Hugh Greer

Hugh Greer (August 5, 1904 – January 14, 1963) was the Connecticut Huskies men's basketball coach from 1946 to 1963.

Early life and education
Born on August 5, 1904, in Suffield, Connecticut, Hugh Scott Greer went to school at Connecticut Agricultural College (CAC, now the University of Connecticut). As a basketball player at CAC, Greer helped lead his school to a New England Conference championship in 1926.

Coaching career
Greer coached basketball at the University of Connecticut (UConn) from 1947 to 1963. As head coach of the Connecticut Huskies he led UConn to seven NCAA Tournaments and one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) berth, as well as 12 Yankee Conference championships overall and 10 consecutively from the 1950–51 season through the 1959–60 season. He ended his career with a record of 285–112 and a .718 win percentage. He was the winningest coach in UConn history until Jim Calhoun passed him in 1998.

In 1954, Greer famously led UConn to a 78–77 victory against undefeated Holy Cross, breaking the Crusaders' 47-game home winning streak. (That season, Holy Cross went on to win the 1954 NIT title.) In 1956, Greer led UConn to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, where the Huskies lost in a close game to Temple.

Greer led UConn until he died of a massive heart attack on January 14, 1963. Assistant coach George Wigton finished out the 1962–63 season and led the Huskies to the 1963 NCAA Tournament. UConn credits the first 10 games of the season to Greer and the rest of the season (including the NCAA Tournament appearance) to Wigton.

Awards

 * 1957: University of Connecticut Distinguished Alumni Award