By HockomockSports.com Staff
One of the greatest players in North Attleboro High School basketball history will be permanently honored when the program retires the late Mike Babul’s No. 43 jersey. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, January 20, between a girls-boys doubleheader against rival Attleboro. A Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year in 1996, Babul (1,423 career points) went on to play at UMass and later built an accomplished coaching career with stops at UTEP, Wagner, Memphis, Kentucky, Auburn, and in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets. The night will celebrate not only his on-court excellence but his lasting impact on the basketball community.
Below is a press release on the ceremony:
The friends of the Babul family, the North Attleboro basketball program, with the support of the athletic department and athletic director, Dr Nick Schlierf and head boys basketball coach Tyler Strange would like to announce the formal retiring of the late Mike Babul’s (‘96) high school basketball jersey, number 43.
On Tuesday January 20, 2026 the North Attleboro Red Rocketeers will host cross town rivals Attleboro High School in a girl-boy doubleheader.
The jersey retirement ceremony will take place after the varsity girls game and prior to the boys game.
The girls game is scheduled to start at 5:30PM, the ceremony is anticipated to begin at approximately 7:00PM and the varsity boys game will start at 7:30PM.
The inclement weather date for this event is Thursday January 22nd, all times will remain the same.
There will not be any presold tickets at this time. We do anticipate a standing room only crowd for this event and people are encouraged to arrive early.
The late Mike Babul was an outstanding student-athlete at NAHS, he was in the top 10% of his graduating class academically as a high honor student, he was undeniably the most heralded player to ever play at NA, being selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year for Massachusetts following the 1996 season. He was also selected as a McDonalds All American finalist and was selected to the prestigious Parade Magazine High School All American team with the likes of Kobe Bryant and several other future NBA stars. He and his twin brother Jon were a dynamic duo of talent, grace and dominance in the Attleboro area in the mid 90’s. They were both highly recruited stars, but they always stayed grounded and humble. Legendary college programs throughout the country such as North Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Michigan and UConn were after their talents. Mike chose to play for legendary coach John Calipari at UMass at the height of their national dominance in the late 90’s. Jon played and starred at Georgia Tech in the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference and currently works for the Atlanta Hawks.
Mike played four years at UMass, was selected to the first team all defensive team three times in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He went on to coach at Seekonk High School and helped start the Brotherhood, then coached collegiately for several years making an impact at UTEP, Wagner, Memphis, Kentucky and Auburn. He also coached in the NBA for the Brooklyn Nets working and polishing the games of NBA legends Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to name a few.
Mike was inducted into the Attleboro Area Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, Jon was also inducted in 2015.
Mikes greatest impact was not just his athletic ability, it was his vibrant personality, his interaction and coaching style to the thousands of players he coached, trained, taught and mentored in the Attleboro and Eastern Mass. and Rhode Island area. For ten years, plus he built his Hoop Work and Babul Brothers basketball brand. It was a place and opportunity for kids to learn, improve, build confidence and above all have fun playing the game of basketball.
Mike’s younger brother Jeff was a star guard for North Attleboro from 1997-2000 and Mikes father (Mike Sr.) is a well respected coach who spent twenty plus years coaching for Big Red and for thirty five years he was a highly regarded and well respected science teacher at the Amvet Boulavard School in North Attleboro.
Mike tragically passed away from a heart attack on December 30, 2024, people from all over the country traveled to pay their respects to Mike and the Babul family.
On January 20, 2026 we look to celebrate and the twin towers legacy and we will honor Mike forever in the retirement of his varsity jersey.
If you have any further questions regarding the jersey retirement night feel free to contact Pat Beith, John Case, Ethan Hamilton, Rick Patch or Chris Schlick.
If you would like to help off set the costs for the tribute night. Pat Beith has started a go fund me page. Please hit the link below to make a donation.
Thanks
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