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F Dennis Hopson (Buckeye all-time leading scorer, B1G POY, NBA Champion)

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Article published Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Hopson, Wood get chances in Florida
By DONALD EMMONS
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

For Hopson, who was drafted No. 3 overall in the 1987 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets, the opportunity to join a college basketball coaching staff is something he has longed for since returning to school and earning a degree a year ago from Ohio State.

Hopson has worked as an assistant coach in the Continental Basketball Association and coached his Hopson Elite AAU Basketball Club. He briefly held the position of coach of the now-defunct Toledo Ice/Knights of the American Basketball Association last year.

Hopson, whose 2,096 career points remain tops in Ohio State's record book, can relate to how Wood may have felt before he contacted him about attending Northwood.

He dealt with his share of setbacks trying to find a coaching job before Massimino offered him a position.

"It's been frustrating because there are guys I thought I could count on I found out I couldn't count on," Hopson said. "It has taught me something about life."

Hopson said an informal encounter with Massimino at the Final Four in Atlanta led to the opportunity to join Northwood's coaching staff.

"I'm working under a guy that sees something in me and it's a great opportunity," Hopson said. "I'm never forgetting that."

As for Wood, Hopson said he recalled facing the Perrysburg standout a few times when his AAU team took on Wood's AAU team during previous summers.

"He's perfect for us because in today's talent, this kid can shoot the basketball," Hopson said.
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toledoblade.com -- Hopson, Wood get chances in Florida
 
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HOPSON?S CHOICE

Twenty years after setting OSU scoring records, Dennis Hopson sets out to prove himself again
by Jeff McCallister / AUGUST 2, 2007

Dan Trittschuh
?I tried and tried to get into coaching?: At age 42, Hopson has landed his first college job, with Rollie Massimino at Florida?s Northwood University

So it has come to this for Dennis Hopson, leading scorer in Ohio State basketball history, former No. 3 pick in the draft, wearer of an NBA championship ring.
His new boss is a 72-year-old man he met while both were standing in line for tickets to watch the basketball Buckeyes play in the NCAA championship game in Atlanta four months ago. To land the new job as an assistant coach at a small Florida college that didn?t have a basketball team two years ago, he had to pester the man every day for weeks until he finally relented and gave him a job.

?I?ve had too many people tell me too many things to just sit back and wait for anyone to call me back,? Hopson said. ?He told me he might be able to help me, and he didn?t know me from Adam, but I called him every day. I?m sure it bugged him, but you know what? He took every one of my calls.?
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Hopson scored 2,096 points during his four years at Ohio State, including almost 30 per game in 1986-87, his senior season, when he beat out Steve Alford as Big Ten Player of the Year. He had also helped lead the Buckeyes to the 1986 NIT championship.

But his education was something less than complete.

?I remember coming to Ohio State as a super-na?ve kid,? he said. ?I kept my grades just good enough to stay eligible and didn?t really put much effort into getting an
education.?
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The Other Paper
 
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Article published September 30, 2009
Former Bowsher, OSU star Hopson signs with BGSU as assistant coach
BLADE STAFF

Dennis Hopson, who starred at Bowsher High School and Ohio State, signed a contract with Bowling Green State University to be an assistant coach with the men's basketball team Wednesday.

Hopson, who was drafted No. 3 overall in the 1987 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets, was an assistant the past few seasons in Florida with the legendary coach Rollie Massimino.

Hopson is the career scoring leader at Ohio State with 2,096 points.
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toledoblade.com --
 
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Article published May 16, 2010
10 Questions with Dennis Hopson

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Dennis Hopson completed his first season as Bowling Green State University assistant basketball coach. The former Bowsher High School and Ohio State standout has enjoyed a return to the area after working as an assistant under Rollie Massimino at Northwood University in Florida. Hopson is the Buckeyes? all-time leading scorer (2,096 points). He was the Big Ten player of the year and the No. 3 pick in the 1987 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets.

