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

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osugrad21

osugrad21

Capo Regime
Staff member
Toledo Blade

4/16

IN THEIR WORDS
For Hopson, hoops success takes backseat to degree

Bowsher alumnus Dennis Hopson is Ohio State's all-time leading scorer with 2,096 points.



In Their Words is a weekly feature appearing Sundays in The Blade's sports section. Blade sports writer Dave Hackenberg talked with Dennis Hopson, who starred at Bowsher High School, and later at Ohio State before playing five years in the NBA.
Dennis Hopson graduated from Bowsher High School in 1983 as the school's career scoring leader despite playing on the varsity team full-time for just two seasons. He left Ohio State University four years later as that school's all-time leading scorer, as well, with 2,096 points, a record that still stands. He averaged 29 points as a senior and was selected by the Big Ten's coaches and media representatives as the league's player of the year ahead of Indiana's Steve Alford. But that isn't the best part of this story. Hopson was drafted No. 3 overall in the first round of the 1987 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets and played in the league for five years with New Jersey, Chicago and Sacramento. His best season was 1990, his last of three years with the Nets, when he played in 79 games and scored 1,251 points, an average of 15.8 points. Among his greatest memories was the following season, though, when he averaged 11.9 minutes and scored just 4.3 points, but played for an NBA championship team in Chicago as Michael Jordan's backup. But that isn't the best part of this story, either. Neither is the seven years he played pro basketball overseas in three different countries, where he padded considerably the $3.8 million he earned as an NBA player. Nor is it the Powell, Ohio, resident's success as a businessman in the trucking industry as part owner of Circleville Raceway Park, a go-kart race track, or as a land developer.

Dennis Hopson averaged 29 points per game during his senior season at Ohio State.

So, you ask, what is the best part of the story? On June 11, at age 41 and 19 years removed from when he first left Ohio State, Hopson will take part in OSU commencement exercises and receive his degree in social work. "IT WILL BE the best feeling I've ever had, even better than the day I was drafted. Money comes and money goes, but I'm about to get something I can take with me to the grave. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am. "I guess there are three reasons it's so important to me. First, I always promised myself I'd go back and get my degree. Secondly, I have a son, Judere, who is a sophomore at the University of Toledo and I want to graduate before he does. I think it's important that he sees his dad, no matter what my age, back in school and getting my degree. And, third, I'd really like to be a college coach someday and that's difficult without a degree." "I HAVE DONE some semi-pro coaching and NBA scouting, have worked with some high school teams around Columbus and am involved with an AAU program. I enjoy coaching and think I could offer something at the college level. I think I have a lot of knowledge and could kick some of it back to younger players. You have to teach the game the proper way, starting with fundamentals. A lot of guys today pattern a game after what they see on TV. But you'd better be able to handle the fundamentals before you try the flash. "I was influenced by some really good coaches. It started with Dick Crowell at Bowsher, then Eldon Miller, who was a solid fundamentals guy, and Gary Williams at Ohio State. The NBA was different. Those coaches had a style of ball I wasn't used to playing. "Running businesses is fun. I was pretty much self-taught in business and I like doing it. As I said, though, I think there's a lot I can pass along to young basketball players. I'd like to get back to sports and the teaching side." "I WASN'T TOO surprised when I was traded after my best season with the Nets. I felt I was working my way up to the level I was capable of playing at. But [coach] Bill Fitch and I didn't see eye-to-eye about much. I felt like I was being held back. I guess he thought he punished me with the trade. Maybe he did. Maybe playing behind Michael sent me backwards, as far as my NBA development, because he was such a great player and demanded so much playing time. "But you know what? I played for the NBA champions. It's something every player dreams of achieving. There have been superstars who left the league without a ring. I don't know as how it bothers some of them. Today, it's all about the money. The only young star out there today with the old-school mentality is LeBron [James]. He just wants to win." "WHEN I DECIDED to go back to school they told me I was a year and a half away from my degree. It was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think a lot of people might have said, 'Uh-oh, can't do it.' But now I'm about a month away and it's really something. "I went to Columbus State, a community college, to get back into it after being away from school for so long. Then I transferred back to Ohio State. The social work major is a continuation of what I'd started years ago. No way could I have started a whole new major. Just having the degree, though, will open some doors to what I'd like to do. "It's funny. A lot of the professors know who I am, but the kids in my classes are around my son's age. A lot of them were born in '87 when I was leaving Ohio State. Some of them hear I was a basketball player and tell me they're going to Google me to see if I was any good."
 
