A six-foot five-inch shooting guard and small forward, Dennis Hopson was a standout at Toledo's Bowsher High School before enrolling at Ohio State University. He began his collegiate basketball career with the Ohio State Buckeyes on a quiet note, averaging 5.3 points per game as a freshman and 9.8 points per game during his sophomore campaign. Hopson began to blossom during his junior year when he more than doubled his scoring average to 20.9 points per game. The star Buckeye swingman entered a new phase in his game when the school installed Gary Williams as their new head coach in 1986. Williams implemented a quicker offensive tempo that complimented Hopson's preference for a running game, which subsequently allowed Hopson to further increase his production on offense. Hopson's gifted jump shot and extraordinary scoring abilities placed him as the second leading scorer in Division I during the 1986-87 season and earned him the 1987 Big Ten Player of the Year award. He was also considered an all-around athlete as a senior: His point guard-like passing touch helped him record 3.6 assists per game and despite his size Hopson nonetheless lead the Buckeyes in rebounds, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game during his final season. He completed his tenure at Ohio State with All-American honors and became the school's all-time leader in points and steals.
Hopson was made the third overall selection in the 1987 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets. New Jersey's performance wilted earlier in the season when its formerly solid backcourt became plagued with injuries and contract disputes. Looking to re-establish a stable backcourt for the upcoming 1987-88 season, the Nets selected Dennis Hopson along with five other guards in the 1987 draft. Hopson was unable to live up to the organization's expectations after three seasons in New Jersey, even though he led the team in points in 1989-90. He also played briefly for the Chicago Bulls and the Sacramento Kings, winning a championship with the Bulls in 1990-91 even though he had very little playing time in either the 2nd half of the season or the playoffs. His last NBA game was in the 1991-92 season.
Hopson retired from basketball in 2000 and returned to his home state to run a trucking and recruiting company in Columbus, Ohio. However it wasn't long before Hopson returned to the game, assuming the duties as head coach of the ABA's Toledo Royal Knights until the team folded in December 2006. Several years later he resettled in Florida to accept an assistant coaching position at Northwood University in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he served under head coach Rollie Massimino. In September 2009, he became an assistant basketball coach at Bowling Green State University. He was let go when Louis Orr was not retained as head coach in 2014. In 2014, Hopson received the head coaching job at Bedford High School in Temperance, Michigan and resigned after one season. On May 2, 2019, Hopson was announced as the head coach of the Lourdes Gray Wolves men's basketball team.
