Billy Donovan

At 58 years old, Billy Donovan has this physical status:

William John Donovan Jr. (born May 30, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He previously spent 19 seasons at the University of Florida, where his Florida Gators teams won back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007.

Donovan has more wins than any other coach in the history of the Florida basketball program, and he coached the Gators to more NCAA tournament appearances, NCAA tournament wins, and Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships than all other Florida coaches combined. Donovan was born and raised in Rockville Centre on Long Island, New York.

As the starting point guard for Rick Pitino's Providence team, Donovan led the Friars to the 1987 Final Four.

As such, he is one of only four men (Dean Smith, Joe B. Hall and Bobby Knight being the others) to appear in the NCAA Final Four as a player and win the NCAA national championship as a coach.After college, Donovan spent the 1987–88 and 1988–89 basketball seasons split between the developmental Continental Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association's New York Knicks, who were led by his college coach, Rick Pitino.

Donovan left professional basketball in 1989, and briefly worked as a Wall Street stock broker before following Pitino to his new job at the University of Kentucky.

Early life

Donovan was born and raised in Rockville Centre on Long Island, New York along with an older sister, Margaret by his parents, Bill Donovan Sr. and Joan Donovan. Bill Donovan Sr. is the third leading scorer in the history of the Boston College Eagles men's basketball program, and he sometimes coached his only son's youth basketball teams while working in the textile industry. Billy Donovan Jr. attended St. Agnes Cathedral High School in Rockville Centre, where he played basketball under coach Frank Morris. Donovan was described as a "gym rat" who would play basketball as often as possible, even sneaking into his high school gymnasium late at night to practice. With Donovan starting at point guard, St. Agnes won the Long Island Catholic High School Championship during his senior year.

Personal life

Donovan married Christine Hasbrouck (née D'Auria, b. 1964) on August 5, 1989. She is the daughter of Anthony J. D'Auria and Patricia Ann Connor D'Auria, and a descendant of the Hasbrouck family. The Donovans have four children: Connor, Bryan, Hasbrouck Anne and William Donovan III, who transferred to Florida from Catholic University and walked on to his father's team as a reserve guard. A fifth child, Jacqueline, was delivered stillborn in 2000, prompting Donovan to become involved in several children's charities and to help raise funds for a children's hospital in Gainesville. Similar tragedies struck the families of Pitino, former assistant coach Anthony Grant, and current assistant John Pelphrey, forging a closer bond between them.

Donovan's parents bought a home in Gainesville in 1996, and Bill Donovan Sr., has been a fixture at most Gator games and practices ever since.

Donovan is a Roman Catholic. He has been described as politically conservative by some of his players and in the media; however, he is a registered independent.

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Playing career

Donovan received an athletic scholarship to Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, upon graduation. During his first two seasons with the Providence Friars men's basketball team, he averaged two points per game as a freshman and three as a sophomore under coach Joe Mullaney. Mullaney retired after the 1984–85 season, and New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Pitino became Providence's new head coach. Donovan told Pitino that he would like to move to Fairfield or Northeastern to get more playing time. Nevertheless, Pitino asked the coaches of those smaller conference schools on Donovan's behalf, but the academy refused to give him a scholarship, so Pitino encouraged Donovan to stay at Providence and get himself into better physical shape for the forthcoming season.

Donovan thrived in Pitino's system, which emphasized the new three-point shot on offense and a fast-paced full-court press defense. "Billy the Kid," Providence fans shortly dubbed him after the 19th-century outlaw), averaged 15.1 points per game as a youth and 20.6 as a senior, receiving Southeast Regional Most Valuable Player accolades after leading the sixth-seeded Friars to the 1987 Final Four. Donovan was also named to the 1987 Big East First Team, the 1987 Big East All-Tournament squad, and was an honorable mention All-American. "I've never in my life have I worked as hard as (Donovan)," Pitino would later say.

Donovan was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the third round (68th overall) of the 1987 NBA draft, but before the regular season began, he was disapproved. He signed with the Wyoming Wildcats of the Continental Basketball Association, hoping for his second shot at playing in the NBA. Pitino left Providence after the team's Final Four appearance and returned to New York as the head coach of the New York Knicks. Donovan was reunited with his college coach after the Knicks signed him to a one-year deal in December 1987. He appeared as a reserve guard for the remainder of the 1987–88 season and averaged 2.4 points and 2.0 assists in 44 games.

