Bob Hopkins

Robert M. Hopkins (November 3, 1934 – May 15, 2015) was an American basketball 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 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 is most noted for playing college basketball at Grambling State University, 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 next served as the head coach for the Xavier University of Louisiana Gold Rush from 1969 to 1974, coaching future ABA and NBA stars Bruce Seals 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 for two consecutive years (1972 and 1973). He would next serve on Bill Russell's coaching staff with the Seattle SuperSonics 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, who led the Sonics to the NBA Finals that season and the following, winning the NBA championship in 1979.

Hopkins was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1963, and elected into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

Hopkins died of heart and kidney failure on May 15, 2015, and his funeral was held at St Monica Catholic Church on Mercer Island.

Career playing statistics

NBA Source

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record NBA