Courtesy: Princeton Athletic Communications

Princeton University Athletics certainly had a hand in the success of 2007-08 Boston Celtics, in the front office and on the coaching staff, as managing partner & governor Wyc Grousbeck '83 and assistant coach Armond Hill '85 were both part of Boston's 17th NBA championship season.

The Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night in Boston by a score of 131-92, winning the NBA Finals four games to two and earning their first NBA championship since the 1985-86 season.

Grousbeck assumed the role of Managing Partner, Governor and CEO of the Celtics on Dec. 31, 1992, after leading a local investment group that purchased the team. Prior to purchasing the Celtics with his partners, he was a general partner of Highland Capital Partners, a venture capital firm.

He was a history major at Princeton, where he was also a member of a lightweight crew that won the national championship.

Grousbeck received a Wednesday phone call from President George W. Bush, congratulating the team on its accomplishments this season.

Hill, one of the finest players in Princeton basketball history, recently completed his fourth as an assistant coach with the Celtics. He worked as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks in 2003-04 and has 18 years of coaching experience, both as a head coach and as an assistant coach, with collegiate and high school programs.

In a recent Boston Herald article, Celtics head coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers lauded Hill for his contributions to the Celtics' 2007-08 season, one that saw the team finish an NBA-best 66-16 in the regular season before the playoff run to the NBA title.

"He's been phenomenal," Rivers told the Herald. "He sets up our offense, and he preaches it every day. We've been credited all year with our ball movement and how unselfish we play. Well, that's Armond Hill. He's been terrific."

Hill was the 1976 Ivy League Player of the Year at Princeton before being drafted ninth overall in the first round of the 1976 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. He played eight seasons in the NBA, including six with the Hawks. He returned to Princeton after his playing career to complete his baccalaureate degree, earning a B.A. in psychology in 1985.

He was also an assistant coach for four seasons at Princeton (1991-95) under his collegiate coach, Pete Carril, helping guide the Tigers to a 71-35 record in those four years and an Ivy League title and NCAA tournament berth in 1992.

To read the Princeton Packet's recent feature on Armond Hill, click here.