Sihugo Green

Sihugo "Si" Green (né Lewis; 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 Green was born as Sihugo Lewis in Brooklyn and raised in its Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood. He received his name, Sihugo, because of his Native American grandmother.

In 1954–1955, Green averaged 22.0 points and 13.6 rebounds and the Dukes were 22–4, winning the 1955 National Invitation Tournament. 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.

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 the 1956 National Invitation Tournament, losing to eventual champion Louisville.

Professional career

A 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 played for the Easton Madisons of the EPBL during the 1957–58 season and was selected to the All-EPBL First Team. Green missed the next NBA season due to military service with the U.S. Army. There, he played on a Fort Dix team with Tom Gola and Alvin Clinkscales that won the U.S. Army championship.

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.

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. With the Celtics, Green played with his fellow 1956 draft pick, Bill Russell.

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.

Green played for the New Haven Elms of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) during the 1965–66 season. He did not report to the Elms for the 1966–67 season as they did not meet his salary demands. Green operated as its personnel manager and later vice president of operations. and entered a serious condition the following day. Green died in hospital from cancer on October 4, 1980.