Damon Lopez

Damon Anthony Lopez (born August 15, 1968) is an American former basketball player known for his collegiate career at Fordham University between 1988 and 1991, where he was the Patriot League's first-ever player of the year in 1991. He also had a professional basketball career for eight years following college. Lopez played the center position and set a number of Fordham records for blocks. In 2015 he was selected to the Patriot League Men's Basketball 25th Anniversary Team.

Playing career A native of the Bronx, New York City, Lopez attended Cardinal Hayes High School. He stood 6'1" and was cut from the basketball team in both his junior and senior years. That year he averaged 5.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game.

Fordham left the MAAC prior to the start of Lopez's senior year in 1990–91 to join the Patriot League, which had formed in 1986. He started 32 of 33 games (both career highs) and averaged 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, and 2.0 steals per game. He was named to the All-Patriot League First Team and won the Patriot League Player of the Year award, which was the first time it was awarded in league history.

Following college, Lopez went undrafted in the 1991 NBA draft. He had tryouts for the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets but was never signed, so he instead played professionally in various international countries for the next eight years. He also had a stint playing in the United States Basketball League before retiring.