One of the most colorful figures in college basketball history, former Maryland guard and longtime assistant coach Billy Hahn passed away on Friday, April 7, 2023 at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.V., at the age of 69.
Hahn played for the Terps from 1971-74 and began his coaching career after graduation. He was an assistant coach under Gary Williams at Maryland from 1989-2001 and also most recently served as an assistant under Bob Huggins at West Virginia from 2007-17. Hahn was also twice a head coach at Ohio (1986-89) and at La Salle (2001-04).
During his coaching career, Hahn coached and recruited 19 NBA players including Maryland standouts
Tony Massenburg,
Jerrod Mustaf,
Keith Booth,
Sarunas Jasikevicius,
Laron Profit,
Terence Morris,
Obinna Ekezie,
Steve Francis,
Chris Wilcox,
Lonny Baxter,
Steve Blake, and
Juan Dixon.
While at Maryland, Hahn helped the Terps reach eight straight NCAA Tournaments including the 2001 Final Four. Though he had departed College Park prior to the 2002 National Championship title run, Hahn was presented a ring along with the team for his vital role in helping assemble and coach the group.
His impact on Maryland included finishing fourth-or-higher in the ACC for eight straight seasons and then school records for regular-season wins (28) and ACC victories in a season (13) in 1999.
At West Virginia, he helped the Mountaineers win the 2010 Big East Championship and reach the NCAA Tournament nine times including the 2010 Final Four.
He was a freshman in 1971-72 when the Terps won the National Invitation Tournament and was a key reserve on the team that lost in what is considered the greatest game in ACC history (Maryland's 103-100 overtime setback against NC State in 1974).
He captained the team during his senior year in 1975. Hahn is one of only two players in Maryland basketball history to play and coach in the NCAA tournament.
A native of Mishawaka, Indiana, where he attended Penn High, Hahn is survived by his wife, Kathi, son, Matthew and his wife Christie, a daughter, Ashley and her husband Brian Calvery, and two grandchildren.
