Sunday, August 19, 2007

*OPINION PIECE* No. 1 Greatest Athlete in Duquesne Athletics History


Sihugo Green, Men's Basketball - Men's basketball is not the only sport played at Duquesne University, but men's basketball is the sport that matters most at Duquesne. This is why Green, the greatest basketball player in Duquesne Athletics History, is the greatest athlete in Duquesne history.
  The man's career was nothing short of fantastic. He was an Associated Press Second-Team and First-Team All-American in 1955 and 1956, respectively.
  Without Green, who led the 1954-55 Dukes in total points, Duquesne simply would never have won the National Invitation Tournament in 1955, the greatest accomplishment in Duquesne Athletics history. Green's contributions to the team during the 1954-55 season and more led Duquesne Basketball to retire his No. 11 in 2001 and place him in the Duquesne Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973. The annual Duquesne Men's Basketball award given to the top upperclassman on the roster is even named the Sihugo Green Award.
  The media truly understood how great Green was in those days, as he was once featured on the cover of SPORT magazine, and Milton Gross, of the New York Post, even had the following to say about Green following his game-high 33 points in the 1955 NIT Final.
  "Si Green, at 6-2, must be the best college basketball player in the country today. In a sense, he is to college basketball what Ray Robinson was to boxing -- the best fighter pound for pound."
  Green was selected first overall by the Rochester Royals in the 1956 NBA Draft following his collegiate career -- one pick ahead of the legendary Bill Russell -- and enjoyed a long NBA career. He played for the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals (later the Kansas City-Omaha, then the Kansas City and now the Sacramento Kings) for all of the 1956-57 season and part of the 1958-59 season, for the St. Louis (now Atlanta) Hawks for part of the 1958-59 season, all of the 1959-60 and 1960-61 seasons and part of the 1961-62 season, for the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs/Baltimore Bullets (later the Capital/Washington Bullets and now the Washington Wizards) for part of the 1961-62 season and all of the 1962-63, 1963-64 and 1964-65 seasons and for the Boston Celtics for the 1965-66 season.

(Image: Sihugo Green on the cover of an issue of SPORT magazine, Copyright Duquesne University)

No comments: