PROVIDENCE — Kim English offered a rather important piece of breaking news on the season debut of his televised coaches show Sunday night.
Providence College will be without Bryce Hopkins (left knee) for the remainder of the 2024-25 men’s basketball season. English told WPRI-TV that Hopkins will continue to rest and rehabilitate with the Friars, but he won’t appear again prior to the 2025-26 campaign.
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Hopkins will miss the final 11 games of the regular season, the Big East Tournament and any potential postseason contests for Providence, who improved to 10-10 overall and 4-5 in league play with a 78-68 win over Georgetown on Saturday. Hopkins worked out lightly prior to the afternoon tip at Amica Mutual Pavilion, doing some shooting at both ends of the floor with team managers. He was in a sweatsuit when the Friars emerged for final layup lines and sat on the home bench throughout an eighth straight win over the Hoyas.
Hopkins returned from injury exactly 11 months after suffering a torn ACL in a Jan. 3 home loss to Seton Hall. He was back on the same floor Dec. 3 against BYU, and Providence rolled to an 83-64 thrashing as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle. It remains the best victory of the season to date for the Friars per KenPom.com, with the Cougars currently inside the national top 35.
Hopkins started and played a combined 66 minutes in the following two road games, a loss at in-state rival Rhode Island and an overtime road win in the Big East opener at DePaul. Hopkins suffered a setback in the 70-63 triumph against the Blue Demons, landing awkwardly in rebounding action and reporting discomfort to the team’s medical staff over the following days.
Hopkins was held out of the next nine games, starting with a Dec. 14 loss to St. Bonaventure on a neutral floor at Mohegan Sun. Providence said Hopkins was suffering from left knee irritation and had undergone an MRI prior to that 74-70 defeat against the Bonnies. The Friars said the imaging showed no structural damage and planned to reevaluate him the following week.
English first publicly broached the topic of a medical redshirt following a Jan. 8 home win over Butler. Ryan Mela collected 10 points and 15 rebounds while making his first college start, but it was Hopkins who wound up in the headlines after the postgame press conference. Providence took care of the Bulldogs, 84-65, and improved to just 6-7 in games played without him this season — that record now stands at 18-20 over the last two years.
“He’s not feeling strong right now in the knee,” English said. “And we keep working and monitoring him every day. But, ultimately, if a kid is not feeling good and strong, it’s not working.”
Hopkins made a quick rise to stardom in 2022-23 after a transfer from Kentucky, developing into an all-Big East selection and helping the Friars reach the NCAA Tournament. Providence suffered a 61-53 loss to those same Wildcats in the opening round, and coach Ed Cooley made his stunning defection to Georgetown after 12 seasons in his home city. English was hired away from George Mason and secured commitments from both Hopkins and Devin Carter to stay with the Friars, helping them get off to an 11-2 start overall before that fateful Wednesday night against the Pirates.
Hopkins would be likely to secure NCAA approval for a fifth year in 2025-26, and it could be played elsewhere. The transfer portal would offer Hopkins a chance to put his name, image and likeness rights up for bid, and Providence would almost certainly face competition to keep him. The Friars are set to graduate Wesley Cardet Jr., Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Bensley Joseph while holding commitments from consensus four-star prospects Jamier Jones and Jaylen Harrell.
Providence used its 11th different starting lineup this season against Georgetown, with Mela and Joseph joining Jayden Pierre, Corey Floyd Jr. and Oswin Erhunmwunse. Cardet (knee) played just five minutes off the bench after missing a 75-73 road loss to Villanova while dealing with his own injury. Rich Barron, Eli DeLaurier and Anton Bonke were all squeezed out of a nine-man rotation — Pierre played all 40 minutes while Joseph and Floyd each logged 32.
The Friars are back in action Tuesday night at Seton Hall, beginning a four-game stretch that includes three on the road. Providence travels to St. John’s for a Saturday afternoon tip at Madison Square Garden and visits Butler after a Feb. 5 home date with Creighton.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence basketball star Bryce Hopkins out for the rest of season
