Cedevita Olimpija’s frontcourt reinforced by Mikael Hopkins

Cedevita Olimpija continues to build its team for the next season. Under the rims, one of the key players in the Slaven Rimac’s squad will be American Mikael Hopkins, who signed a two-year deal with the Ljubljana squad.

Mikael Hopkins attended DeMath high school in the USA and the elite Georgetown College. He began his international career at Turkish side Istanbul and moved to Samsun after a season spent in the biggest Turkish city.

He introduced himself to the European basketball fans in the 2018/19 season, when he put on Balkan jersey and joined forces with another fresh face in Ljubljana, Mirko Mulalić. Hopkins’ good performances earned him the award for the best forward in FIBA Europe Cup and it was also the biggest reason why Balkan managed to qualify for the Playoffs of the competition. Hopkins averaged 14.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 blocks per game and became the best shot blocker of the competition. With the valuation of 19.4 he was the third most efficient in this category and at the same time fourth best rebounder of the competition.

As he signed with Cedevita Olimpija, Mikael Hopkins stated: "I just want to say thank you to the Cedevita Olimpija organization for giving me the opportunity to join the club. I am extremenly excited about being able to compete against some of the best teams and also playing in two of the best leagues in Europe. Being friends with Mirko Mulalić, I heard only great things about the city of Ljubljana and the fans, and I can not wait to get out there and put on a show."

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Zmaji pod košem z Mikaelom Hopkinsom

Moštvo Cedevite Olimpije se je pod košem okrepilo z ameriškim krilnim centrom Mikaelom Hopkinsom, ki je v minuli sezoni nosil dres bolgarskega Balkana.

Cedevita Olimpija nadaljuje s sestavo moštva za prihajajočo tekmovalno sezono. Pod košem Zmajev bo eden izmed glavnih adutov igre glavnega trenerja Slavena Rimca Američan Mikael Hopkins, ki je z ljubljanskim klubom podpisal dveletno pogodbo.

V Združenih državah Amerike je Mikael Hopkins obiskoval srednjo šolo DeMatha ter elitni kolidž Georgetown. Mednarodno kariero je začel pri turškem Istanbulu, po eni sezoni igranja v Carigradu pa se je za dve sezoni preselil v Samsun.

Evropski košarkarski javnosti je Mikael Hopkins postal znan v tekmovalni sezoni 2018/19, v kateri je nosil dres bolgarskega Balkana in bil soigralec povratnika v vrste Zmajev, Mirka Mulalića, s katerim bo združil moči tudi v novi sezoni. Hopkinsove dobre predstave so mu prislužile nagrado za najboljšega krilnega košarkarja v Fibinem Europe Cupu, bil pa je tudi največji razlog, da se je Balkanu uspelo prebiti v končnico tega evropskega tekmovanja. Hopkins je v povprečju dosegal 14,7 točke, 8,3 skoke, 2,4 podaje in 2,1 blokade na tekmo, s tem izkupičkom pa je bil tudi najboljši bloker tekmovanja. Z valorizacijskim indeksom 19,4 je bil tretji najboljši v tej statistični kategoriji, hkrati pa je bil četrti najboljši skakalec tekmovanja.

Ob dogovoru o sodelovanju s Cedevito Olimpijo je Hopkins dejal: "Želim se zahvaliti Košarkarskemu klubu Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana za priložnost, da se lahko pridružim moštvu. Veselim se izzivov in dejstva, da nam bodo v prihajajoči sezoni nasproti stali močni tekmeci, in da se bomo predstavljali v dveh močnih evropskih tekmovanjih. Moj prijatelj Mirko Mulalić mi je zaupal številne lepe stvari o Ljubljani in navijačih, in veselim se, da bom kmalu stopil na parket in zaigral."