Bob Huggins issues heartfelt statement on the death of former WVU assistant Billy Hahn
Former West Virginia Mountaineer basketball assistant Billy Hahn passed away on Friday after suffering a heart attack a few days ago, according to ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Franschilla. He was 69 years old. He coached across the college basketball landscape for more than four decades, spending 10 of those years as an assistant under Bob Huggins at West Virginia.
On Thursday afternoon, the legendary college basketball coach issued a heartfelt statement to the family and friends of the former WVU assistant coach.
Check it out below.
“I have known Billy since the early 1970s when I visited Maryland as a recruit, and he was my host for the weekend. From there, I ran into Billy constantly on the recruiting trail over the years before I hired him at WVU in 2007,” Huggins wrote.
“Billy was a player’s coach and a very good communicator. He had a great rapport with the players, and they all really enjoyed being around him. All of Mountaineer basketball and Mountaineer Nation is saddened by Billy’s passing. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Kathi, his son, Matty, his daughter, Ashley, his grandchildren, their families and everyone that knew and loved Billy,” Huggins wrote in his statement on Friday.
Fran Franschilla shared a message about Billy Hahn
Hahn was beloved by many different players and coaches across the college basketball landscape and many of them decided to tweet out messages on social media on Friday afternoon after learning of his passing. ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Franschilla shared his memories of Billy Hahn on Twitter on Friday afternoon.
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“Billy Hahn was one of a kind. He is the reason I became a college coach. Recruited to Maryland by George Raveling & Lefty [Driesell] & a national champion under Gary Williams. Most importantly, a dear friend to many, many. A character with character. RIP, Big Brother,” Fraschilla tweeted.
Like Fraschilla noted above, Billy Hahn played his college basketball under Lefty Driesell at Maryland from 1971-1974. He played on the Maryland team that won the 1971 National Invitation Tournament. He also played a role on the team that went 24-5 overall during the 1974-1975 season.
During his time as an assistant college basketball coach over the years, he spent time with six different schools: Morris Harvey (1974-1975), Davidson (1975-1976), Rhode Island (1976-1979), Ohio University (1979-1986), Maryland (1989-2001), and West Virginia (2007-2017). As a head coach, Hahn served two different stints with two different schools: the Ohio Bobcats (1986-1989) and La Salle (2001-2004).