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Jaron Hopkins: Earning his own keep!

By: Jeff Meadows

HE’S AN AVERAGE GUARD, HE’S PIGGY BACKING OFF OF HIS COUSIN TORREN JONES, AND HE WILL ONLY BE A MARGINAL GUARD AT BEST. Those are some of things that the LOCAL HATERS , NAY SAYERS, SELF PROCLAIMED LOCAL SCOUTS & some LOCAL AAU COACHES have said for the past 2 & a half years but after hitting a 4inch growth spurt over an 8 month span, newfound exceptional athleticism and an immeasurable amount of confidence & swag, Jaron Hopkins has finally not only stepped out of the shadows of his top prospect cousin and HS teammate (Torren Jones) Hopkins has separated himself from the vast majority of his pears as the #1 (PG) in the class of 2013 in the state of Arizona and now among the top 2 or 3 (PG’s) on the entire West Coast in his class. “Jaron has always played in shadows of other players” says Jaron’s Father Brian Hopkins “Now he has shown & proved that he can carry his own weight”. While his season may have ended without a playoff run, Hopkins definitely did his part as he was the teams 2^nd leading scorer (14 pts per game) team leader in assist (8 per game) & 2^nd in rebounding (8 per game). Hopkins began separation from his pears this past August when he played in Dinos Trigonis “Lead Guard Camp” where Hopkins played well all weekend and was named a Top 5 performer by Hoops Report, Hopkins continued playing at a high level on into September, which is when Hopkins attended the nationally renowned “Full Court Press All-Frosh/Soph Camp” (which featured the top 300 freshman & sophomores on the entire West Coast) Hopkins put on an all around clinic from smothering opposing guards defensively to getting to the basket at will finishing with ferocious slams or hitting the open man with no look passes on the offensive end as Hopkins put his total game on display earning himself a spot in the top 40 All-Star game. Hopkins continued his domination the very next month in Chad Groth’s “Phoenix Fall Showcase” where Hopkins played extremely well all weekend and was named to Hoops Report’s All-Showcase team. Hopkins continued putting in work at  the Grande Finale event of the Fall, the “West Coast Fall Showcase” where Hopkins also made Hoops Report’s All-Showcase team in the “PLATINUM BRACKET” division. As if that wasn’t enough, the very next month, Hopkins went with his Basha HS team to one of the top HS Holiday Tournaments in the country the “State Farm Holiday Tournament of Champions” in Illinois which featured such top national prospects as:  Anthony Davis, Brenden Dawson, Paul Jespersen, where Hopkins caught the attention of a couple of top national scouts ESPN’s Reggie Rankin & Scout Hoops Brian Snow. Don’t take my word for it, let's take a look at what ESPN’s Reggie Rankin had to say about Hopkins:  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=5863287