Donovan was released by the Knicks in March 1988. He did not make an NBA roster during the 1988-89 season, so he returned to the CBA, scoring 10.1 points per game with the Rapid City Thrillers.

Collegiate coaching career

Pitino was given the task of rebuilding a Kentucky basketball program that had been harmed by NCAA fines due to earlier rules breaches. The Wildcats soared to national prominence, and Donovan's teaching career advanced quickly as well. He was promoted to assistant coach in 1990 and associate head coach in 1992 after one season as a graduate assistant. Donovan served as Pitino's top assistant during Kentucky's 1993-19 Final Four appearance, and he helped recruit the members of the UK's 1996 national championship team.

Donovan's involvement with Kentucky's triumph, as well as Pitino's recommendation, earned him an invite to serve as the head basketball coach at Marshall University, where the Thundering Herd had struggled to a 9-18 record during the 1993–94 season. Donovan accepted the job, making him (at 28 years old) the youngest head basketball coach in NCAA Division I.

Donovan's fast-paced offense and defensive plans were introduced at Marshall. Marshall vs. Kentucky in December 1994 in a newly called early season match-up. Pitino advised his teenage protege to "try whip Kentucky's assassination because we'll try to do the same to you" before the game. Despite being warmly welcomed by the Rupp Arena audience, Donovan's staff did not feel as welcome, losing 116–75. The remainder of the season was much more fruitful. Donovan's first Marshall squad doubled their win total from last year, winning the Southern Conference North Division for the first time as Donovan was named the 1995 Southern Conference Coach of the Year. The team went 17-11-11 in Donovan's second season, 1995-96, and led the Southern Conference in scoring and three-point field goals. Donovan was also successful on the recruiting trail, comanding nationally sought prep actor Jason Williams to decline scholarship offers from more established colleges and remain in state to attend Marshall. Williams would return to Florida later this year.

Overall, Donovan's Marshall teams set a 35-20 record in two seasons.

Lon Kruger, the University of Florida's basketball coach, resigned in March 1996 to serve in the University of Illinois in the same capacity. The Florida basketball program had only been successful in its time, and although the Gators won their first Final Four under Kruger in 1994, his teams returned to mediocre levels. Jeremy Foley, Florida's athletic director, needed a "new, energetic, and enthusiastic" coach to ensure long-term success, and after a wide range of candidates, he found Billy Donovan, the 30-year-old Billy Donovan was the right candidate. Foley offered Donovan a six-year deal to ensure that the program will be built up.

Donovan's first two Florida squads had records of 13–17 and 15–16, with few key names on the roster. There were some signs of improvement, but Donovan's "relentless" recruiting during this period set the tone for future success.

During the 1998–99 season, Donovan brought lasting success to the Florida basketball program. The Gators won 20+ games for the fifth time in history and started a streak of 16 consecutive 20-win seasons. The Gators continued to play well in 1999, making their third NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance and their second squad to appear in the final top 25 polls (No. 1). In the ESPN/USA Today Poll, the 17th in the ESPN/USA Today Poll and No. 82nd in the No. 147. According to the Associated Press Poll, 23 people were ranked in the Associated Press Poll.

Donovan led the Gators to their first regular season SEC Championship and their second NCAA final Four appearance, defeating North Carolina in the national semi-finals before losing to Michigan State in the NCAA championship tournament.

During the 2000-2001 season, the Gators won the SEC regular season championship for the first time, and the team won the No. 3 trophy on February 3, 2003. For the first time in school history, the ESPN/USA Today poll is ranked No. 1 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, with the following season returning to the University of California on December 8, 2003. Florida's 2004–05 season was highlighted by Florida's victory over Kentucky 753-53, the first time the Gators had won the SEC tournament.

Despite being stocked with highly recruited players during the regular season, Donovan's Florida squads from 2001 to 2005 consistently underperform in the NCAA tournament, losing to lower-seeded teams in the first or second rounds every year. While Donovan was an excellent recruiter who was unable to make in-game changes or produce talented players while on the UF campus, several commentators argued that he was an excellent recruiter.

