Hopson signs with Vols

Hopson signs this morning

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. - The lights shined bright in the packed University Heights Academy gym, and the fans stirred in anticipation of Scotty Hopson's next move.

All Hopson needed was a basketball in his hands to feel right at home. Instead, he had an ink pen, which he used Wednesday morning to sign a letter of intent to attend the University of Tennessee.

"It's a relief,'' said Hopson, the first McDonald's All-American recruit of UT coach Bruce Pearl's career and the sixth in program's history. "It's time to relax and enjoy the rest of my school year. I'm excited to come to Knoxville, but I know I'll miss home.''

Many of the 325 University Heights students, ranging from preschool to the 31 in the senior class, wore orange T-shirts with "Blazers love UT/Scotty'' to the signing ceremony and Hopson had his number (32) retired.

Hopson, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, is the crown jewel of the Vols' recruiting class. He joins 6-11 center Phillip Jurick, from East Ridge, 6-1 point guard Daniel West of Saginaw (Mich.) High School and 6-8 wing Renaldo Woolridge, from North Hollywood, Calif.

Hopson is rated the No. 5 overall player in the Class of '08 according to Rivals.com, Woolridge is No. 53 and Jurick is No. 68.

West is not ranked in the top 150, but he made his mark by leading Saginaw to back-to-back state championships in Michigan's largest high school classification.

"There's good balance to the class,'' Pearl said. "Just look at how far Tennessee basketball recruiting has come.

"Scotty, obviously, is a guy who will have an impact. It's hard for me to downplay his potential. The timing couldn't be any better.''

Hopson couldn't be any more needed with UT losing Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith to the pro ranks. He averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds in earning Kentucky's Associated Press player-of-the-year honor.

A boyish-looking 18, Hopson merely smiles when asked about the pressure to perform this season.

"Over the years when I've had that kind of pressure, I've never folded,'' said Hopson, who scored 21 points Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in the Jordan Brand Classic all-star game. "I just take it in stride. I usually do my best when the lights are on and thousands are in the stands.''

Hopson has two high school exhibition games left. He'll play in the Kentucky-Indiana all-star games June 13 (Indianapolis) and June 15th (Louisville).

Knoxville can see Hopson up close on June 16 when play begins in the Pilot Rocky Top League at Bearden High School.

Pearl expects UT fans will be in for a treat when they see the USA Today third-team All-American.

"Scotty will get a little stronger, but he has his quick-twitch fiber and muscle and he moves very fast,'' Pearl said. "He's very explosive. He has great lift, he plays over the rim and he can create off the bounce. People are going to be excited.

"This is a big one; it breaks a door down for me, my first McDonald's All-American, a guy with a lot of visibility.''

UT recruited Hopson much earlier in his career, but Pearl said he and his staff were disheartened when Hopson verbally committed to Mississippi State.

"But we ended it cordially, and I think he appreciated the fact we let him go with integrity,'' Pearl said. "When he didn't sign (in November), deciding he may have made his decision prematurely, we jumped back in with both feet.''

Hopson said he still remembers Vols' assistant Jason Shay making the first contact for UT after one of his AAU tournaments. The second time around, Steve Forbes was the point man and Tony Jones and Pearl joined in.

"The whole staff recruited him, because we wanted him comfortable and at ease with all of us,'' Forbes said. "A lot of things came together; us having a great year, our style of play, our arena renovations, our fan support and the TV exposure.''

Forbes said other teams recruiting Hopson - Louisville and Kentucky, most notably - had the same sort of things going for their programs.

"I think it all came down to relationships,'' Forbes said. "The trust we had with him, his mother and his coach.''

University Heights Academy coach Randy McCoy, who guided the Blazers to a 30-5 record, agreed.

"Number one, Coach Pearl and his assistants did a great job of letting Scotty know from the beginning that he was the guy they wanted,'' McCoy said. "The second factor was Scotty could go in and continue to play a style is conducive to him getting better.

"I also think him staying closer to home was a factor - they didn't want to go too far away from Hopkinsville.''

"Hop Town,'' as it is known to the locals, is approximately 235 miles from Knoxville.

Hopson will make the drive to enroll in classes at UT at the start of June knowing what awaits him.

"I don't know if anybody looks forward to conditioning,'' he said, "but in the end it makes you better so I'm looking forward to pushing through it with my new teammates.''

Hopson said he hopes Vols' forward Tyler Smith will be around for another year.

"He's a great player and a really good person,'' Hopson said. "I hope he comes back, but even if he goes, I think this is a team that can compete for the Final Four.''

Pearl said as much as he expects from Hopson, fans need to remember he has big shoes to fill.

"You can't overlook the fact that we lost No. 5 (Chris Lofton), and that's a guy whose jersey will be hanging in the rafters one day,'' Pearl said. "I don't care what freshman you sign, you can't ask him to do what Chris Lofton did as a senior. But I expect him to do a lot.''

Sixth in the Mix: Hopson, whose nickname is "Scotty Hops,'' is the sixth McDonald's All-American to sign at UT and the first since Vincent Yarbrough (1998-2002). Other Vols with such prestige were Tony Harris (1997-2001), Charles Hathaway (1996-2001), Allan Houston (1989-93) and Doug Roth (1985-89).

Great Heights: Hopson is the second scholarship player at UT from University Heights Academy, joining former Vol Isiah Victor.

Other notable University Heights players who have signed Division I scholarships include: Sergio Luke, St. Johns; James White, Harvard; Darren Alloway, Stanford; Harold Swanagan, Notre Dame; Ravi Moss, Kentucky; Andre Buckner, Duke; Greg Buckner, Clemson; Lamont Barnes, Temple and Tyshwan Edmundson, Hopson's teammate, who has offers from St. John's, Dayton and Western Kentucky.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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