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

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Dennis Hopson - Help Us Retire his Jersey
wvabuckeye
Posted by wvabuckeye on Monday, 16 January 2012 in Basketball

If you want to get to know a former Buckeye basketball superstar that's as humble as they come, then look no further than Dennis Hopson on twitter. The former buckeye is currently an assistant coach with The Bowling Green Falcons and spends his spare time on twitter with some of his biggest fans. I can be counted as one of them. I've been saying for years that Jay Burson is my all time favorite buckeye hoopster and I even got to sit down recently and talk with him on the phone. That doesn't compare to the times I've spent with "Hop" on twitter and it leads me to where we are. I've recently started working with the guys at The Buckeye Battle Cry and we are kicking off an all time tourney between the greatest teams and in a couple cases we included the teams of the greatest players. Hops clearly had the best season for any Buckeye ever during the 1986-87 season and most of the records he set stand today. Here is an excerpt from tBBC article that hit today about Dennis' accomplishments.

Dennis Hopson in the Record Books

Dennis had one of the best seasons overall in Buckeye history. He holds the single season scoring record of 958 for an average of 29.1, which ranks third overall in Ohio State history for averages. Holds the field goals made in a single season of 338 and is the single season leader in field goals attempted with a staggering 653. He holds the record for most free throws made/attempted at 215/264. In the same year he dished out 120 assists while taking the ball away 71 times and helped his team to one of the best single season steals totals at 281. He is the all time leader in scoring with 2,096 points and a career average of 16.8 and helped his team to the #1 scoring spot with 2,802 points in a season. That record wasn?t broken until the 2007 Oden and Conley team came along. He holds 8 of the top 50 scoring games in Ohio State history and only Gary Bradds has more at 10. He is second to only Jay Burson in career steals at 164. Dennis was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994.

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http://www.ourbuckeyehub.com/chatte...elp-us-retire-his-jersey#.TxSPszGD5LY.twitter
 
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The drive to retire Dennis Hopson's number
February 14, 2012
A drive to have the number of Ohio State's all-time leading scorer, Dennis Hopson, is gaining momentum. This is the story behind how the most recognized Buckeye blogs began the push to see Hopson's jersey hanging in the rafters in Columbus, Ohio.

By Chuck Strawn
Special to FOX Sports Ohio


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Rick Osentoski-US Presswire
Ohio State's all-time leading scorer, Dennis Hopson, played from 1983-1987. He is now an assistant coach at Bowling Green.

In an era defined by highlights, by ?Oh! Did you see that!!? tweets and texts to friends, every fan is convinced that the others they know need to recognized the greatness of their favorite star or team.

But, as quickly as the excitement builds, it also dissipates; athletes who are all over today?s timeline or emailed YouTube clips are soon out of the public conscious as ?Next!? becomes ?Now?.

Sure, there are those who transcend the sport- the hall of famers, the heroes of a championship team, the persons responsible for iconic moments in a franchise or team history- those names are readily offered up by the fanatics and casual fans.

Most, though, end up in the ?Hey, what happened to?? file, the ?I remember that guy?? area of conversations between people who are deeply knowledgeable about the sport, or the discussions where followers of an earlier area are defending their favorites against the young guns of the modern day.

What does it take to be recognized, though, by the institution itself? For some Ohio State basketball fans, that question has been answered in their quest to have the University retire the number of the career scoring leader, Dennis Hopson.

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http://www.foxsportsohio.com/02/14/...ing_ohiostate.html?blockID=665698&feedID=3652
 
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Movement: Retire Hopson's OSU jersey!!!
Updated: Wednesday, 22 Feb 2012,
by Howard Chen, FOX Toledo Sports Director

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (WUPW) - OurBuckeyeHub.com is trying to lead a movement to have the Buckeyes retire the jersey of the Scarlet and Grey's all-time leading scorer, current Bowling Green assistant coach Dennis Hopson.

When contacted about the possibility of Hopson's jersey being retired, Buckeyes officials responded by saying only "National players of the year are retired."

John Havlicek is an exception to the rule, but Ohio State said they retired his number because he was a teammate of 2-time National Player of the Year Jerry Lucas.

"Policies can be broken," said Hopson, who played his high school ball at nearby Bowsher.

Hopson's career scoring record of 2,096 points has stood for a quarter century, but has been mentioned more with another NW Ohio star, William Buford, threatening to break the mark this season.