Donovan's sophomore-led Gator team won the school's first-ever victory streak to start a season, resurrecting 17 straight victories and advancing to No. 2 in the 2005–06 season. In the AP poll, the country ranks No. 2nd in the nation. However, the team did not finish in first SEC game of the season to the Tennessee Volunteers, which was disappointing. Florida's second place in the SEC Eastern Division was followed by a dramatic season sweep at the hands of the eventual 2006 National Invitation Tournament champion South Carolina Gamecocks.

In the postseason, Donovan's teen Gator squad will unite. Florida advanced to the SEC Tournament championship after beating South Carolina in the finals, securing the school's second conference tournament title. The 3rd-seeded Gators of the NCAA tournament in 2006 reached the Sweet 16 and beyond. They defeated Villanova (who had knocked them out of the tournament the previous season) to advance to the Final Four, and UCLA defeated UCLA 73–57 to win the school's first NCAA basketball championship.

The Gators' entire starting five of (Lee Humphrey, Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, and Tauber Gator) revealed the following year in the O'Connell Center, rather than waiting for the NBA draft early in the year. Many media analysts had the Gators as one of the preseason favorites to repeat. The Gators were battling out of the gates after losing only two non-conference games (versus Kansas and Florida State). Donovan defeated Norm Sloan's total number on December 20, 2006, becoming the winning basketball coach in Florida history. The 2007 Gators looked even more mature in terms of their unselfishness, swiftness, and overall team play. Despite the fact that the Gators sputtered down the stretch in SEC play, losing three of four games, including a loss at Vanderbilt, the Kentucky Wildcats, the team bounced back to win their sixth straight over their opponents, the Kentucky Wildcats, to regain momentum and claim the SEC regular season championship. The Gators then emerged as SEC Tournament champions with ferocious results that culminated in a victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the finals.

Florida earned the number one overall seed in the 2007 NCAA tournament and defeated Jackson State, Purdue, Butler, and Oregon to advance to the Final Four. The semi-finals was a rematch of the 2006 title game against UCLA, and Donovan's Gators won 76–66. With a 84–75 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes, coached by Thad Matta, the Gators secured their repeat championship two nights later. The University of Florida became the first school in NCAA history to host both the football and basketball national championships at the same time, with the Florida Gators winning the 2007 BCS National Championship Game (also over Ohio State) three months prior.

Donovan's first decade in Gainesville brought the University of Florida's basketball program to a new degree of success. From 1999 to 2007, the Gators have attended three national championship games and two NCAA championship tournaments. In comparison, Florida's basketball squads had only been in five NCAA Tournaments in 81 years of existence before Donovan's arrival and had never won a NCAA Championship game. Florida had only won one single regular season SEC championship before Donovan's arrival. The Gators have won three SEC regular season titles and three SEC tournament titles from 1996 to 2007.

Donovan resurfaced in Gainesville, Florida, and Rivals.com ranked him at the top of the 2007 recruiting class.

Despite the fact that all five starters from last year were recalled, the Gators surprised several analysts with Donovan's tenth straight 20-win season. However, the team did not get off to a good start in the final third of the season, winning just three of its last eleven games and snapping the Gators' nine-year streak of NCAA tournament invitations after an 18–3 start. The young Gator team advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), before falling to the UMass Minutemen.

The 2008–09 Gators debuted No. 1 on the season's list, ranked No. 1. 19 and 5–0 before falling to Syracuse. The Gators were disqualified from the top twenty-five ranked teams two weeks after losing to the Florida State Seminoles. Despite winning twenty-two regular season games, the team was not strong enough to qualify for the NCAA tournament once more. However, the Gators were given a number one seed in the 2009 NIT, where they lost to the Penn State Nittany Lions in the quarterfinals.

During the 2009-2010 season, the Gators returned to the NCAA tournament, but in the first round, they fell to the BYU Cougars in double overtime. During the season, Florida defeated Florida State, snapping a three-game losing streak to the Seminoles. En route to winning the 2009 Legends Classic tournament, they defeated Michigan State, a preseason favorite to win the NCAA tournament and an eventual Final Four team.

