 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Si Green" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 Green with theChicago Packers,c. 1962 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1933-08-20)August 20, 1933 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 4, 1980(1980-10-04) (aged 47) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Boys (Brooklyn, New York) |
| College | Duquesne (1953–1956) |
| NBA draft | 1956: 1st round,1st overall pick |
| Drafted by | Rochester Royals |
| Playing career | 1956–1967 |
| Position | Point guard /shooting guard |
| Number | 3, 12, 17, 16, 21, 11, 28 |
| Career history | |
| 1956–1957 | Rochester Royals |
| 1957–1958 | Easton Madisons |
| 1958–1959 | Cincinnati Royals |
| 1959–1961 | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1961–1965 | Chicago Packers / Zephyrs / Baltimore Bullets |
| 1965 | Boston Celtics |
| 1965–1966 | New Haven Elms |
| 1967 | Wilmington Blue Bombers |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 4,636 (9.2 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 2,152 (4.3 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,655 (3.2 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Sihugo "Si"Green (néLewis; August 20, 1933 – October 4, 1980) was an American professionalbasketball player. After playingcollege basketball for theDuquesne Dukes, he was selected as thefirst pick of the1956 NBA draft by theRochester Royals.
Green was born as Sihugo Lewis[1] inBrooklyn and raised in itsBedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood.[2] He received his name, Sihugo, because of hisNative American grandmother.[2] 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."[2] He was nicknamed "Si" while growing up.[2] His mother, Mrs. Lewis, remarried and changed her name to Mrs. Green; "Sihugo Lewis" was still Green's legal name when he enrolled in theUnited States Army in 1956.[1]
Green attendedBoys High School inBrooklyn, New York, where he played for coachMickey Fisher.[2]
Green then attendedDuquesne (1953–1956), where he starred alongside teammateDick 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 CoachDudey Moore, losing in the Final of the1954 National Invitation Tournament toHoly Cross with futureHall of FamerTommy Heinsohn.[3]
In 1954–1955, Green averaged 22.0 points and 13.6 rebounds and the Dukes were 22–4, winning the1955 National Invitation Tournament.[4] In the Final, on March 20, 1955, Duquesne beat theDayton Flyers 70–58 before a sellout crowd of 18,496 atMadison Square Garden, as Green scored 33 points and Dick Ricketts had 23.[5]
As a 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 the1956 National Invitation Tournament, losing to eventual championLouisville.[6]
A 6'2"guard-forward, on April 30, Green was selected by theRochester Royals as thefirst overall NBA draft pick of the1956 NBA draft overBill Russell, theUniversity of San Francisco star center. TheSt. Louis Hawks chose Russell one spot later; the Hawks traded Russell to theBoston 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 played for the Easton Madisons of theEPBL during the 1957–58 season and was selected to the All-EPBL First Team.[7] Green missed the next NBA season due to military service with theU.S. Army.[8] There, he played on a Fort Dix team withTom Gola and Alvin Clinkscales that won the U.S. Army championship.[9]
On January 14, 1959, while averaging 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists, Green was traded by theCincinnati Royals to theSt. Louis Hawks forMed Park and Jack Stephens. Green played four seasons for St. Louis, averaging 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds.[8]
Green was traded by the St. Louis Hawks to theChicago Packers on November 21, 1961. He was traded, along withJoe Graboski andWoody Sauldsberry forBarney Cable andArchie Dees. With Chicago in 57 games that season, he averaged 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists.[10]
On October 10, 1965, Green was traded by theBaltimore Bullets to theBoston 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. With the Celtics, Green played with his fellow 1956 draft pick,Bill Russell.[11][12]
Overall, Green played nine seasons in the NBA league with four teams, scoring 5,039 career points and averaging 9.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3. assists in 504 career games.[13][14]
Green played for the New Haven Elms of theEastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) during the 1965–66 season.[15] He did not report to the Elms for the 1966–67 season as they did not meet his salary demands.[15] On February 10, 1967, Green was signed by the Wilmington Blue Bombers of the EPBL after they purchased his rights from the Elms.[15]
"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.[5]
Green lived in thePittsburgh neighborhood ofPoint Breeze with his wife and son.[16] He worked for Associated Textile Systems Inc., a rental laundry, from 1967 until 1980.[16] Green operated as its personnel manager and later vice president of operations.[16] The business was owned by Hal Black, a former Duquesne Dukes basketball player from the 1940s who sponsored Green when he joined the team.[16]
In April 1980, Green had a chestX-ray that revealed the presence oflung cancer.[16] It spread to other parts of his body and led to him leaving work in September 1980.[16] On October 2, 1980, he was reported as being ill inSt. Margaret's Hospital inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[17] and entered a serious condition the following day.[18] Green died in hospital from cancer on October 4, 1980.[16]
| 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 |
Source[8]
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
· Basketball Reference