man on a team which went 27-10 and reached the championship game of the National Junior College Tournament. Hopkins, who averaged 7.5 ppg off the bench, hit the game-winning shot against Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College in the first round of the national tournament.
“I've never had a kid improve as much from his freshman year to his sophomore year as Darnell,” said Gernander. “He didn't score a lot, or as much as he's capable, this season because we were had a lot of talent and were a very balanced team.”
Gernander said Hopkins' personality and determination are traits that Murray State fans will enjoy having for the next two seasons.
“He's one of the hardest workers I've ever coached and one of the most coachable and likeable players I've ever had,” said Gernander. “The people (in Murray) will absolutely love him.”
A native of Baltimore, Md., Hopkins played high school basketball at prestigious Towson Catholic, the same high school which produced MSU junior guard Keith Jenifer.
The signing of Hopkins brings the Racers' recruiting class for 2004 up to seven. Issian Redding, a 6-6 forward and 6-7 forward Charles Johnson, both of South Plains (Texas) College, as well as 6-5 guard Shane Dansby of Nashville's Harpeth High School and 6-7 Mike McCoy of Pike High School in Indianapolis, Ind., all signed with the Racers in the fall. MSU added 6-8 forward Reggie Jackson of Lamar (Colo.) Community College and 6-6 swingman Justin Orr of Cincinnati's LaSalle High School in the spring signing period.
