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Si Green

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Si Green
Green with the Chicago Packers, c. 1962
Personal information
Born(1933-08-20)August 20, 1933
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 4, 1980(1980-10-04) (aged 47)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolBoys (Brooklyn, New York)
CollegeDuquesne (1953–1956)
NBA draft1956: 1st round, 1st overall pick
Selected by the Rochester Royals
Playing career1956–1967
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
Number3, 12, 17, 16, 21, 11, 28
Career history
1956–1957Rochester Royals
1957–1958Easton Madisons
1958–1959Cincinnati Royals
1959–1961St. Louis Hawks
1961–1965Chicago Packers / Zephyrs / Baltimore Bullets
1965Boston Celtics
1965–1966New Haven Elms
1966–1967Wilmington Jets
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points4,636 (9.2 ppg)
Rebounds2,152 (4.3 rpg)
Assists1,655 (3.2 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Sihugo "Si" Green (August 20, 1933 – October 4, 1980) was an American professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Duquesne Dukes, he was selected as the first pick of the 1956 NBA draft by the Rochester Royals.

Early life

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Green was born in Brooklyn and raised in its Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood.[1] He received his name, Sihugo, because of his Native American grandmother.[1] Green did not know its meaning and when often asked would joke: "when they gave me the name, I was too young to remember why."[1] He was nicknamed "Si" while growing up.[1]

College career

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Green attended Boys High School in Brooklyn, New York, where he played for coach Mickey Fisher.[1]

Green then attended Duquesne (1953–1956), where he starred alongside teammate Dick Ricketts and his younger brother, Dave Ricketts. As a sophomore in 1953–1954, Green averaged 13.4 points and 8.2 rebounds, as the Dukes went 26–3 under Coach Dudey Moore, losing in the Final of the 1954 National Invitation Tournament to Holy Cross with future Hall of Famer Tommy Heinsohn.[2]

In 1954–1955, Green averaged 22.0 points and 13.6 rebounds and the Dukes were 22–4, winning the 1955 National Invitation Tournament.[3] In the Final, on March 20, 1955, Duquesne beat the Dayton Flyers 70–58 before a sellout crowd of 18,496 at Madison Square Garden, as Green scored 33 points and Dick Ricketts had 23.[4]

As senior in 1955–1956, Green averaged 24.5 points and 13.2 rebounds as Duquesne was 17–10 following Dick Ricketts's graduation the year prior. The Dukes won 7 of their last 8 after a slow start to advance to the quarterfinals of the 1956 National Invitation Tournament, losing to eventual champion Louisville.[5]

Professional career

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A 6'2" guard-forward, on April 30, Green was selected by the Rochester Royals as the first overall NBA draft pick of the 1956 NBA draft over Bill Russell, the University of San Francisco star center. The St. Louis Hawks chose Russell one spot later; the Hawks traded Russell to the Boston Celtics and the Celtics went on to win 11 of the next 13 NBA titles together.

As a rookie in 1956–1957, Green averaged 11.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 14 games for the Royals, he also played some games that season for the Easton Madisons of the EPBL.[6] Green then missed the next NBA season due to military service with the U.S. Army.[7] There, he played on a Fort Dix team with Tom Gola and Alvin Clinkscales that won the U.S. Army championship.[8]

On January 14, 1959, while averaging 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists, Green was traded by the Cincinnati Royals to the St. Louis Hawks for Med Park and Jack Stephens. Green played four seasons for St. Louis, averaging 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds.[7]

Green was traded by the St. Louis Hawks to the Chicago Packers on November 21, 1961. He was traded, along with Joe Graboski and Woody Sauldsberry for Barney Cable and Archie Dees. With Chicago in 57 games that season, he averaged 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists.[9]

On October 10, 1965, Green was traded by the Baltimore Bullets to the Boston Celtics for a 1966 fifth round draft pick (John Jones was later selected). He averaged 3.2 points in 10 games in a reserve role for the Celtics, playing his last NBA game on November 20, 1965. Green then joined the New Haven Elms of the EPBA for the remainder of the season. With the Celtics, Green played with his fellow 1956 draft pick, Bill Russell.[10][11]

Green last played for the Wilmington Jets of the Eastern Professional Basketball League in 1966–1967.[6]

