David Dirk Hoppen (born March 13, 1964) is an American former professional

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 who played in the

National Basketball Association 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 S ...

(NBA) and other leagues. Hoppen played

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 ...

for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

, and is the program's all-time leading scorer. He was named All- Big Eight in each of his last three seasons and is generally considered one of the top players in school history. A 6'11"

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, Hoppen was selected by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

in the third round (65th pick overall) of the 1986 NBA draft and played six NBA seasons.

High school career

Born and raised in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, Hoppen attended

Omaha Benson High School Omaha Benson High School Magnet, Benson High Magnet, or Benson High, is located at 5120 Maple Street in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, in the Benson community of Omaha. The original site of Benson High was the current building that houses Benson W ...

where he was a multi-sport athlete for the "Bunnies." As a junior, Hoppen led the Bunnies to a 21–4 record, averaging 15.8 points and 13.2 rebounds per game and was named first-team all-state. In the postseason, he led Benson to an exciting Nebraska Class A state finals. In the semifinal, the Bunnies outlasted Lincoln High School 64–62 in double-

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

. This landed the team in the state final, where they lost a hotly contested game to

Creighton Prep Creighton Preparatory School (simply referred to as Creighton Prep or Prep) is a private, Jesuit high school for boys in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was established in 1878 under the name Creighton College and is located in the Roman Cath ...

, 54–53. Hoppen was named to both the class A and all-class tournament teams. In his senior season, Hoppen was again named first-team all-state after averaging 24.3 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. The Nebraska high school class of 1982 is generally considered one of the best in state history, as the entire starting five accepted

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

scholarship offers – Hoppen and Mike Martz to the University of Nebraska, Kerry Trotter to Marquette,

Ron Kellogg Ronald Allison Kellogg Jr. (born December 19, 1962) is a retired American college and professional basketball player, best known for his college days as a left-handed sharpshooter for the successful Larry Brown-coached Kansas Jayhawks teams of ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

and Bill Jackman became one of

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

coach

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five natio ...

's first recruits (though he later transferred to join Hoppen and Martz with the Cornhuskers). The team was so strong that future NBA player

Bart Kofoed Bart Kofoed (born March 24, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player. At 6'4" (1.93 m) he played as a small forward/shooting guard. Kofoed attended Hastings College before transferring to Kearney State College (now University of ...

was relegated to the second team. On the national AAU circuit, these players formed the nucleus of the "Nebraska Basketball Development Association" team that was strong enough to finish fourth at a Las Vegas tournament. Hoppen's personal legacy as one of the top high school players in state history is shown in his presence on the

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...

's 2005 list of the top 100 Nebraska athletes and his 1998 induction into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame. Hoppen was highly recruited, with his finalist list consisting of Nebraska, Notre Dame,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, Kansas and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. He ultimately narrowed this down to a decision between Nebraska and Notre Dame. Notre Dame coach

Digger Phelps Richard Frederick "Digger" Phelps (born July 4, 1941) is an American former college basketball coach, most notably of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1971 to 1991. For 20 years, from 1993 to 2014, he served as an analyst on ESPN. He got the n ...

focused his recruiting pitch on his ability to help Hoppen become a first round NBA draft choice, but the Omaha center ultimately chose Nebraska as a school where he could help establish a tradition.

College career

Hoppen arrived at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

in the Fall of 1982. The 6'11" center was a particularly highly anticipated recruit as the

Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

had gone 16–12 the previous season with no starter taller than 6'6. He immediately entered the starting lineup for coach

Moe Iba Henry W. "Moe" Iba (born May 31, 1939) is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Memphis State University, now known as the University of Memphis, from 1966 to 1970, Nebraska from 1980 to 1986, and Te ...

's 1982–83 team, averaging 13.9 points and 5 rebounds per game. The Huskers experienced team success with their new inside presence, finishing tied for third in the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

and earning a bid to the

1983 National Invitation Tournament The 1983 National Invitation Tournament was the 1983 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Thirty-two teams accepted invitations to the tournament.

(NIT). Once there, the Huskers defeated

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

and TCU to earn a spot in the tournament final four at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. However, the team lost their semifinal matchup to

Ray Meyer Raymond Joseph Meyer (December 18, 1913 – March 17, 2006) was an American men's collegiate basketball coach from Chicago, Illinois. He was well known for coaching at DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, compiling a 724–354 record. Meyer ...

's DePaul team, despite Hoppen scoring 15 points. As a sophomore, Hoppen became one of the top players in the

. He was one of only two players in the league (with

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Wayman Tisdale Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma,

) to score double-figures in each of his team's games, and was named first-team all-conference. He averaged 19.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, again leading the Cornhuskers to the 1984 NIT. There, Hoppen propelled the Cornhuskers past in-state rival Creighton in the first round by scoring a game-high 25 points, including a basket and a technical

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

in the final seconds to seal the 56–54 victory. In the next round, Nebraska lost a close 58–57 contest to Xavier in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, despite Hoppen's game-high 22 points. Hoppen enjoyed a college rivalry with Creighton center and future NBA player

Benoit Benjamin Lenard Benoit Benjamin e-NOYT(; born November 22, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1st round (3rd overall) of the 1985 NBA Draft. A 7'0" center from Creighton Univers ...

. While

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

Benjamin was a much bigger name in national recruiting scene, Hoppen had some of his best games in match-ups against the Omaha school. Though a big man, Hoppen was known as a finesse player with a deft shooting touch. He employed a jump hook and a variety of other offensive weapons in the paint.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1987–88 , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 3, , 0, , 11.7 , , .364 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 2.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1987–88 , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 36, , 8, , 16.9 , , .465 , , .000 , , .864 , , 4.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988–89 , style="text-align:left;",

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, 77, , 36, , 18.4 , , .564 , , .500 , , .727 , , 5.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1989–90 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 2, , 13.5 , , .390 , , .000 , , .800 , , 3.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990–91 , style="text-align:left;",

, 19, , 0, , 5.9 , , .563, , .000 , , .800 , , 1.6 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990–91 , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 11, , 0, , 3.9 , , .500 , , .000 , , .667 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1991–92 , style="text-align:left;",

, 11, , 0, , 3.6 , , .286 , , .000 , , .500 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1992–93 , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 2, , 0, , 5.0 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 169, , 46, , 14.2 , , .518 , , .200 , , .751, , 3.8, , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 5.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, style="text-align:left;", Philadelphia , 3, , 0, , 3.0 , , 1.000 , , .000, , .000, , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0

College

References

External links

Dave Hoppen NBA statistics
@ NBA.com
Italian League statsNebraska Cornhuskers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoppen, Dave 1964 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy Atlanta Hawks draft picks Basketball players from Nebraska Basket Rimini Crabs players Centers (basketball) Charlotte Hornets expansion draft picks Charlotte Hornets players Fargo-Moorhead Fever players Golden State Warriors players Milwaukee Bucks players Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball players New Jersey Nets players Philadelphia 76ers players Rapid City Thrillers players Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska Topeka Sizzlers players American men's basketball players Universiade medalists in basketball Universiade silver medalists for the United States