Dean Demopoulos
Personal information
Born (1954-03-29) March 29, 1954 (age 69)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Coaching career1983–present
Career history
As coach:
1983–2000Temple (assistant)
2000–2001Kansas City
2001–2005Seattle SuperSonics (assistant)
2005–2010Portland Trail Blazers (assistant)
2010–2013Los Angeles Clippers (assistant)
2015–2017Melbourne United
2018–2019Grand Rapids Drive (assistant)
2022–2023Saskatchewan Rattlers

Dean Demopoulos (born March 29, 1954) is an American professional basketball coach.

Early life

Demopoulos was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated from West Chester State in 1977 with a degree in comprehensive social sciences.[1] He began his coaching career at Kennett High School in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.[1]

College coaching career

In 1983, Demopoulos became an assistant to John Chaney at Temple University,[2] a post he held until 2000.[3] During that span, the Owls became a national basketball powerhouse, amassing a 393–151 (72.2%) record and making it to the NCAA Tournament 16 times and to the Elite Eight on four occasions.[1]

For the 2000–01 college season, Demopoulos served as head coach of the Kansas City Roos men's basketball team.[3] In his one season as coach, the Roos were ranked in the top 10 nationally in several statistical categories, including fewest turnovers (9.5 per game) and scoring defense (60.5 points per game).[1]

Professional coaching career

NBA (2001–2012)

Between 2001 and 2005, Demopoulos served as an assistant to Nate McMillan at the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA.[1] With McMillan's move to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2005, Demopoulos joined him and again served as his lead assistant.[4] After five seasons with the Trail Blazers, Demopoulos was hired as an assistant to Vinny Del Negro at the Los Angeles Clippers in 2010.[5] He served under Del Negro for all three of his seasons, with Demopoulos leaving the Clippers in 2013.

Melbourne United (2015–2017)

In April 2015, Demopoulos was hired by Australian NBL club Melbourne United to be head coach on a two-year deal.[6] He guided United to a 9–0 record to begin the 2015–16 season, which saw him set the best start to a debut head coaching season in league history.[7] He was subsequently named NBL Coach of the Month for October 2015.[7] Melbourne finished the regular season in first place with an 18–10 record, but went on to lose 2–0 to the fourth-seeded New Zealand Breakers in the semi-finals.[8]

In 2016–17, Melbourne failed to make the finals despite boasting a bevy of stars.[9] They entered the final round of the season in third place[9] but lost both of their games, which saw them finish in sixth place with a 13–15 record.[10] His contract was subsequently not renewed following the 2016–17 season.[10][11]

Grand Rapids Drive (2018–2019)

Demopoulos spent the 2018–19 season as an assistant to Ryan Krueger at the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA G League.[12]

Saskatchewan Rattlers (2022–2023)

On January 19, 2022, Demopoulos was announced as the new head coach of the Saskatchewan Rattlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).[13] However, he was fired on July 4, 2023.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Dean Demopoulos". nba.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  2. ^ "Dean Demopoulos has been named a full-time assistant men's..." upi.com. September 27, 1984. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Dean Demopoulos Named Men's Basketball Coach at UMKC". owlsports.com. June 19, 2000. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  4. ^ "Demopoulos was a Seattle assistant for four seasons". ESPN.com. July 22, 2005. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  5. ^ "Clipper update: coaching staff addition". Los Angeles Times. July 12, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
  6. ^ Chalmers, Steve (April 4, 2015). "Dean Demopoulos named new Melbourne United head coach". pickandroll.com.au. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Q & A: Dean Demopoulos". melbourneutd.com.au. November 13, 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  8. ^ "SF2 Report: Breakers sweep United to enter Grand Final". NBL.com.au. February 20, 2016. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Melbourne United coach Dean Demopoulos faces uncertain future after missing finals". heraldsun.com.au. February 13, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Cavanagh, Chris (February 23, 2017). "Melbourne United sacks coach Dean Demopoulos after team's failure to make NBL finals". heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  11. ^ Ward, Roy (February 23, 2017). "Coach Dean Demopoulos parts ways with Melbourne United in NBL". smh.com.au. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  12. ^ "Detroit Basketball 2018–19 Media Guide" (PDF). NBA.com. p. 23 (13). Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "Rattlers Hire Demopoulos As Head Coach For 2022 Season". www.cebl.ca. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Rattlers Relieve Demopoulos of Duties". CEBL.ca. July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
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