Dennis Hopson was named the third head men's basketball coach in program history at Lourdes in May of 2019.
Hopson enters 2023-2024, his fifth season both at Lourdes and as a collegiate head coach, with a 75-34 record. In 2019-2020, his first at Lourdes, he led the team to a tie for third place in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference standings, matching the highest finish in program history at the time. Lourdes was ranked as high as 13th in the NAIA Division II national poll in mid-January.
Hopson’s 2021-2022 squad set a school record with 24 victories before capturing the WHAC tournament title, its first in program history. The Gray Wolves advanced to the NAIA National Championships, falling on a buzzer-beater in the first round.
The Gray Wolves returned to the NAIA National Championships in 2023-2024 after posting a runner-up finish in the WHAC regular season, the school’s best finish ever in the conference.
Hopson has produced a pair NAIA Honorable Mention All-American selections during his time at Lourdes. In addition, he has had seven players named First Team All-WHAC and five others garner Second Team All-WHAC honors. He also had two players named to the WHAC All-Freshman Team and three named to the WHAC All-Defensive Team.
His student-athletes have also succeeded in the classroom. Hopson has produced four CoSIDA Academic All-District I First Team honorees as well as 10 members on the WHAC All-Academic Team. He also has produced nine NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
A native of Toledo, Hopson arrived at Lourdes with more than 30 years of basketball coaching, recruiting, and playing experience.
Hopson played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for five seasons. He was the third pick overall in the 1987 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets, where he played for three years. He also had stints with the Chicago Bulls, where he won a NBA Championship, and the Sacramento Kings. Following his NBA career, Hopson played seven more years in Europe.
Upon retiring from his playing career, Hopson was a regional scout for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2003-2004 before moving into the coaching ranks.
He began his collegiate coaching career at Northwood University, where he served as an assistant coach for two years under head coach Rollie Massimino. He was a part of a NAIA national quarterfinals team in 2007-2008 and helped guide the Timberwolves to a pair of Florida Sun Conference titles.
Hopson spent 2009-2014 as an assistant coach at Bowling Green State University for coach Louis Orr. He was an instrumental member of the coaching staff that helped the Falcons earn a berth in the 2012 CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament.
Hopson spent one season as the head boys coach at Bedford High School and also served as the Director of Basketball Operations for the YMCA of Greater Toledo prior to his arrival at Lourdes.
Hopson was a standout player at The Ohio State University, where he was an All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year in 1987. He is the Buckeyes’ all-time leading scorer, tallying 2,096 points during his four-year career. He also holds the school’s single season scoring record with 958 points in 1986-1987, a season in which he finished second nationally in scoring.
A member of the Ohio State Hall of Fame Class of 1994, Hopson was named to the John Wooden Award All-American Team and was named a First Team All-Big Ten selection in 1987.
Hopson received his Bachelor of Education in sports and leisure studies from Ohio State in 2006.
