The news dropped late Friday afternoon at the dawn of a new school year, suddenly enough that it was natural to wonder what was going on.
So I asked the man himself.
Everything good?
Fortunately …
“It is,” Dennis Hopson said.
I checked in with the Bowsher and Ohio State hoops legend — and one of our favorite people on the local sports scene — in the wake of his resignation after five successful seasons as the Lourdes men’s basketball coach.
Hopson struggled with the timing, but, ultimately, he said he was ready for a change, just as the university changed, too.
He came to Lourdes in 2019 under president Mary Ann Gawelek and athletic director Janet Eaton-Smith. Neither is still at the school, though Hopson did express his appreciation for new AD Jo Ann Gordon.
“I’m at an age now where I’m a comfort guy and I think I just started losing comfort,” said Hopson, 59. “It was time for me to move on and explore other options or opportunities and see where that may lead. … I’ve been thinking about this for the last couple of months.
“With the timing, I thought a lot about the kids on the team. What do you do? Are you making the right decision? I prayed on it and prayed on it, and I got the answer I was looking for. But I’m going to miss the kids a lot. I’m going to miss the coaching staff a lot. I’m going to miss good friends at the university.”
For Hopson, it was a run as rewarding as it was unlikely.
There was a time he imagined he would chase the biggest and brightest stages as a coach, just as he had has a player, when he became a Toledo prep legend, then the all-time leading scorer at Ohio State, then the No. 3 pick in the 1987 NBA draft, a champion on the Chicago Bulls, and a 14-year pro.
But he discovered some things are more important.
After spending five years as an assistant at Bowling Green, he could have gone off and kept grinding when Falcons coach Louis Orr was let go in 2014. He had an offer at Wright State and interest from others.
Hopson chose to stay home, moving back to Toledo to remain near his beloved parents, Carmack and Brunetta, and family.
“I didn’t want to go away,” he told me a few years ago. “I just said, ‘You know what, I’ve been selfish for too long. Now it’s time for me to give back to Toledo.’ … My mom and dad are getting older and I want to spend as much time with them as much as possible.”
He kept busy as a youth, AAU, and high school coach, and the director of basketball operations for the YMCA of Greater Toledo, then signed on at Lourdes.
Hopson did the program proud.
I remember that first season, with his parents in their regular seats behind the bench (Carmack passed away in 2021 at age 88) and the Gray Wolves climbing as high as 13th in the NAIA Division II rankings. And his teams kept rolling.
Hopson went 97-41 overall, winning at least 20 games every year except for the abridged pandemic season. In April, he was presented the Jack Bennett Man of the Year award, given annually to the non-Division I coach who best represents winning with integrity.
Yes, he wishes all that success would have opened the door for another DI opportunity by now.
“I've been really disappointed, to be honest,” Hopson said. “I’ve been disappointed because I think I bring a lot to the table. I know kids, and I know I can teach.”
But he savored his time at Lourdes just the same, and looks forward to what he calls the “fourth quarter of my career” — be it in coaching, business, or TV, or all of the above.
“For us to accomplish what we did, it was a great experience,” Hopson said. “The other thing, too, I had a lot of high-character kids — we graduated 19 kids — and I had a great coaching staff.
“I will definitely try to catch as many games as possible this season. I told the guys I’m just a phone call away. And I'm going to stay connected to the coaching staff [interim coach Jake Dupree and assistant Brett Lauf] as well, and be there for support. I want this thing to continue to track in the right direction, and I wish everybody nothing but the best.”
We’ll wish the same for Hopson.
Happy trails to one of the good guys.
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