Now there's a story that was enjoyable to read. Nice to see Hopson recognize the value of education, and finish his degree. Wish there were more athletes, and ex-athletes, that would follow his lead. Congrats to Dennis.
 
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Great read, Thanks grad.

Glad to see a fellow Bowsher Rebel getting his degree. :)

It's also cool to see him give a nod to his two coaches in high school. Eldon Miller was my Phys Ed teacher.

edit: my bad, wrong 'Mr. Miller'. :lol:
 
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Last Updated: Oct 11th, 2006 - 15:10:07

One-On-One with Dennis Hopson
By Tracy Graven
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Oct 11, 2006, 14:49


Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.

Mention the name Dennis Hopson, and many outside the cities of Toledo, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio scratch their heads, having a hard time remembering who he was.

Note that he sports the diamond-encrusted ring of an NBA Champion, and the vision of red and black No. 2 on the whiteness of a Chicago Bulls jersey comes into focus.

Dare to insinuate that he was a major contributor to the Bulls' championship, and you're likely going to get the same kind of quizzical sneer Michael Jordan used to give referees when they'd whistle a touch foul on him.

What's ironic, is Hopson might well agree with you.

How does a No. 3 pick in the (1987) NBA Draft play a mere five years, for three different team, win a championship, and then summarily disappear from the basketball landscape as we know it?

Fifteen years later, I caught up with Hopson in his hometown -- Toledo -- now the new head coach of the American Basketball Association's Toledo Ice, and he had some amazing answers for questions like that:

Coach, it's been 15 years since you won a championship with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls ... what have you been up to for a decade and a half?

After the NBA, I played another seven years in Europe, as you know. After that, I went into coaching, helping Stacey King with the Rockford Lightning (as an assistant), and then I followed him to Sioux Falls. I've had my own business for a while now, but I also did some college scouting for (76ers head coach) Randy Ayers at Philadelphia, but I left when they let that whole coaching team go. I want to coach at the collegiate level, so, naturally, I went back to school to finish my degree. I know that to get on the college side, I'll need that degree, so I finished it up.

So is coaching the Ice the first step in a natural evolution to getting a coaching job in the collegiate ranks, something for your resum??

I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make this successful, and myself successful. I'm really excited about the direction (Team owner) Chris (Dotson) is going with this team and what he wants to do here in Toledo, it's really positive. It's exciting, and if it goes like I think it will, I want to be here a long while. Also, I plan on bringing in someone who I feel will be a great assistant -- I'm not going to mention them by name yet -- but it's someone everyone knows.

Being a rookie head coach, is there something you can glean from your playing days in New Jersey, Chicago, or Sacramento? Or even at Ohio State or in Europe?

From my career, I learned that everyone -- coaching-wise -- has their own style. If you play the game the proper way, it doesn't really matter who you're playing for. I know people looked at me as a No. 3 pick and ask "how come he doesn't score 20 points a game?" and I'll tell you why ... I wasn't selfish enough. Today, there are a ton of guys who can score 20 points a game because they're getting 40 minutes a game. But there are few guys in today's game who you can turn to to help you win a ball game. LeBron James is one of them, though ...

And D-Wade? Steve Nash?

Steve Nash is definitely one. We had that (at Ohio State) in Curtis Wilson. That's not around much today, though. Today's game is about 'greed.' And, unfortunately, many GMs are falling into that same trap, feeding this greed, causing the younger kids that want to play this game the wrong way to play. You take a guy like LeBron, he doesn't care or talk about the kind of car he's driving or the jewelry he's wearing -- if he does care, it doesn't show, at least in the way he approaches the game and the way he plays the game.

Yes, many have compared him to Michael Jordan. Of course, since Mike retired, everyone who has any talent has been labeled "the next Michael Jordan." But LeBron is more reminiscent of Magic Johnson, who had the all-around package and was a good guy both on and off the court.

