Friars’ Hopkins again has season end with injury

Providence star forward Bryce Hopkins will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, coach Kim English said on his local television show.

Hopkins suffered a torn ACL last January and didn’t return to game action until Dec. 3 of this season. He played three games before suffering a bone bruise and has missed the last nine games.

“He’s not going to play for the rest of this season,” English said on WPRI in Rhode Island. “And I get it. I get it, with him losing his junior season last year after playing in 13 games.”

“We didn’t want it to be a thing where Bryce is managing his knee game-to-game, playing half a season,” English added. “He’s going to get a redshirt and we’re going to start our focus on getting him right for next season.”

Hopkins, a 6-foot-7 forward, spent his freshman season at Kentucky before transferring to Providence in 2022. He earned first-team All-Big East honors as a sophomore and was averaging 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds last season before suffering a knee injury.

He was named preseason first-team All-Big East prior to this season and averaged 17 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3 assists in his three games.

Providence (10-10, 4-5 Big East) heads to Seton Hall on Tuesday.