Mt. Clemens mourns death of girls coach

October 11, 2001

BY BILL L. ROOSE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Mt. Clemens girls basketball coach Ved Green will be remembered for his knowledge of the game, compassion for his players and the small blue ball he squeezed the heck out of during tight games.

"He went through a couple of those 'stress-busters,' " said Shawn Boyd, Green's high school sweetheart. "Those kids cared as much for Ved as he did for them. He loved coaching. That was his dream. He wanted to see his players educated and show them the sport."

Green, who was in his 11th season as the Bathers' coach, died of a heart attack he suffered while chaperoning the school's homecoming dance last Saturday night. He was 44.

Junior varsity coach Ramont Roberts and varsity assistant Paul March will coach the varsity's remaining games.

"Ved taught the girls that academics came first," said athletic director Bob Giles, who knew Green as a player and hired him as a coach. "He held them accountable. He was able to walk that fine line of disciplining a player and they loved him. He was a genuinely good guy, an outstanding person."

Despite their loss, the Bathers insisted on playing Tuesday night. They lost to Utica Eisenhower, 54-34.

"The girls felt that he would want them to play," Giles said.

However, tonight's game at Grosse Pointe South has been rescheduled for Oct. 26, so that the team can attend family services.

The blue stress ball was a running joke between Green and his players, who gave the first ball to him for his 41st birthday when the Mt. Clemens team didn't start the season according to plan.

"I'm not normally a bear, and they know it," Green said at the time. "But when we started 1-4, they gave me this thing to keep me calm on the bench."

Green's teams won seven district championships, one regional title and five Macomb Area Conference crowns, including four straight in 1996-99.

Green was named the Free Press All-East coach of the year in '99.

A Mt. Clemens graduate, Green played small forward for the Bathers (1974-75), Mott Community College (1975-77) and Northeast Missouri State (1978-79). He also played one professional season in Kalmar, Sweden.

Green is survived by his parents, Joe and Earlene Green; brothers Mario, Andre and Amo; sister Medina Kingsley; and six nieces and five nephews.

Visitation is today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at United Memorial Funeral Home, 75 Dickinson St., Mt. Clemens.

Family hour is 7 tonight at North Broadway Church of Christ, 260 N. Broadway, Mt. Clemens. Funeral services are 11 a.m. Friday at North Broadway Church of Christ. Burial will follow in Clinton Grove Cemetery, 21189 Cass Ave., Clinton Township.

A scholarship fund has been established. Donations may be sent to the Ved Green Memorial Scholarship Fund, Mt. Clemens High School, 155 Cass Ave., Mt. Clemens 48043.