I was just going to say that, Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson was my idol. LeBron is a lot like Magic, a lot. -- except LeBron can jump a lot higher (laughing).

Well, that answers my question about who your biggest influence in basketball was. I would have though maybe Michael. What was it like playing with Jordan?

Michael's a good guy. It also took him time to learn the game, to learn to play with a team, and he did that. But, he also knew he could take over a game and when he had to. He made you compete every day in practice, he made you better in that way. But it was tough to play behind him. Ask Sedale Threatt. Ask Sam Vincent. I'm sure they'll tell you the same thing I will. When there was a game with you and Michael in it, you knew Michael wasn't going to be on the bench very long. So, you never got a chance to show people what you can do. I think that's what happened to me, not only in Chicago, but in Sacramento, too.

And New Jersey?

I was traded to Chicago because (then-New Jersey coach) Bill Fitch and I didn't get along. But then I go to Chicago and I'm behind Michael, and in Sacramento I'm behind Mitch Richmond and Spud Webb, so ....

So you got a ring, but never got to enjoy a career or your own identity?

If I would have come out a little more selfish, I would have been able to max out my talent. Take a guy like Richard Hamilton, he did it right.

Yeah, when he was a Wizard with Jordan, he aped Michael's every move, almost like a little brother, wasn't he?

Exactly. Rip has maxed out his talent, but he also plays within the flow of the team. He's a great example.

Tell me how it feels to come back home, with so many life lessons, and have the opportunity to be able to direct a team of your own, here in your hometown.

That's gonna be a great feeling. This is an exciting situation and experience, to take something from ground zero and build it. Something like this can either make you or break you. There are a lot of people who wouldn't do that. But I have learned how to compete.

I would imagine so, having had that frustration of being behind everyone else's name.

I was passive ... no, I'll say it ... I was too passive. In high school and college, I was successful for so long that when that happened, it dealt a big blow to my confidence. I don't know if you've ever gone through that, but it's a hard thing to have to deal with when you're not used to it.

What can you say to the people of Toledo? After all, they're the ones who will make or break you and the Ice.

I'm looking forward to coming back home. Taking something that could be a big success and helping it get to that point, it will take all of us. I'm also looking forward to seeing people I haven't seen in years and looking for their support.

Who do you have coming back?

I still need to talk to (last year's coach) Melvin Newborn and see who wants to come back. In fact, after the try-out camp in Columbus (October 21-22), I plan to come back here to Toledo and have one here the following weekend (October 28-29).

I see that you put out an all-points bulletin over the internet, even telling interested players to call you directly on your cell phone. What kind of players are you looking for?

You always need a great point guard. But a big man that can anchor the post is also what I need. The ability to pass the ball is a plus, especially for what I want to do.

Still not budging on who your assistant will be?

(Laughing) He's been around the game. He's been a college coach for 15 years, a close friend of mine who would love to come and join us.

What one piece of advice would you give someone who comes in -- or even cold calls you on your cell phone -- tries out, and doesn't make your team?

To keep working. But that depends on where they're trying to go with their career. I mean, this is semi-pro, but you have to play hard because you never know who is watching. Don't put your hands in the future of an agent unless you know for sure he's the right person. That would be another piece of advice. Once again, the 'greed' factor.

Bad experience, I take it?

That's what happened in Sacramento. I was told to wait. I kept getting calls from Sacramento that they wanted me to come back, but I was told to wait and then the agent got greedy and they (eventually) went with Vincent Askew and I was left where I was. They passed on my experience to take a younger player. You've got to take control of your own life. Talent can be found anywhere. Drive and competitiveness usually don't stop, though. Like I tell my son, when you get knocked down, you get back up.

It's not how many times you fall, it's how many you get back up ... and as long as that number is at least plus-one, you're a winner.

Exactly. Exactly.

Coach Hopson may have 20/20 vision in his rearview mirror, but he seems more interested in forging ahead and looking at the grand horizon that the windshield provides versus hindsight.

If anything, he's learned from life's lessons and seems more than adequately prepared to pass his degree in the School of Life on to anyone who wants to succeed.

Many may say that Dennis Hopson never realized his potential ... and he would agree wholeheartedly.

