Ronald Green (רוני גרין; August 5, 1944 – July 2012) was an

American-Israeli , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...

basketball player. He played the forward position. He played in the

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball co ...

, and for the

Israeli national basketball team The Israel men's national basketball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורסל) represents Israel in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Israeli Basketball Association. Israel is currently ranked 33rd in the ...

Biography

Green was born in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

, and was Jewish. He was raised by Morris and Florence Green. He was 6' 6" (198 cm) tall. His son Erin Green also played professional basketball in Israel. He attended

Miami Beach High School Miami Beach Senior High School (Beach High, MBSH) is a secondary school located at 2231 Prairie Avenue Miami Beach, Florida, across from the Miami Beach Convention Center and Botanical Garden. It is located at the corner of Prairie Avenue and ...

, where Green played on the basketball team from 1960–1962, and was named All-City First Team. Green attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

(B.A. in Business Administration, '66; MBA University of Miami , '69), on a full scholarship. He played for the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's team ...

from 1963–66. In 1964–65, the team won the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) championship. He played basketball for Team USA in the

1965 Maccabiah Games The 7th Maccabiah Games in 1965 saw 1,500 athletes from 29 different countries compete in 21 sports. It was the first Maccabiah Games for Iran, Jamaica, Peru, and Venezuela. The United States delegation won the most gold medals, followed by Israel, ...

alongside

Tal Brody Talbot "Tal" Brody (Hebrew: טל ברודי; born August 30, 1943), nicknamed Mr. Basketball, is an American-Israeli former professional basketball player and current goodwill ambassador of Israel. Brody was drafted #12 in the National Basketball ...

and Steve Chubin, winning a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

, and in the 1969 Maccabiah Games, winning a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

. Green played professionally in the

for

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

in 1970–71, averaging 14.1 points per game. He played on the

, winning a silver medal with the team at the 1970 Asian Games. In addition, he played in the Italian Professional League. After playing basketball abroad, and marrying an Israeli nurse, Green returned to Miami to work with Green Brothers Food Brokerage, as well as an account manager with

Buitoni Buitoni () is an Italian food company based in Sansepolcro. It was founded in 1827. They are known for their factory-produced products of pasta and sauces. In 1985, the Buitoni family sold the company to Carlo De Benedetti; in 1988, it was acqu ...

and Haagen-Dazs. Green suffered from a rare disease known as

multiple system atrophy Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by autonomic dysfunction, tremors, slow movement, muscle rigidity, and postural instability (collectively known as parkinsonism) and ataxia. This is caused by progr ...

. Green married Carol Litman, a high school English teacher, in 1983. She cared for him as MSA took his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Ronald 1944 births 2012 deaths Competitors at the 1965 Maccabiah Games Deaths from multiple system atrophy Forwards (basketball) Israeli men's basketball players Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games medalists in basketball Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Sportspeople from Miami Beach, Florida American men's basketball players Basketball players from Florida Competitors at the 1969 Maccabiah Games Israeli Basketball Premier League players Maccabiah Games silver medalists for the United States Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1970 Asian Games Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in basketball Asian Games silver medalists for Israel Neurological disease deaths in the United States