Colorado sophomore guard Jaron Hopkins, a part-time starter from the Phoenix area, is leaving the Buffaloes men’s basketball team with the intention of transferring to another program, CU coach Tad Boyle announced Wednesday.
Hopkins averaged 5.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in two seasons with the Buffs. He started 17 games in 2014-15 and made nine starts as a freshman.
“We appreciate all what he has done for our program in the last two years,” Boyle said in a news release from the school. “We wish Jaron all the best in his future endeavors.”
Hopkins, 6-foot-6 and one of the most athletic players on the roster, arrived at Colorado with great promise. He was ranked as the nation’s 119th-best recruit regardless of position by rivals.com and treated CU fans with his high-flying dunks.
But Hopkins struggled with his jump shot and overall consistency during his two seasons at CU. Coaches hoped that he had turned the corner with a five-game stretch during Pac-12 play in January when he averaged 12.8 points, including a career-best 20 points in a loss at Arizona State.
However, following that five-game stretch Hopkins never reached double-figure scoring again and his playing time diminished late in the season. He averaged six points for two Pac-12 Tournament games and produced a total of five points for two games in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
CU will have two additions at shooting guard for next season: 6-6 sophomore George King, who redshirted in 2014-15, and 6-5 junior Josh Fortune, a transfer from Big East-member Providence who practiced with the team during the season. Fortune averaged 8.4 points as a sophomore for Providence in 2013-14 and shot 35 percent from 3-point range.
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or twitter.com/tomkensler
