Billy Hahn (June 22, 1953 – April 7, 2023) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach who was an assistant coach for the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Mountaineers have been a membe ...

under

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953), nicknamed "Huggy Bear", is an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach at Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State, and West Virginia. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial ...

. During his head coaching and assistant coaching career, Hahn has coached and recruited 19 future

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

players and set various school records at

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

with numerous NCAA Tournament appearances over his career.

Early life

Born in

Mishawaka, Indiana Mishawaka () is a city on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Misha ...

, Hahn graduated from Penn High then attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. During his tenure at Maryland, Hahn was a three-year letterwinner on three of the greatest teams in Terrapins' history. As a freshman, he played on the Terps team that won the 1971 National Invitation Tournament. That season, he played as a key reserve off the bench. Hahn was team captain during his senior season and was part of the 1974–1975 squad that went 24–5. Hahn graduated from Maryland with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in distributive education and a minor in business administration in 1975.

Coaching career

Morris Harvey College and Davidson

Hahn began his coaching career at Morris Harvey College in 1975 as an assistant coach under Rick Meckfessel. In 1976, Hahn became an assistant coach at

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

Rhode Island

After his season at Davidson, Hahn became an assistant coach at

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, where he helped the team to the NCAA tournament in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, and the NIT in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. Hahn recruited and coached future

player

Sly Williams Sylvester Williams (born January 26, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1979 he was drafted 21st overall by the New York Knicks and he played parts of seven seasons in the National Bas ...

while at Rhode Island.

Ohio

In 1980, Hahn left Rhode Island for the assistant coaching position at

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

under

Danny Nee Daniel Hugh Nee (born June 18, 1945) is an American basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Ohio University from 1980 to 1986, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1986 to 2000, Robert Morris University in 2000– ...

. During his six-year tenure, the Bobcats won the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

Championship in 1983 and 1985 and went to the NCAA tournament in both of the seasons. In 1986, Hahn helped the Bobcats to the NIT. After the 1986 season, Hahn was named head coach. He led the Bobcats to the MAC Championship Game in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. During his head coaching tenure, he recruited and coached the school's all-time leading scorer,

Dave Jamerson John David Jamerson (born August 13, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Miami Heat in the first round (15th pick overall) of the 1990 NBA draft. Jamerson played for the Houston Rockets, Utah Ja ...

, and the MAC Player of the Year in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, Paul Graham.

Maryland

After his head coaching stint at

ended following the 1989 season, Hahn returned to his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

, the

, to become the assistant coach under

Gary Williams Gary Bruce Williams (born March 4, 1945) is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, the Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. ...

. During his tenure from 1989 to 2001, Hahn's Terps went to the NCAA tournament a school-record eight straight years, including the 2001

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

. The Terps also finished fourth or higher in the ACC eight consecutive seasons and established school records for regular season victories, 28 in 1999, and ACC victories in a season, 13 in 1999. Hahn was promoted to associate head coach in 1997 and became the leading recruiter and scout along with his on-court coaching duties. During the tenure, he coached

Walt Williams Walter Ander "the Wizard" Williams (born April 16, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. A sharpshooting 6'8" swingman, Williams attended school at the University of Maryland from 1988 to 1992, and has been credited for h ...

, Joe Smith, and

Steve Francis Steven D'Shawn Francis (born February 21, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected with the second overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft and was named co-NBA Rookie of the Year (along with Elton Brand) in his fi ...

, who all became NBA Lottery draft selections. He was also named one of the top ten recruiters in the eastern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

by Eastern Basketball. The year after he left, 2002, the Terps won the national championship with most of Hahn's recruits. He was given a championship ring by Williams and the Terrapins basketball squad, even though he was not associated with the school anymore. Hahn coached future

players Tony Massenburg, Jerrod Mustaf, Keith Booth, Sarunas Jasikevicius,

Laron Profit Bronta Laron Profit (born August 5, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player. Early life and college Profit was born in Charleston, South Carolina. Because his stepfather James Truiett served ...

, Terence Morris, Obinna Ekezie,

Chris Wilcox Chris Ray Wilcox (born September 3, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. He has also played in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons. High ...

Lonny Baxter Lonny Leroy Baxter (born January 27, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. He is in height, and played the power forward and center positions. College career While attending the University of Maryland, College Park, Ba ...

, Steve Blake, and

Juan Dixon Juan Max Dixon (born October 9, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and the previous head coach for Coppin State University in Baltimore. Dixon led the University of Maryland Terrapins to their first NCAA championship in ...

, at Maryland.

La Salle

Tenure

Hahn was hired as La Salle's men's basketball coach in 2001, succeeding longtime coach Speedy Morris. In each of his three seasons at La Salle, Hahn's

Explorers Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some expectation of discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organisms capable of directed locomotion and the abilit ...

had losing records. While at La Salle, Hahn coached

players Steven Smith and Rasual Butler.

Scandal and resignation

Hahn was forced to resign in 2004 when a women's basketball player claimed he discouraged her from reporting a rape she said occurred in April 2003 that allegedly involved one of Hahn's players. Hahn claimed that the woman didn't want to report the incident at the time. However, La Salle school policy required Hahn to report the incident to a counselor. This was to ensure compliance with the Clery Act, a federal law which requires colleges to make timely reports of crime on campus. La Salle women's basketball head coach John Miller was also forced to resign on the same day as Hahn, also for not reporting the alleged rape.

West Virginia

After spending three seasons out of coaching, Hahn was hired by new head coach,

, at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

in April 2007. Hahn and Huggins had been rivals, when Huggins coached

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

. In Hahn's first season with the team, the

Mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

finished the regular season with a 22–9 record. The team also advanced to the semifinals of the Big East tournament and the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament, which included a second round victory over the #2-seed

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

. Hahn retired from coaching after the 2017 season.

Personal life and death

Hahn's son Matt, was a reserve on the Maryland basketball team from 1996–2000. He served as an assistant coach at IUP, Robert Morris, and

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Hahn suffered a heart attack and died on April 7, 2023, at the age of 69.Coach Billy Hahn Has Died
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Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hahn, Billy 1953 births 2023 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Charleston Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Davidson Wildcats men's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States La Salle Explorers men's basketball coaches Maryland Terrapins men's basketball coaches Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players Ohio Bobcats men's basketball coaches People from Mishawaka, Indiana West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball coaches Point guards 20th-century American sportsmen