Former UMass basketball player Mike Babul dies at 47

AP FILE

Staff Report

Published: 12-31-2024 1:14 PM

Mike Babul, the 1996 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year who starred for the UMass men’s basketball team in the late 1990s as a lockdown defender, died on Monday at the age of 47 after suffering a heart attack, according to The Sun Chronicle.

Babul grew up in North Attleboro and famously chose UMass over UConn and North Carolina, sticking with his commitment to play in his home state even after John Calipari left the Minutemen to coach the New Jersey Nets following the 1995-96 season. The 6-foot-6 forward was a standout defender under UMass coach Bruiser Flint, and was named to the Atlantic-10 All-Defensive Team three times during a four-year career with the Minutemen.

He averaged 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game over the course of his four-year career at UMass. The program went 71-57 during his tenure, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament (1997, 1998). 

The UMass men’s basketball program confirmed Babul’s passing on social media, posting “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.”

Babul was most recently the head boys basketball coach at Thayer Academy in Braintree, having served in that role since 2023. Previously, he served as an assistant coach at Youngstown State and also made coaching stops at Memphis (where he worked as assistant director of basketball operations under Calipari), Auburn, Drexel, Wagner and the Long Island Nets – G-League affiliate of the New Jersey Nets. 

Babul’s twin brother Jon Babul played basketball at Georgia Tech.