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Widely beloved and longtime Bay Area coach Hans de Lannoy died this week at his home in San Ramon after a years-long battle with cancer at the age of 72, midway through the basketball season that he continued to help coach until days before his death.
Sports Illustrated first broke the news of de Lannoy’s death on Wednesday, with current and former athletes and colleagues mourning the loss as the news spread Thursday.
“It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of Coach Hans De Lannoy, a beloved coach, mentor, and staff member who made an immeasurable impact on our students, athletes, and school community,” SRVUSD Superintendent CJ Cammack said. “His legacy will live on through the countless students he inspired and his unwavering spirit and dedication. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all those who had the privilege of knowing him.”
Those who had the privilege of knowing de Lannoy are abundant, with the longtime coach and mentor having left his mark as a teacher and assistant boys’ basketball coach at San Ramon Valley High School over the past decade, as well as previous stints coaching teams at Cal High, Dublin, and a range of other Bay Area schools over the course of his 40-year career.
de Lannoy had been battling brain cancer for seven years, according to the initial reporting by Sports Illustrated, with complications from the disease ultimately proving fatal this week, days after he was last in attendance at his final Wolves game on Jan. 31.
