Si Green

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
Green was born in Brooklyn and raised in its Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood. He received his name, Sihugo, because of his Native American grandmother. 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." He was nicknamed "Si" while growing up.

College career
Green attended Boys High School in Brooklyn, New York, where he played for coach Mickey Fisher.

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.

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 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 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. Green then 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Playing style
"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.

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

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

NBA
Source

Honors

 * No. 11 retired by Duquesne University
 * Green was named to the Duquesne All-Century Team in 2016.