Billy Hahn (born June 22, 1953) is an American former
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
coach who was most recently an assistant coach for the
West Virginia Mountaineers
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Mou ...
under
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Bob Huggins
Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953) is an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed “Huggy Bear,” he is currently the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team. Huggins previously held the head coach ...
. During his head coaching and assistant coaching career, Hahn has coached and recruited 19 future
NBA players and set various school records at
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
with numerous NCAA Tournament appearances over his career. However, he was widely criticized for his role in a
2004 rape scandal while coaching the
La Salle University Explorers
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
.
Early life
Born in
Mishawaka, Indiana
Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph River, in Penn Township, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Mishawaka is a principal city of the South ...
, Hahn graduated from
Penn High then attended the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
. During his tenure at Maryland, Hahn was a three-year letterwinner on three of the greatest teams in Terrapins' history. As a freshman, in
1971, Hahn's Terps won the
National Invitation Tournament. That season, he played as a key reserve off the bench. Hahn was team captain during his senior season and was part of the 1974–1975 squad that went 24–5. Hahn graduated from Maryland with a
bachelor’s degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...
in distributive education and a minor in business administration in 1975.
Coaching career
Morris Harvey College and Davidson
Hahn began his coaching career at
Morris Harvey College
The University of Charleston (UC) is a private non-profit university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. The university also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley.
History
The school was founded in 1888 ...
in 1975 as an assistant coach under Rick Meckfessel. In 1976, Hahn became an assistant coach at
Davidson College.
Rhode Island
After his season at
Davidson, Hahn became an assistant coach at
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
, where he helped the team to the
NCAA tournament in
1978, and the NIT in
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
.
Hahn recruited and coached future
NBA player
Sly Williams
Sylvester Williams (born January 26, 1958) is a retired American basketball player. Born in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1979 he was drafted 21st overall by the New York Knicks and he played parts of seven seasons in the National Basketball Assoc ...
while at Rhode Island.
Ohio
In 1980, Hahn left Rhode Island for the assistant coaching position at
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...
under
Danny Nee
Daniel Hugh Nee (born June 18, 1945) is an American basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Ohio University from 1980 to 1986, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1986 to 2000, Robert Morris University in 2000–0 ...
. During his six-year tenure, the Bobcats won the
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...
Championship in 1983 and 1985 and went to the
NCAA tournament in both of the seasons. In 1986, Hahn helped the Bobcats to the
NIT.
After the
1986 season, Hahn was named head coach. He led the Bobcats to the MAC Championship Game in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
. During his head coaching tenure, he recruited and coached the school's all-time leading scorer,
Dave Jamerson, and the MAC Player of the Year in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
,
Paul Graham.
Maryland
After his head coaching stint at
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...
ended following the 1989 season, Hahn returned to his
alma mater, the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
, to become the assistant coach under
Gary Williams
Gary Bruce Williams (born March 4, 1945) is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, the Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. I ...
. During his tenure from 1989 to 2001, Hahn's Terps went to the
NCAA tournament a school-record eight straight years, including the 2001
Final Four. The Terps also finished fourth or higher in the
ACC eight consecutive seasons and established school records for regular season victories, 28 in 1999, and ACC victories in a season, 13 in 1999.
Hahn was promoted to associate head coach in 1997 and became the leading recruiter and scout along with his on-court coaching duties. During the tenure, he coached
Walt Williams
Walter Ander "The Wizard" Williams (born April 16, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. A sharpshooting 6'8" forward/guard, Williams attended school at the University of Maryland from 1988 to 1992, and is credited by many ...
,
Joe Smith, and
Steve Francis, who all became
NBA Lottery draft selections. He was also named one of the top ten recruiters in the eastern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
by Eastern Basketball.
The year after he left, 2002, the Terps won the national championship with most of Hahn's recruits. He was given a championship ring by Williams and the Terrapins basketball squad, even though he was not associated with the school anymore.
Hahn coached future
NBA players
Tony Massenburg
Tony Arnel Massenburg (born July 31, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. He shares a National Basketball Association (NBA) record with Chucky Brown, Joe Smith & Jim Jackson for having played with twelve different teams o ...
,
Jerrod Mustaf,
Keith Booth,
Sarunas Jasikevicius,
Laron Profit
Bronta Laron Profit (born August 5, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player.
Early life and college
Profit was born in Charleston, South Carolina. Because his stepfather James Truiett served i ...
,
Terence Morris
Terence Darea Morris (born January 11, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. He was twice the Israeli Basketball Premier League Defensive Player of the Year, in 2007 and 2008. He was an All-EuroLeague First Team selection i ...
,
Obinna Ekezie,
Steve Francis,
Chris Wilcox,
Lonny Baxter
Lonny () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Ardennes department
The following is a list of the 449 communes of the Ardennes department of France.
The communes cooperate ...
,
Steve Blake
Steven Hanson Blake (born February 26, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. After winning the 2002 NCAA Championship with Maryland, Blake was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 38th overall pick in the 2 ...
, and
Juan Dixon
Juan Dixon (born October 9, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and the current head coach for Coppin State University in Baltimore. Dixon led the University of Maryland Terrapins to their first NCAA championship in 2002 a ...
, at Maryland.
La Salle
Tenure
Hahn was hired as
La Salle's men's basketball coach in 2001, succeeding longtime coach
Speedy Morris
William "Speedy" Morris (born April 26, 1942) is an American basketball coach.
Born in Manayunk, Morris acquired the nickname "Speedy" because he was one of the slowest kids in his neighborhood. Morris started coaching at St. John the Baptist ...
. In each of his three seasons at La Salle, Hahn's
Explorers
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
had losing records. While at La Salle, Hahn coached
NBA players
Steven Smith and
Rasual Butler.
Scandal and resignation
Hahn was forced to resign in 2004 when a women's basketball player claimed he discouraged her from reporting a rape she said occurred in April 2003 that allegedly involved one of Hahn's players. Hahn claimed that the woman didn't want to report the incident at the time. However, La Salle school policy required Hahn to report the incident to a counselor. This was to ensure compliance with the
Clery Act
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act or Clery Act, signed in 1990, is a federal statute codified at , with implementing regulations in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations at .
The Clery Act requ ...
, a federal law which requires colleges to make timely reports of crime on campus. La Salle women's basketball head coach John Miller was also forced to resign on the same day as Hahn, also for not reporting the alleged rape.
West Virginia
After spending three seasons out of coaching, Hahn was hired by new head coach,
Bob Huggins
Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953) is an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed “Huggy Bear,” he is currently the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team. Huggins previously held the head coach ...
, at
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...
in April 2007. Hahn and Huggins had been rivals, when Huggins coached
Akron
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...
.
In Hahn's first season with the team, the
Mountaineers
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbin ...
finished the regular season with a 22–9 record. The team also advanced to the semifinals of the
Big East tournament and the Sweet Sixteen of the
NCAA tournament, which included a second round victory over the #2-seed
Duke Blue Devils
The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...
. Hahn retired from coaching after the 2017 season.
Family
Hahn's son Matt, was a reserve on the
Maryland basketball team from 1996–2000. He served as an assistant coach at
IUP,
Robert Morris, and
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
.
[ ][ ]
Head coaching record
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hahn, Billy
1955 births
Living people
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Indiana
Basketball players from Indiana
Charleston Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Davidson Wildcats men's basketball coaches
High school basketball coaches in the United States
La Salle Explorers men's basketball coaches
Maryland Terrapins men's basketball coaches
Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players
Ohio Bobcats men's basketball coaches
People from Mishawaka, Indiana
West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball coaches
Point guards