Robert M. Hopkins (November 3, 1934 – May 15, 2015) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach.

Biography

A native of Jonesboro, La., Hopkins participated in football, basketball, baseball, and track (He was invited to participate in the

1956 Olympic Games 1956 Olympics refers to both: *The 1956 Winter Olympics, which were held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy *The 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport even ...

as a broad jumper but declined in order to sign with the Syracuse Nationals.) Over the course of his career he achieved all-state honors in football (twice). basketball (twice) and baseball (four times). He's most noted for playing

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Grambling State University Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Herita ...

, where he scored 3,759 points (averaging 29.8 points per game for his career). He was the first Grambling player to make an all-American basketball team and the school's first professional player. Hopkins was an all-conference selection at Grambling all four years and made all-American three times. Over the course of his career he held the NAIA records for most career points (3,759), field goals made (1,403), free throws made (953), and rebounds (12,191). Hopkins was college basketball's all-time leading scorer until 1972 when Travis Grant of

Kentucky State University Kentucky State University (KSU and KYSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, and becoming a land-grant college in 1890, KSU is the second- ...

set the new record of 4,045 points. Hopkins then played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for four seasons (1956-1960) with the Syracuse Nationals and then the

Philadelphia Tapers The Philadelphia Tapers were an American professional basketball team that played a partial 1962–1963 season in the American Basketball League (1961–62). It traces its history to the 1950s AAU New York Tapers. AAU New York Tapers Originally ...

(1960-1962), but his career was eventually cut short due to a leg injury. In his first venture as head coach (1965–66) at Prairie View College, Hopkins' squad posted a 16-10 record and a second place finish in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SAC). Moving next to Alcorn A&M (State) in Mississippi in 1966, Hopkins coached the Braves to three straight SAC championships, obtaining Coach of the Year honors following each season. His first two Alcorn teams participated in the national tournament at Kansas City, Mo. advancing to the second and third rounds respectively. In his third year, his team sported a 27-0 record before they were defeated in the finals of the NCAA College Division by

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

. He was voted regional "Coach of the Year" during his last two years at Alcorn by the NAIA. Hopkins next served as the head coach for

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU ...

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

from 1969 to 1974, coaching future ABA and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

stars

Bruce Seals Bruce A. Seals (June 18, 1953 – December 15, 2020) was an American basketball player in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Seals was drafted in the first round by the Utah Stars, playing t ...

and "Slick" Watts. During his tenure, coach Hopkins led the team to 89 wins and 47 losses, four winning seasons, and two NAIA District 30 Championships, leading Xavier to the national NAIA Tournament in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

for two consecutive years (

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

). He would next serve on

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most V ...

's coaching staff with the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

and replaced Russell, his cousin, after the 1976–77 season. Hopkins posted a 5–17 record during the 1977–78 season before being fired; he was replaced by

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as ...

, who led the Sonics to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

that season and the following, winning the NBA championship in 1979. Hopkins was inducted into the NAlA Hall of Fame in 1963, and elected into the

College Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...

in 2013. He died of heart and kidney failure on May 15, 2015, and was his funeral was held at St Monica Catholic Church on

Mercer Island Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to it ...

References

External links

BasketballReference.com: Bob Hopkins (as coach)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Bob 1934 births 2015 deaths African-American basketball players Alcorn State Braves basketball coaches American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from Louisiana Centers (basketball) College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Grambling State Tigers men's basketball coaches Grambling State Tigers men's basketball players Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks men's basketball coaches National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees People from Jonesboro, Louisiana Power forwards (basketball) Prairie View A&M Panthers basketball coaches Seattle SuperSonics head coaches Southern Jaguars basketball coaches Syracuse Nationals draft picks Syracuse Nationals players Xavier Gold Rush basketball coaches African-American Catholics 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people