Overall, Green played nine seasons in the league NBA with four teams, scoring 5,039 career points and averaging 9.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3. assists in 504 career games.[12][13]

Playing style

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"Si never said a word. He always wore his jumping socks, those thick gray ones with a green trim. The kind hunters wear. That was his superstition. Si's touch outside with a line-drive jumper was pretty good, but he could tell you he was going around you and he'd still get around you. He would give you a fake and a real big first stride," former Duquesne assistant coach Red Manning said in describing Green years later.[4]

Personal life

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Green lived in the Philadelphia suburb of Point Breeze with his wife and son.[14] He worked for Associated Textile Systems Inc., a rental laundry, from 1967 until 1980.[14] Green operated as its personnel manager and later vice president of operations.[14] The business was owned by Hal Black, a former Duquesne Dukes basketball player from the 1940s who sponsored Green when he joined the team.[14]

In April 1980, Green had a chest X-ray that revealed the presence of lung cancer.[14] It spread to other parts of his body and led to him leaving work in September 1980.[14] On October 2, 1980, he was reported as being ill in St. Margaret's Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[15] and entered a serious condition the following day.[16] Green died in hospital from cancer on October 4, 1980.[14]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

NBA

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Source[7]

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1956–57 Rochester 13 32.5 .350 .710 5.2 3.6 11.5
1958–59 Cincinnati 20 33.3 .373 .685 7.0 4.3 12.5
1958–59 St. Louis 26 17.0 .313 .621 4.3 1.1 5.6
1959–60 St. Louis 70 19.3 .372 .634 3.7 1.9 6.1
1960–61 St. Louis 76 25.9 .366 .704 5.0 3.4 9.2
1961–62 St. Louis 14 19.4 .388 .800 3.5 2.6 8.0
1961–62 Chicago 57 37.1 .375 .686 6.1 4.9 13.8
1962–63 Chicago 73 36.3 .411 .683 4.6 5.8 11.7
1963–64 Baltimore 75 27.5 .415 .683 3.8 2.9 10.3
1964–65 Baltimore 70 15.5 .413 .627 2.4 2.0 5.7
1965–66 Boston 10 9.2 .387 .500 1.1 .9 3.2
Career 504 26.1 .387 .676 4.3 3.3 9.2

Playoffs

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1959 St. Louis 6 21.8 .480 .500 3.8 2.3 6.0
1960 St. Louis 14* 40.4 .473 .603 8.6 6.3 14.1
1961 St. Louis 12* 29.2 .378 .676 5.9 4.0 11.4
1965 Baltimore 9 7.2 .438 .800 .8 1.7 2.0
Career 41 27.1 .433 .613 5.4 4.0 9.5

Honors

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Young, Dick (December 31, 1953). "The Sports of Kings and Queens". Daily News. p. 22. Retrieved March 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "1953–54 Duquesne Dukes Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  3. ^ "1954–55 Duquesne Dukes Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  4. ^ a b "50 years ago, Sihugo Green and Dick Ricketts led Duquesne to the title in basketball's No. 1 tournament – the NIT". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  5. ^ "1955–56 Duquesne Dukes Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  6. ^ a b "EBA-Si Green". www.nasljerseys.com.
  7. ^ a b c "Si Green NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Harrison, Don (November 8, 2011). Hoops in Connecticut: The Nutmeg State's Passion for Basketball. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781614238478 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "1961–62 Chicago Packers (Per Game) – NBA team profile page from WhatifSports". www.whatifsports.com.
  10. ^ "1965–66 Boston Celtics Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  11. ^ "Si Green 1965–66 Game Log | Basketball-Reference.com".
  12. ^ "Sihugo Green – NBA player profile page from WhatifSports". www.whatifsports.com.
  13. ^ "NBA & ABA Players Who Attended Duquesne University". Basketball-Reference.com.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g "Sihugo Green Let His Playing Do The Talking". The Pittsburgh Press. October 6, 1980. p. 31. Retrieved March 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Briefly". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 2, 1980. p. 10. Retrieved March 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Browne, Joe (October 3, 1980). "Towne Topics". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 28. Retrieved March 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Duquesne reveals All-Century Team – TribLIVE". triblive.com.
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