Bulldogs could be down two key pieces at San Diego State. Why will surprise you

Fresno State could be without two key players in starting point guard Jaron Hopkins and guard Jahmel Taylor on Wednesdeay when it plays a key Mountain West Conference men’s basketball game at San Diego State.

Hopkins and Taylor, both Fresno State graduates, have not yet been accepted to graduate school and with the spring semester starting on Tuesday they are not enrolled in school. Both were on the Mountain West Conference all-academic team last spring – Hopkins majored in communications and Taylor in economics.

“We’re working on stuff that should have been taken care of a long time ago,” coach Rodney Terry said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. We’re hoping to have the situation taken care of by the time we tip, but we shouldn’t be in this position.

“The only thing I know is that they graduated. Everybody knew that they were graduating. I don’t know what happened on it, but hopefully between now and (Wednesday) it gets rectified.”

The Bulldogs (13-6, 3-3 in the MW) departed for San Diego State on Tuesday after an early afternoon practice, but Hopkins and Taylor did not travel with the team.

Interim athletics director Steve Robertello, who as deputy was in charge of student-athlete services and the day-to-day operations of the department, could not be reached for comment.

If Hopkins and Taylor are not enrolled and certified, the Bulldogs will be without two of the four guards who have played 10 or more minutes per game.

Taylor ranks fifth in the conference in 3-point shooting, having hit 44.5 percent of his shots (53 of 119), and is third on the team in minutes (29.7) and points per game (11.4).

Hopkins, who has played in six games since returning from a back injury, is fifth on the team in minutes (27.1) and fourth in scoring (11.1).

Deshon Taylor has played some at the point this season when Hopkins was out, but filling behind Hopkins and Jahmel Taylor will be difficult. Ray Bowles Jr. is the only other guard in the Bulldogs’ regular rotation.

Sophomore Johnny McWilliams has played in 15 of 19 games, but is averaging 9.4 minutes and over the past five games has logged just 7, 6, 2 and 4 four minutes. He did not play on Saturday in an 89-80 victory over New Mexico when Jahmel Taylor scored 16 points and Hopkins had 13 with nine rebounds and four assists.

New Williams, a mid-year transfer from Auburn, has played in just one game since becoming eligible for the start of conference play. He was on the floor for three minutes in a Jan. 3 overtime loss at Utah State.

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Bulldogs could be down two key pieces at San Diego State. Why will surprise you."