Former college basketball star and former Nets G League affiliate assistant coach Mike Babur has died of a heart attack at the age of 47.
Babur was a legendary college basketball player from Massachusetts who eventually attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he spent four years and was known as a top defensive player.
He averaged only 3.7 points per game during his four years at the University of Massachusetts, but was named to three Atlantic 10 Conference All-Defensive teams.
“We mourn the loss of Massachusetts graduate Mike Bubbles,” the UMass BasketballX account said. “Babul was a true Massachusetts basketball legend on the court, a positive force in the community, and a coach and on the sidelines in many capacities.”
The 1995-1996 North Attleboro High School Gatorade Player of the Year, he joined coach John Calipari at the University of Massachusetts and became one of his favorites as a star defensive player.
Babur leaves behind a twin brother, John Babur, who also played college basketball at Georgia Tech.
Babur entered the coaching world immediately after graduating from the University of Massachusetts, starting in high school and rising to the position of associate head coach at Wagner College in 2015.
Babur also worked as an assistant coach for the Long Island Nets, where he collaborated with longtime friend Sean Fein.
At the time of his death, Babur was the head coach at Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts.
The school started the season 5-1, but the tragedy of his death certainly changed the sentiment surrounding the team's campaign.
Babur is survived by his fiancée Maria.
