Former college basketball star and basketball coach Mike Babul passed away after suffering a heart attack.

He was 47.

Babul was a basketball legend in Massachusetts, spending four years with the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

He was known as a defensive standout for the program, earning three A-10 Conference All-Defensive Teams.

“We mourn the passing of UMass alum Mike Babul. Babul was a true Massachusetts basketball legend on the court, serving as a positive force in his community and on many sidelines as a coach,” the UMass Men’s Basketball X account posted.

Babul became an assistant coach with the Nets G-League affiliate and was the head coach at Thayer Academy at the time of his death.

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From the New York Post:

The 1995-96 high school Gatorade Player of the Year at North Attleboro joined coach John Calipari at UMass and was one of his favorites as a star defensive player.

Babul leaves behind his twin brother, Jon Babul, who played college basketball himself at Georgia Tech.

Upon graduating from UMass, Babul immediately jumped into coaching, starting at the high school ranks before working his way up to associate head coach at Wagner University in 2015.

Babul also worked as an assistant coach for the Long Island Nets, where he worked with longtime friend Shaun Fein.

At the time of his death, Babul was the head coach of Thayer Academy in Braintree, Mass.

The Patriot Ledger reports:

The New England basketball community is mourning one of its brightest stars as Thayer Academy boys coach Mike Babul died Monday at the age of 47.

Babul was in his second season coaching the Tigers and had led them to a 5-1 record going into the holiday break. A former standout player himself in both high school (North Attleboro) and college (UMass), Babul had made a huge impact at Thayer, an Independent School League prep program in Braintree.

“He had a magnetic personality,” said Bobbi Moran, Thayer’s athletic director. “He did everything with gusto and passion. He loved the game of basketball. He loved being around basketball. He loved coaching kids of all ages and all ability levels. He turned our program (around); he took what (former coach) Mike Jones had built (and took it to the next level). Those boys would walk through fire for him. They loved him deeply and he loved them deeply.

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“He had sent out an email just before the holidays saying how much he appreciated working with us at Thayer and how grateful he was to be there and how it was one of the greatest joys of his life. He used to say, ‘This is my dream job.’

“I’m so sad for our boys. I’m so sad for our families, our community. And I’m so eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him and his coaching staff. He is a legend and he’s going to be sorely missed.”

Babul, who lived in Plymouth and was engaged to be married, was a standout player at North Attleboro High, where he was the program’s all-time leading scorer. As a 6-6 senior forward in 1996, when he averaged 20.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, he was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Massachusetts, as well as the Massachusetts High School Coaches Association Player of the Year. Babul also was named to the prestigious Parade Magazine All-American Team in 1996, which honors the top 40 prep players in the country.

 

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