I would say that Hopson's opportunities are never lost ... simply taken by others. It knocks only once, but through his own drive, diligence, competitiveness and desire to right the ship by passing his lessons on to others, I'd say opportunity is leaning on life's doorbell for Dennis Hopson.

And those who listen to his wisdom.

The door bell is ringing.

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.

Hopson is looking forward with a zeal not seen since his days back home in the state of Ohio.

Circle of life, indeed.
Click to expand...

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_18900.shtml
 
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I would guess that he's trying to convince JJ to be an assistant with his Toledo team, seeing as there can't be any teams left in the NBA willing to give him another contract.

And, though it might sound like an excuse for a less-than-stellar career, I somewhat agree with Hopson's assertion that you have to be selfish (scoring) to make a name for yourself in the NBA, if you don't excel at something else. That is why so many people have a hard time enjoying the modern game. Look at the Knicks roster...full of guys who've appeared "okay" in the NBA because of selfish play. As a team, they are horrible. And, most likely, if you took a successful team of Greeks, and brought them to the NBA, they would be moderately successful, as evidenced by the world championships. The players are looking for that contract, and the way to get it is by force of numbers....which doesn't always bode well for your development within a team.

Unfortunately, I always remember Hopson for suffering the stomach flu against Indiana in the Buckeyes' big game his senior year, before a national TV audience. He went out of the game, and the Bucks got mauled.
 
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bilde


Article published Friday, October 27, 2006

New coach, owner give Ice fresh look
By DONALD EMMONS
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

Toledoan Chris Dotson is committed to making the Toledo Ice a successful venture.

Dotson, owner of SoulRiver Records Corporation, a music/record company based in Minnesota with an office in Toledo, introduced to the media on hand at Bowsher High School yesterday a group of local basketball icons he believes will assist him in making the Ice as recognizable around Toledo as the Mud Hens and the Storm.

Dotson introduced Dennis Hopson, the former Bowsher and Ohio State basketball standout, as the Ice's second head coach in as many seasons. He replaces Melvin Newbern, a former Scott and University of Minnesota standout, who remains with the team, assuming the director of basketball operations title.

"He's one of our own, born right here in Toledo, Ohio," said Dotson, of Hopson, who played basketball 13 years professionally and won an NBA title with the 1991 Chicago Bulls.

Dotson also announced that his management team includes former Scott coach Ben Williams as chairman of the advisory board and longtime Maumee coach Jim Robinson as team president. Steve Corggens, who served as an assistant coach/trainer last season, will assume the same duties this season.

Hopson, who has worked previously as an assistant coach in the Continental Basketball Association, believes the Ice can succeed as a professional sports franchise in Toledo. He said he passed on a couple of opportunity's to coach other teams to become a part of his hometown club.

"It's an honor to be back and I'm looking forward to this upcoming season," Hopson said, while standing in front of the Bowsher and Ohio State jerseys he wore during his playing careers. "Nothing can replace where you come from.

"We're going to put a good product on the floor and we're not going to worry about last season."

On the floor, the Ice proved to be a success in its inaugural season. The team produced a winning record and qualified for the ABA playoffs. However, the Ice struggled off the court.

The club failed to attract a large fan base for home games and also ran into financial troubles. Coaches and players stopped receiving paychecks halfway through the season. It ultimately led to Dotson recently taking over ownership.

Dotson said the financial issues with the coaches and players of last season have been resolved.

"I am not going to let it fail," said Dotson.

Dotson said Ice home games will be played at the SeaGate Centre.

The team is holding a free agent/veterans camp tomorrow through Monday in Toledo. For more info call 419-242-8423 or e-mail [email protected].

Contact Donald Emmons at:
[email protected]
or 419-724-6302.
Click to expand...

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/SPORTS09/610270435
 
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HabaneroBuck;631224; said:
I would guess that he's trying to convince JJ to be an assistant with his Toledo team, seeing as there can't be any teams left in the NBA willing to give him another contract.

And, though it might sound like an excuse for a less-than-stellar career, I somewhat agree with Hopson's assertion that you have to be selfish (scoring) to make a name for yourself in the NBA, .
Click to expand...

eh, sounds like sour grapes to me. He had a less than stellar career because he wasn't good enough. No shame in that. Most NCAA stars aren't.
 
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