Abilene Wylie lures Hopper away from Hermleigh to take over girls basketball program

Joey D. Richards
Abilene Reporter-News
Hermleigh coach Duane Hopper talks to Ryleigh Benitez during the Lady Cards' game against Blackwell in the Region II-1A semifinals in 2020 at ACU's Moody Coliseum.

Duane Hopper is coming back home.

The 2013 Wylie grad will take over the Lady Bulldogs’ basketball program, after five seasons at Class 1A Hermleigh.

“It feels good, man. It feels really good,” Hopper said. “It feels right.”

Hopper takes over for Amy Powell, who will remain at Wylie as the assistant athletic director.

Powell was 67-58 in four seasons at Wylie. She led the Lady Bulldogs to the playoffs all four years, including their first year as a Class 5A program the 2018-19 season.

“Expectations at Wylie are very high,” Powell said. “In my mind, I didn’t meet those expectations, so it’s a good time for me to step away.”

Wylie went 21-11 overall her first season as the Lady Bulldogs coach and lost to Plainview 44-41 in overtime in the first round of the playoffs.

The Lady Bulldogs have lost in the first round as a 5A program thus far – falling to Amarillo High 72-39 in 2020, Amarillo Tascosa 72-69 in 2021 and Canyon Randall 55-45 this year.

Wylie was 15-18 overall and finished third in district at 5-5 behind Monterey and Lubbock-Cooper. Wylie shared the district title with three other teams in 2020.

Powell took over a Wylie team that reached the Region I-4A finals in 2018 – losing to Denver City 44-41.

“There might be a time I want to get back in coaching, but for now, I’m going to fulfill my duties as assistant athletic director.”

Wylie's Duane Hopper (4) goes up for a shot over Dallas Madison's Derrick Smith (24) during the third quarter of the Bulldogs' 92-55 loss in the Class 3A state semifinal basketball game on March 7, 2013, at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.

A tough decision

Hopper played basketball at Wylie, before playing the game collegiately at Hardin-Simmons. He graduated from HSU in 2017.

Little did he know when he left Wylie that he would one day return as the girls head basketball coach.

“I would have laughed at you if you had told me that when I was a senior,” Hopper said.

In fact, he originally intended to be a probation officer like his grandfather. He majored in criminal justice at HSU, but he fell in love with coaching while leading a Wylie girls summer league team during his final year at HSU.

“I realized I wanted to still coach and be a part of basketball,” Hopper said. “That’s when I decided to be a coach.”

His first job out of college was at Hermleigh, and he made a splash right away – leading the Lady Cardinals to their first of two straight state semifinal appearances. Eventual state champion Nazareth beat them both times.

The Lady Cardinals reached the region tournament all five seasons during Hopper’s tenure – losing to Veribest in the 2020 region tournament finals, Rankin in the 2021 region semifinals and Robert Lee in the region finals this past season.

Hopper was 133-40 in five seasons at Hermleigh, and he said the decision to leave wasn’t an easy one.

“It was a tough decision,” Hopper said. “The whole time I was deciding, it was 50-50. One day I was going to Wylie. One day I was staying at Hermleigh. I had to make a decision, and I felt like God was leading me back home. When I made the decision it just felt right. It’s all you can ask for. I didn’t have any regrets. I didn’t feel bad about it. I feel like I made the right choice.”

Hopper makes a big jump from Class 1A to 5A, and the Lady Bulldogs play in District 4-5A with some of the state’s best programs in Lubbock Monterey, Lubbock-Cooper and Lubbock Coronado. Lubbock High, which had two freshmen named the league’s newcomers of the year, might be the team to beat next season, too.

Abilene Cooper also is in the district, and Abilene High – dropping down to the state’s second-largest class for the first time in program history – joins the district next season as well.

“It won’t be a walk in the park, but I’m really competitive, and it’s what you want – to play against the best and coach against the best,” Hopper said.

Hermleigh Lady Cardinals coach Duane Hopper watches his team play during the Class 1A state semifinals at the Alamodome in San Antonio in 2019.

Hopper, though, leaves Hermleigh with special memories. Few coaches begin their career with consecutive state tournament appearances.

“I enjoyed my time at Hermleigh,” Hopper said. “It wasn’t an easy decision. If you had told me when I took the Hermleigh job that it would be a tough decision between Hermleigh or Wylie girls basketball, I think most people would say I was crazy.

"But what we did at Hermleigh was pretty special, and I hope they get somebody good to replace me.”

Joey D. Richards covers Abilene high schools and colleges, Big Country schools and other local sports. Follow him at Twitter at ARN_Joey. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.