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Tom Rops, Luverne, will officially join the South Dakota Basketball Hall of Fame during the 12th annual Induction Ceremony Saturday at the Ramkota in Sioux Falls.
Rops will be one of 14 former South Dakota basketball players to be enshrined into the Hall, which is located at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, as members of the Class of 2022.
“It really is an honor to be inducted,” Rops said. “Joining the list of great players that were inducted before me means a lot to me.”
Rops, who was head coach of the Luverne High School boys’ basketball team from 2001-2013, played his high school basketball at Lennox, South Dakota, and his college ball at South Dakota State University in Brookings.
A 1992 Lennox High graduate, Rops was a three-year starter for the Orioles.
During his sophomore year, Lennox placed third in the state tournament and Rops was named All-Conference and All-State Tournament in 1990.
Lennox won the state title during Rops’ junior season. “1991 ended up being Lennox’s year,” Rops said.
The Orioles entered the state title game against Custer undefeated and with a 25-game winning streak.
“Lennox came out hot and never looked back. We won by double digits,” Rops said about the 1991 state title game.
“We only had one game that year that we didn’t win by double digits. Most people believe that that 1991 Lennox team is the best team ever that came out of Lennox.”
Rops was named all-conference, all-state tournament and second team all-state that season.
During his senior campaign, the Orioles finished second in the state and Rops earned all-state tournament, all-conference and first team all-state.
“I started getting recruited by most NCC (North Central Conference) teams after my sophomore year of high school,” Rops said, “I had full scholarship offers at the end of my junior year.”
All three South Dakota universities in the NCC (USD, SDSU and Augustana) were the front-runners.
“I finally chose SDSU after visiting all three campuses,” Rops said.
“I knew getting a full athletic scholarship was a heck of a deal then, but after trying to help my kids pay for their college expenses, I now realize what a blessing it really was.”
As a Jackrabbit, Rops played for three different coaches in four seasons.
“It was a challenge because each time a coach left, you had to prove yourself all over again as the competition for playing time was fierce,” Rops said.
Rops’ first coach at SDSU was Jim Thorson. After Thorson departed, Brad Soderberg led the Jacks for two seasons before he left to become a top assistant and eventual head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers.
Scott Nagy became head coach during Rops’ senior season.
The Jackrabbits won the conference that season and came up one game short of making the Elite Eight, losing to eventual Division II national champion Fort Hays State University in a close game.
As a Jackrabbit, Rops was named all-conference his junior and senior seasons.
He totaled 1,147 points, collected over 700 rebounds and is still the all-time leader in offensive rebounds in a single season at SDSU.
In the summer of 1997, Rops was hired as a social studies teacher and assistant boys’ basketball coach at Luverne High School.
After three seasons as an assistant to Gordie Hansen, Rops was named head coach and led the Cardinals for 13 seasons.
His LHS team qualified for the 2005 state tournament for the first time since 1983. Two years later, Rops’ Cardinals returned to the state tournament.
“Those state tournament seasons were the most memorable and a lot of fun,” Rops said.
After retiring from his head coaching duties, Rops has coached middle school basketball teams over the years and plans to continue to do so into the future.
“I just enjoy being around basketball and helping kids learn the game,” Rops said.
Rops is starting his 26th year teaching at LHS and has three children. Trenton, 26, lives and works in Sioux Falls, Jayson, 19, is a sophomore at the University of South Dakota at Vermillion, and Maria is a sophomore at Luverne High School.
Rops also continues to farm with his parents south of Lennox, where his love for basketball first began.
Rops’ family and friends are hosting a celebration of his Hall of Fame induction this Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the American Legion in Lennox.
“Everyone is welcome to join us; I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.
“Basketball has given me a lot,” Rops said. “I really am honored to be the first boys’ basketball player from Lennox to make it into the Hall of Fame.”