Mike Babul, the head boys basketball coach at Thayer Academy and a legendary basketball player from North Attleboro, Mass., died on Monday. He was 47.
A 1996 graduate of North Attleboro High School, where he was the program’s all-time leading scorer, Babul was named the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year before playing at UMass as a member of John Calipari’s final recruiting class. He was a three-year starter for the Minutemen and three-time All-Defensive selection in the Atlantic 10.
Babul went on to embark on a long coaching career, which included stops at Youngstown State, Drexel, Auburn, Wagner and the Long Island Nets, the G-League affiliate of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets. He took the head-coaching job at Thayer in 2023 and led the program to a 5-1 record this winter to start his second season.
Babul’s impact was felt throughout amateur basketball in New England. An independent basketball trainer, he was the owner of Hoop Work, a year-round basketball development program, and director of Metro West Swarm AAU basketball program, operated out of Mansfield, Mass. He was also on the coaching staff of the Draft League, a local summer league designed for middle school players.