1. What was it like being a member of the 1990-91 NBA championship Chicago Bulls team?
When I left New Jersey I was leading the team in scoring (15.8 points per game) and I started to feel good about myself. But [Nets coach] Bill Fitch and I didn?t see eye to eye. I never thought I was going to get traded but when I got traded and they called me and told me, I would have never dreamed I was going to get traded to Chicago. I?m looking at playing behind the game?s best player [Michael Jordan]. That?s the first thing I thought about. It was a great city and I wouldn?t trade the experience for nothing.

2. How was it playing with Michael Jordan?
He was very competitive. The same way he was going to play in the game was the way he was going to play in practice. The other thing I admired about Mike was he would never sit out of practice. P.J. [Phil Jackson) would try to make him take days off. He would not take days off.

3. Speaking of Phil Jackson, did he actually issue books to the players?
We read books and we would have to talk about them as well. I read now and I just finished reading a great book last night, but back then I wasn?t trying to read any books. I wasn?t trying to sit there and read 10 to 20 chapters of a book, but you had to do it. I don?t know if you ever knew what he was doing, but for him it was a message behind it and why he wanted you to do it.
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toledoblade.com -- The Blade ~ Toledo Ohio

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr5Xnx1GkVw]YouTube - 1987 NBA Draft - 3 - Dennis Hopson, Ohio State[/ame]
 
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Dennis Hopson Podcast:
Never Let An Agent Make Your Decisions

Ohio State?s Dennis Hopson talks about being labeled a bust, how he?s responsible for ending his NBA career so soon and explains how timing is everything in sports (run time is 5:00; transcript below the jump).

Lost Lettermen: This is Jose Bosch from LostLettermen.com and I?m currently being joined by Ohio State?s Dennis Hopson, the 1987 Big Ten Player of the Year and the No. 3 overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. Mr. Hopson, thank you very much for joining us today.

Dennis Hopson: Thanks for having me.

LL: Now you were drafted in 1987, you played your last NBA game by 1992 and then went on to have a long career overseas, but when media publications always look at past drafts, they always like to throw around the term busts and label guys as NBA busts.

Did you ever think that was a fair label for yourself or any other player that has been drafted in the past that they look at the career, they look at the number and they look at the years played and they say that guy is an NBA bust?

DH: I won?t comment on anybody else but myself, but people are going to say what they want to say but if they look at Dennis Hopson, my career average is ten point something a game. Now I could?ve stayed in the NBA but I made the mistake by listening to an agent when I had guaranteed money on the table.
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Dennis Hopson Podcast: Never Let An Agent Make Your Decisions – LostLettermen.com
 
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From star to teacher: Love of basketball lured Hopson back as college coach
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
By Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

hopson-1-11-art-g2kb87g3-1dennis-hopson-b-jpg.jpg

Scott W. Grau photo
Dennis Hopson, right, is in his second season at Bowling Green.
More men's basketball

In 2000, Dennis Hopson was more than comfortable sitting behind the wheel as the owner of a trucking company and co-owner of a go-kart track.

He had retired after five seasons in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings and seven more as a professional in Turkey, Spain, France, Israel and the Philippines.

Hopson was too old to play at his high level of expectation, but the game still flowed through him like blood. That void, he decided, had to be filled.

"I experienced so many things in basketball that so many people can never experience, and I wanted to get back," said Hopson, who is Ohio State's career leader in points with 2,096. "Basketball has done so many things for me, and I wanted to give back. I think I had a lot to offer.

"But I know basketball is a sport where you have to earn your spurs. No one is going to give you anything. It's a difficult business to get an opportunity."

Hopson, 45, is in his second season as an assistant coach at Bowling Green under Louis Orr. The Falcons are 6-9 but have won four of their past five games in what has been a major rebuilding job.

Hopson knows the major effort it took to get himself back into the game at such a high level.

His journey to build a resume began in 2003-04 as a scout with the Philadelphia 76ers and continued as an assistant at Northland High School in 2005-06 and Eastmoor Academy in 2006-07. He also coached AAU during the summer.

Cont..
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http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/01/11/from-star-to-teacher.html?sid=101
 
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