DETROIT (6/13/2017) -- Former University of Detroit Mercy standout basketball player and Horizon League Player of the Year Willie Green '03 was celebrating on Monday night on his new home court as a member of the 2017 NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Green is in his first season as an assistant coach for player development for Golden State, assisting the team in reaching the NBA finals for the third-straight year. The Warriors finished the regular season at 67-15 and then went 16-1 in the playoffs, knocking off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals for their second title in three seasons.
He is now the sixth known player in school history to win a NBA championship and the first as a coach.
The other five Titans are:
- Dave DeBusschere with the 1970 New York Knicks
- Spencer Haywood with the 1980 Los Angeles Lakers
- Terry Duerod with the 1981 Boston Celtics
- Earl Cureton with the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1994 Houston Rockets
- John Long with the 1989 Detroit Pistons
In his playing days as a Titan, Green was part of two 20-win campaigns and postseason appearances. As a sophomore in 2000-01, he helped Detroit Mercy reach the semifinals of the NIT and tie a school record with 25 wins. The following season, the Titans also made the NIT.
Green is still fourth all-time in scoring with 1,779 points, which includes 678 points as a senior, ninth in the Titan record book. As a senior, he was an AP Honorable Mention All-American and the Horizon League Player of the Year after averaging a league-best 22.6 points per game, 12th in school history.
He was then selected in the second round (41st pick overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics and was later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He would go on to play seven of his 12 NBA seasons with Philadelphia, averaging a career-high 12.4 points in 2007-08 and 11.3 points in 2006-07.
He also played for the New Orleans Hornets (2010-11), Atlanta Hawks (2011-12) Los Angeles Clippers (2012-14) and the Orlando Magic (2014-15).
He finished his NBA career playing in 731 games with 297 starts tallying 8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists, while shooting 42.5 percent from the field, 34.6 percent from behind the arc and 76.5 percent at the free throw line.
