Professional Basketball Player, Coach. For four seasons (1956 to 1960), he played at the power-forward and center positions in the National Basketball Association with the Syracuse Nationals. Born Robert M. Hopkins, he played collegiate basketball at Grambling State University and while with the Tigers, he earned National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American honors twice. Additionally, he averaged 30 points and 17 rebounds per-game for three years (1953 to 1956). Selected by Syracuse during the 1956 NBA Draft, he totaled 2,237 points in 273 career regular season games. In addition to the NBA, Hopkins played for the Harlem Globetrotters in the summers during his professional career. After retiring as a player, he embarked upon a lengthy career as a coach, initially at Prairie View A&M and later, Alcorn State and Xavier. In 1974, he was brought in by Bill Russell to served as an assistant coach with the Seattle SuperSonics and he succeeded Russell as Seattle's head coach in 1978. After his brief head coaching stint, he moved on to the New York Knicks, where he served as an assistant and later returned to the collegiate ranks. He served for a time as head coach of the Grambling State University Women's Basketball program. Hopkins was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. He died of complications from heart and kidney failure.
Professional Basketball Player, Coach. For four seasons (1956 to 1960), he played at the power-forward and center positions in the National Basketball Association with the Syracuse Nationals. Born Robert M. Hopkins, he played collegiate basketball at Grambling State University and while with the Tigers, he earned National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American honors twice. Additionally, he averaged 30 points and 17 rebounds per-game for three years (1953 to 1956). Selected by Syracuse during the 1956 NBA Draft, he totaled 2,237 points in 273 career regular season games. In addition to the NBA, Hopkins played for the Harlem Globetrotters in the summers during his professional career. After retiring as a player, he embarked upon a lengthy career as a coach, initially at Prairie View A&M and later, Alcorn State and Xavier. In 1974, he was brought in by Bill Russell to served as an assistant coach with the Seattle SuperSonics and he succeeded Russell as Seattle's head coach in 1978. After his brief head coaching stint, he moved on to the New York Knicks, where he served as an assistant and later returned to the collegiate ranks. He served for a time as head coach of the Grambling State University Women's Basketball program. Hopkins was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. He died of complications from heart and kidney failure.
Bio by: C.S.
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