"Your Duke's, your North Carolina's, if you've ever been in their arena, sometimes I wonder where they find the numbers for the guys that play today because seems like everybody else's numbers are in the rafters," Hopson said.

Hopson says he doesn't think about any perceived slight from the school he unquestionably loves. That thinking aspect's been taken over by Chris Hunt of OurBuckeyeHub.com. He is considered the ringleader of the online movement to put Hopson's name in the rafters.

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http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/sports...movement-retire-hopsons-osu-jersey-02212012hc

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Bob Hunter commentary: Ohio State halts retiring numbers of its stars
By Bob Hunter
The Columbus Dispatch Friday February 24, 2012

A noble campaign has failed. But it also seems likely to succeed.

The No. 32 worn by Dennis Hopson, Ohio State?s all-time leading scorer in basketball, will not be retired. Athletic director Gene Smith said that a decision has been made not to retire any more numbers in any sport.

But that doesn?t mean Hopson?s number won?t someday hang from the rafters in Value City Arena.

Smith said the school will find other ways to honor its best athletes. The precise manner hasn?t been determined, but Smith said in basketball that it would likely mean hanging a player?s jersey at the top of the arena with his or her number.

In other words, Hopson would get the recognition he deserves, but Lenzelle Smith Jr., the current player wearing No. 32, will get to keep his number. Whew.

?We will have recognition platforms depending on the sport,? Smith said. ?If you?re talking specifically basketball, it will probably be in the banner recognition area where their jersey will be up with their number. But the number won?t be retired. You get to a point where you don?t have enough numbers.?

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http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/stories/2012/02/24/osu-halts-retiring-numbers-of-its-stars.html
 
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I actually agree with Gene Smith to a point on this. There have to be standards that a player meets in order to have his jersey retired. If there weren't, then we would eventually run out of numbers. The current requirements a player must meet are to be a national player of the year award winner. The only exception to that is Havlicek, and he became one of the greatest NBA players of all time.

Hopson, as good as he was, does not meet the set requirement, and his career, in my IMO, was not spectacular enough to merit jersey retirement.

On the flip side, while I don't agree with Smith no longer retiring jerseys (Turner and Troy still need theirs retired!), I would not be against putting up a ring of honor for other players, who do not meet the requirements to have their number retired, but were still very, very good.
 
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Hopson To Be Named to Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame
Posted: Jun 28, 2013
13abc.com David Holmes - email

(Source: BG Sports Information)

The Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame panel has announced that Bowling Green State University men's basketball assistant coach Dennis Hopson will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. Hopson joins 14 other selections for the upcoming class.
"It is such an honor to be a part of this elite group," Hopson said. "Without the help of all the great people in my life, none of this would be possible. My commitment, dedication and love for the game has paid off and I really appreciate all the people who have recognized my efforts and work."

Beginning his fifth year as an assistant coach at BGSU, Hopson was a standout player at E. L. Bowsher High School in Toledo before going on to Ohio State. At OSU, Hopson was Big Ten Conference Player of the Year in 1987 and finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in program history.

Hopson was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, playing three seasons with the team that drafted him, the New Jersey Nets. He averaged 15.8 points per game in the 1989-90 season and was then traded to the Chicago Bulls, where he was a member of the 1991 NBA Champions. He was traded to Sacramento in the 1991-92 season and played 69 games with the Kings before the end of his NBA career. He went on to play seven years overseas before retiring in 1999.

Following the completion of his playing career, Hopson was an assistant coach with the Rockford Lightning and the Sioux Falls Sky Force in the CBA. He served as an NBA Scout for the Philadelphia 76ers from 2003-04 and held an internship as a varsity basketball assistant at Northland High School in Columbus, Ohio from 2005-06. He was then an assistant coach at Eastmoor Academy High School in Columbus for the 2006-07 season before moving on to an assistant coaching position at Northwood University in Florida under legendary coach Rollie Massimino.

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http://www.13abc.com/story/22717013/hopson-to-be-inducted-in
 
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Are you serious? Hopson is arguable the 2nd best OSU BB of all time and is without legitimate argument one of the top 5 of all time at OSU. NBA career has little to zero to do with it.

Hopson was our best on a team that had few stars. He drew special attention from opponents every game. He led in points, rebounding, and frequently assists. He was more worthy of a retired jersey than JJ, Havlicek, Turner, and Kellogg. Those were all great players while at OSU and had better NBA careers, but for 4 years, Hopson was incredible.
 
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