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

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach. He currently serves as head coach for the

Saskatchewan Rattlers The Saskatchewan Rattlers are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that competes in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). They play their home games at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. History On May ...

of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball V ...

(CEBL).

Early life

Demopoulos was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, and graduated from West Chester State in 1977 with a degree in comprehensive social sciences. He began his coaching career at Kennett High School in

Kennett Square, Pennsylvania Kennett Square is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produces over 500 million pounds of mushrooms a year, totaling half of the United ...

College coaching career

In 1983, Demopoulos became an assistant to John Chaney at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptists, Baptist minister Russell Conwell an ...

, a post he held until 2000. 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. For the 2000–01 college season, Demopoulos served as head coach of the

Kansas City Roos men's basketball The Kansas City Roos men's basketball team represents the University of Missouri–Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri. The school plays in the Summit League after completing a seven-season tenure in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in July ...

team. 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).

Professional coaching career

NBA (2001–2012)

Between

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

and

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

, Demopoulos served as an assistant to

Nate McMillan Nathaniel McMillan (born August 3, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, the Portl ...

at the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...

in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...

. With McMillan's move to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, Demopoulos joined him and again served as his lead assistant. After five seasons with the Trail Blazers, Demopoulos was hired as an assistant to

Vinny Del Negro Vincent Joseph Del Negro (born August 9, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the head coach of the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls from 2008 to 2010, and the Los Angeles Clippers from 2010 to 2013. ...

at the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. He served under Del Negro for all three of his seasons, with Demopoulos leaving the Clippers in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

Melbourne United (2015–2017)

In April 2015, Demopoulos was hired by Australian NBL club

Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John ...

to be head coach on a two-year deal. 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. He was subsequently named NBL Coach of the Month for October 2015. 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 The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

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

Grand Rapids Drive (2018–2019)

Demopoulos spent the 2018–19 season as an assistant to Ryan Krueger at the

Grand Rapids Drive The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

Saskatchewan Rattlers (2022–present)

On January 19, 2022, Demopoulos was announced as the new head coach of the

of the

(CEBL).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demopoulos, Dean 1954 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American expatriate basketball people in Australia Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania High school basketball coaches in the United States Kansas City Roos men's basketball coaches Los Angeles Clippers assistant coaches Melbourne United coaches National Basketball League (Australia) coaches Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches Seattle SuperSonics assistant coaches Sportspeople from Philadelphia Temple Owls men's basketball coaches West Chester University alumni