Per the CJ:
Bryce Hopkins, the cornerstone of Louisville's 2021 recruiting class, reopened his recruitment on Sunday, nearly nine months after he initially committed to coach Chris Mack and the Cardinals.
Hopkins, a top-40 combo forward who lit up the scoreboard for Chicago's Fenwick High School, told 247Sports.com in a piece published Sunday that Louisville's ongoing NCAA case led him to decommit and check out other options ahead of his final prep season.
"I opened up my recruitment because there were a lot of uncertainties on what is going on with the sanctions," Hopkins told 247Sports. "They also keep appealing (the sanctions) which is only making it harder on me."
Louisville has appealed after an NCAA notice of allegations in May charged the program with one level-I violation and three level-II violations in connection with the recruitment of Brian Bowen II and the FBI's 2017 investigation into college basketball recruiting. Louisville fired coach Rick Pitino and longtime athletic director Tom Jurich in the wake of the allegations that fall.
There's no sugarcoating this one — there's still time to land other commitments, but losing Hopkins is a major blow for the Cardinals and their 2021 class.
Louisville has several other 2021 players who have committed. Standout JUCO point guard El Ellis has pledged to join the Cardinals, along with three-star guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. and three-star forward Eric Van Der Heijden. Three-star center Gabe Wiznitzer also plans to join Louisville in 2020 but will redshirt and make his debut in 2021.
Hopkins was the star, though. One of the top recruits in Illinois, he's listed as the No. 33 overall class of 2021 recruit by 247Sports and is ranked No. 32 by ESPN.
Bryce Hopkins, the cornerstone of Louisville's 2021 recruiting class, reopened his recruitment on Sunday, nearly nine months after he initially committed to coach Chris Mack and the Cardinals.
Hopkins, a top-40 combo forward who lit up the scoreboard for Chicago's Fenwick High School, told 247Sports.com in a piece published Sunday that Louisville's ongoing NCAA case led him to decommit and check out other options ahead of his final prep season.
"I opened up my recruitment because there were a lot of uncertainties on what is going on with the sanctions," Hopkins told 247Sports. "They also keep appealing (the sanctions) which is only making it harder on me."
Louisville has appealed after an NCAA notice of allegations in May charged the program with one level-I violation and three level-II violations in connection with the recruitment of Brian Bowen II and the FBI's 2017 investigation into college basketball recruiting. Louisville fired coach Rick Pitino and longtime athletic director Tom Jurich in the wake of the allegations that fall.
There's no sugarcoating this one — there's still time to land other commitments, but losing Hopkins is a major blow for the Cardinals and their 2021 class.
Louisville has several other 2021 players who have committed. Standout JUCO point guard El Ellis has pledged to join the Cardinals, along with three-star guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. and three-star forward Eric Van Der Heijden. Three-star center Gabe Wiznitzer also plans to join Louisville in 2020 but will redshirt and make his debut in 2021.
Hopkins was the star, though. One of the top recruits in Illinois, he's listed as the No. 33 overall class of 2021 recruit by 247Sports and is ranked No. 32 by ESPN.
