Prospect Spotlight: Ryan Hopper (2020)
Pine View junior Ryan Hopper is prepared to have himself a breakout junior season with the Panthers.
The 5-foot-9 point guard established himself as a varsity level point guard last season as a sophomore.
“Last year, my role was mainly setting up plays as the point guard and on-ball pressure defense, just being able to guard the other guards full-court the whole game,” said Hopper.
“I probably just need to work on getting stronger and being more athletic and fast.”
Unlike many of his peers, Hopper only played grassroots ball sparingly this past spring and summer, but mostly says he was playing with his high school team.
“It was a really good summer for Pine View basketball. We played a bunch of good teams and just played really well,” said Hopper. “We played a week-long Dixie State camp and that’s when we really found out what we need to work on.”
Hopper started practicing with the varsity as a freshman and was playing varsity as a sophomore, starting by season’s end. Now, his junior season just two months away and he’s focused putting in the work to help his team earn a state tournament berth.
“I feel like I played pretty well last season,” said Hopper. “And we have a really good team this year, and I’m just trying to help my team get to state and see what we can do in the tournament.”
This time next year, he’s hoping to have some colleges paying close attention to him.
“And I’m just going to keep putting in the work,” said Hopper. “And see if I can pull out a scholarship from any school.”