John Hopkins

Category

John Hopkins graduated from Pittston Twp. High School in 1958 where he was outstanding in basketball on a team coached by his late father, who also is a member of the Luzerne County Chapter of the Pa. Sports Hall of Fame. He graduated from Kings College in 1962, and received a Masters Degree from the University of Scranton in 1965. John has taught in the Wilkes-Barre Public School system for thirty-two years, with a teaching concentration in French and English. While an assistant basketball coach, he coached under Jim Atherton, Bob McGuire, and Tony Konieski. John became head basketball coach at GAR High School in 1973. Coach Hopkins record at GAR High School includes 450 wins-122 losses. He won 15 league titles, 8 District II titles, and 3 PIAA state runner up titles. During Coach Hopkins tenure at GAR, he coached 3 Division I standouts, Greg Skrepenak, Larry Koretz, and Bob Sura. Hopkins also won 13 pre-season tournaments. John Hopkins at GAR had a home court winning streak of 89 straight wins or (8 years) without losing a home game, also the Grenadiers won 86 games in a row in their league from 1987 to 1991. Hopkins coached seven (7) 1000 point scorers: Paul Rushton, Mark Radaszewski, John Snyder, Bill Callahan, Ed DeMichele, Bob Zipko, and Greg Skrepenak. Hopkins also coached two (2) 2000 point scorers: Larry Koretz, who went on to be an outstanding basketball star at LaSalle University, and Bob Sura, who was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, and is presently playing for Florida State. Coach Hopkins was named “Coach of the Year” thirteen (13) times by the local newspapers and his fellow coaches. Coach Hopkins runs a summer basketball clinic for the Wilkes-Barre Recreation Dept. In June, 1978, he ran a basketball clinic in Dublin, Ireland. Coach Hopkins has won 30 games or more in one season three (3) times, and has averaged 22 wins a year for twenty years at G.A.R. Memorial High School. In 1983, his team won 36 games in one season John is married to the former Angie Pace of Pittston. They have two daughters, Sharon and Phyllis.