Over the last three years, John Kopriva has been recognized more for his leadership and academic achievements than his statistical contributions to the men’s basketball team.
But in his final year with the program, and his team demanding that he meet higher expectations, the senior captain said he is “all in – there’s no other option.”
After star forward Isaiah Armwood graduated in May, Kopriva must increase his production this season as a starter, or the Colonials’ frontcourt could suffer a crippling blow.
“There’s no other way,” Kopriva said. “I have one last chance to go before this, and it’s nice it’s not like a decision to put all your chips in, it’s like I’ve got this many chips left and we’re all in.”
Kopriva sat across a table last week from his soon-to-be post mate Kevin Larsen, a proven threat and starter last year, as both players took questions from the press. Several times during the session, Kopriva could overhear reporters asking Larsen if he thought the senior could handle the task.
Kopriva averaged 1.8 points and 2.5 rebounds last season, playing 12 minutes per game, a far cry from Armwood’s 12.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 32.0 minutes per game that impressed scouts and earned him a spot on a professional roster in Europe.
Head coach Mike Lonergan is not expecting Kopriva to fill the entire void, a simply unrealistic request, or make up Armwood’s numbers singlehandedly. Still, Lonergan said Kopriva will have to score about four points and five rebounds per game, or vice versa to keep the team at full strength.
“He can’t be one and two,” Lonergan said. “He’s going to get more minutes and he’s definitely going to play a bigger role and I think he’s ready for that. I think he’s excited about it, and you know it’s his time. We need him to have a breakout season.”
Kopriva is the easy choice for weakest link of Lonergan’s starters – the odd man out among four juniors starting together for the third consecutive season. Kopriva said he knows his success will mean proving most people wrong.
“I have people saying, ‘Oh, well he’s not going to be able to replace Zeek,’ and all these things, ‘Kopriva’s a weak spot,’ you know, and it’s all kind of noise out there,” Kopriva said.
But the chance to surprise naysayers is also a chance to reaffirm his belief that he is where he belongs, playing basketball at GW.
Kopriva, a native of Milwaukee, Wis., was a star quarterback at Marquette University High School, leading his team to a 10-3 record and the state semifinals as a senior. Originally, “the plan” was to play college football, he said, and he drew interest as a quarterback from Army, Brown, Princeton, Dartmouth and New Hampshire, according to ESPN.com.
But Kopriva said his body made a different choice for him as he developed into a basketball player and was getting nods from more elite programs to play on the court instead of the gridiron.
Kopriva had committed to the University of Vermont in 2011, when then-head coach Mike Lonergan announced he was leaving the Catamounts to go to GW. He opened the door for Kopriva to come with him, and the now-three-year captain followed Lonergan to Foggy Bottom.
“I really got the sense of a program on the rise,” Kopriva said. “I don’t know if I always have the best gut feeling, but I had a pretty good gut feeling about this one.”
He traded the America East Conference for the Atlantic 10, and it came with a rude awakening. Kopriva saw 12.7 minutes per game of playing time his freshman year, and the team had a 10-21 record. But he said he still saw promise in the program.
Kopriva played a smaller role his sophomore season, seeing an even greater decrease in playing time. He averaged 9.1 minutes per game as a quartet of freshmen jumped into the mix, generating buzz with fans. The team finished the season 13-17 overall.
Junior year was clearly a watershed moment for the team – a 24-9 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since 2007 – and though Kopriva himself didn’t have the same kind of breakout year, he said it’s been the highlight of his GW career and a “gratifying” experience that made him feel he was in the right place.
“Being able to make the tournament and really to have this team on the rise it was about a heck of a lot more than just me but being a part of that,” Kopriva said. “That was an awesome experience and did kind of make me feel like, ‘Wow, I made the right choice.'”
And Kopriva said he now has a plan to see his own performance improve. He’s worked on his jump shot and studied former Creighton star Doug McDermott, adding that he tries to emulate the Player of the Year’s ability to find the open shot, even with heavy coverage.
Kopriva knows he isn’t the player circled on every scouting report, but he is also ready to use that to his advantage.
“I think my job this year is to be a threat, and by that I mean they can’t leave me to double Kevin. They can’t leave me to go hedge out a screen on Joe,” Kopriva said. “I need to be able to be a threat that if they do double, they’ll dish out to me and I’ll finish. Or if they do hedge on Joe on a screen, I’ll pick and pop for a shot, and I think me being a threat opens up doors for our entire team.”
Kopriva said the arrival of Wake Forest transfer Tyler Cavanaugh has helped motivate him in practice. The 6-foot-9 forward will likely fill Kopriva’s spot next year after sitting this year out, as per NCAA transfer rules, which gives Kopriva a one-on-one opponent without the pressure to compete for minutes or a starting role.
But while Cavanaugh has a year before he can see game time, Kopriva said he still gets some of the rookie jitters looking at a fresh season and getting used to his new, higher expectations.
Larsen, the junior forward who will anchor the GW frontcourt, said Kopriva was ready for the challenge, and added that many of Kopriva’s contributions during past seasons never appeared on the stat sheet.
“He is going to go out with a bang,” Larsen said. “I’ve seen it in practice every day. He shoots the ball way better, he rebounds, he plays defense. He can do a lot of things the audience hasn’t really been able to see because me and Zeek took most of the minutes last year.”
After he’d answered the reporters’ questions and smiled for cameras, Kopriva went down to the court by himself. With music playing in the background, he started shooting, practicing free throws.
With only so many minutes left for Kopriva in the Smith Center arena, he said he knows this is his time to make a statement on the court and have an impact on the program.
“The last thing I’d want going into senior year is a team that’s ‘Oh, maybe they’re alright, they’re rebuilding, they’ll talk about next year,’” Kopriva said. “The fact that people are talking about this year, this for my senior year, it’s a great opportunity.”
