Post by kaygee on Mar 14, 2005 12:12:31 GMT -6
Return of Hopfs means Rangers will be tough to beat again next year
By LARRY GOFFINET, Sports Editor
When Julius "Dr. J." Erving, a high-flying 6-foot-6 forward, was the most exciting player in the ABA in the early 1970s, one coach said he would rather have Kentucky center Artis Gilmore on his team because "late in a game Erving may get tired but Gilmore is always going to be 7-foot-2."
At any level, the teams with the tallest players will have an advantage-if their big men have true basketball talent.
Brandon and Clint Hopf, the 6-foot-7 cousins who play for Forest Park, are talented. They are the main reasons the Rangers were able to win their third consecutive Southridge sectional last week, though without the outside shooting help of Tim James they probably would have lost to Perry Central in the semifinals.
Brandon Hopf was 10 for 14 from the field against Perry Central, 11 for 14 in a first-round win over South Spencer, and 5 for 8 in the championship game against Southridge. Thus he hit 72.2 percent from the field for the tourney.
Most of those shots were taken on post moves from within 5 feet of the basket, though, prompting some coaches to question whether he can play for an NCAA Division I team. Some wonder if he can play outside, facing the basket, and if he is quick enough to play small forward, his likely position for most Division I teams.
But Forest Park Coach Tom Beach said, "He can play outside. He doesn't have to do that for us-we need him in the low post more. But on his AAU team (Indiana Elite) he's out on the floor and he can run. He can play in Bruce Pearl's system."
Pearl, the former University of Southern Indiana coach known for his full-court-pressing, run-and-gun style of play, is now the coach at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, one of the Division I teams that Beach said is heavily recruiting Hopf. Others include Central Michigan and Western Michigan.
Hopf could sign with a college team next November, but he still has another year to play for the Rangers. And his cousin, Clint, who is projected to be 6-10 when he is through growing, has two more years of high school basketball.
All of which means the Rangers will be favored to continue their sectional-winning streak next year.
A quote in the Evansville Courier & Press last Thursday caused a bit of a controversy.
Cliff Guillaums wrote that "several of Perry Central's assistant coaches . . . informed Forest Park's assistant coaches that they wanted them to defeat South Spencer in Wednesday's second game so they could have a rematch and 'try to outrun' the No. 8 ranked Rangers."
Most coaches get apoplectic about even the thought of giving opponents more incentive to beat them, and Perry Central Coach Brian Kehrer said Friday, "We never said that. We are a classier program than that."
Beach said Tuesday, "There's no bad blood between us as far as I know. Brian and I talked about the article in the paper and as far as I'm concerned we're all squared away about it."
Copyright © 2005 2003 Perry County News All Rights Reserved.
By LARRY GOFFINET, Sports Editor
When Julius "Dr. J." Erving, a high-flying 6-foot-6 forward, was the most exciting player in the ABA in the early 1970s, one coach said he would rather have Kentucky center Artis Gilmore on his team because "late in a game Erving may get tired but Gilmore is always going to be 7-foot-2."
At any level, the teams with the tallest players will have an advantage-if their big men have true basketball talent.
Brandon and Clint Hopf, the 6-foot-7 cousins who play for Forest Park, are talented. They are the main reasons the Rangers were able to win their third consecutive Southridge sectional last week, though without the outside shooting help of Tim James they probably would have lost to Perry Central in the semifinals.
Brandon Hopf was 10 for 14 from the field against Perry Central, 11 for 14 in a first-round win over South Spencer, and 5 for 8 in the championship game against Southridge. Thus he hit 72.2 percent from the field for the tourney.
Most of those shots were taken on post moves from within 5 feet of the basket, though, prompting some coaches to question whether he can play for an NCAA Division I team. Some wonder if he can play outside, facing the basket, and if he is quick enough to play small forward, his likely position for most Division I teams.
But Forest Park Coach Tom Beach said, "He can play outside. He doesn't have to do that for us-we need him in the low post more. But on his AAU team (Indiana Elite) he's out on the floor and he can run. He can play in Bruce Pearl's system."
Pearl, the former University of Southern Indiana coach known for his full-court-pressing, run-and-gun style of play, is now the coach at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, one of the Division I teams that Beach said is heavily recruiting Hopf. Others include Central Michigan and Western Michigan.
Hopf could sign with a college team next November, but he still has another year to play for the Rangers. And his cousin, Clint, who is projected to be 6-10 when he is through growing, has two more years of high school basketball.
All of which means the Rangers will be favored to continue their sectional-winning streak next year.
A quote in the Evansville Courier & Press last Thursday caused a bit of a controversy.
Cliff Guillaums wrote that "several of Perry Central's assistant coaches . . . informed Forest Park's assistant coaches that they wanted them to defeat South Spencer in Wednesday's second game so they could have a rematch and 'try to outrun' the No. 8 ranked Rangers."
Most coaches get apoplectic about even the thought of giving opponents more incentive to beat them, and Perry Central Coach Brian Kehrer said Friday, "We never said that. We are a classier program than that."
Beach said Tuesday, "There's no bad blood between us as far as I know. Brian and I talked about the article in the paper and as far as I'm concerned we're all squared away about it."
Copyright © 2005 2003 Perry County News All Rights Reserved.