The 2010–11 Gators had a record-breaking success, with three returning senior starters. They won the SEC regular season title and finished runners-up in the 2011 SEC Tournament. The Gators defeated the Jimmer Fredette-led BYU Cougars in the 2011 NCAA Tournament before losing in overtime to the Butler Bulldogs in the Elite Eight.

Donovan was named the 2011 SEC Coach of the Year on March 8, 2011. Despite being involved in three national championship tournaments and winning two national titles, Donovan's first time winning the award was his first time winning the award. Chandler Parsons, a forward for the University of Georgia, was also named the first Gator to win SEC Player of the Year awards.

The 2011–12 Gators were all invited to the NCAA Tournament, this time as a seventh seed. The Virginia Cavaliers defeated them and fifteenth-seeded Norfolk State (who had previously defeated second-seeded Missouri) to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, then defeated Marquette 68–58 for the second year in a row. Donovan and the Gators met Louisville and Donovan's former coach Pitino in the Elite Eight. The Gators lost by 72-68 in a close game.

Donovan defeated the Missouri Tigers 83-52 in their 83-52 victory on January 19, 2013. It was his 400th victory in his career at the University of Florida. The Gators captured the 2013 SEC regular season championship (Donovan's fifth regular season championship), finished second in the third round, Minnesota in the third round, and Florida Gulf Coast in the Southern Final), and then lost to Michigan in the regional final.

Donovan's 2013–14 squad started the year off with several players injured or suspended, as well as one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in college basketball. Florida lost two close road games to ranked teams and then moved to the conference portion of their schedule, earning an 11–2 record and a No. With a national ranking of ten, we now rank # 10 in the world. During the regular season, the Gators will not lose again, becoming the first team to finish with an 18–0 conference record while still setting several school records. Florida then defeated SEC opponents 21–0 to tally beat them in the 2014 SEC men's basketball tournament.

The SEC regular season championship was the third in four seasons for Donovan's Gators, and their conference tournament championship was their fourth in school history, with all attending under Donovan. For the third time, he was named the SEC Coach of the Year, and his participants received numerous of the conference's individual awards. Scottie Wilbekin, the senior guard of the year, was named the SEC Tournament MVP and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while senior center Patric Young was named the Sixth Man of the Year, and senior guard Casey Prather was named to the All-SEC First Team.

The Gators secured the No. one overall seed in the 2014 NCAA tournament, and their winning streak spanned 30 games as they advanced to the Final Four by beating each of their first four tournament opponents by double digit margins. Nonetheless, the Gators' season came to an end with a national semifinal loss to the 7-seed and eventual national champion UConn Huskies, who had been the last team to beat Florida in December.

Donovan became the second youngest coach in NCAA Division II history to win 500 career titles, defeating the Tennessee Volunteers 66–49. Donovan became the first coaches to win 500 games before turning 50 years old. However, his Gator squad ended the season with a 16-17 record, snaping the Gators' winning season and 20-win streaks at a row.

Donovan led the Gators to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, six SEC regular season titles (four outright, two shared), and four SEC Tournament titles in 18 years at Florida. By comparison, the Gators had only made three "official" NCAA Tournament appearances (not counting two under Sloan), one regular season conference championship, and no tournament titles in their entire history before Donovan's arrival.

Professional coaching career

During Florida's national championship runs, rumors circulated that Donovan was considering becoming the head coach at the University of Kentucky. Though the United Kingdom may have shown an interest in the case, he said later that he "never had any official contact with Kentucky." Donovan, who won the 2007 national championship, has announced that he had no plans to leave Florida for another college degree and that he was still working on a UF contract extension.

However, the Orlando Magic in late May offered Donovan their head coaching position to replace Brian Hill, who had been suspended after two seasons in a row. Donovan didn't make the decision until June 1, 2007, when he decided to accept the Orlando Magic's contract bid, potentially worth $27.5 million over five years. Donovan's former assistant, who was the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University at the time, Jeremy Foley, the Florida athletic director, contacted Anthony Grant, who was the head coach at the time, to inquire about Donovan's replacement.

On June 1, 2007, Donovan held an inaugural press conference in Orlando, followed by an emotional farewell press conference in Gainesville later that day. Donovan's second thoughts about his decision came back to him, and he told Jeremy Foley and the Magic front office that he had changed his mind about leaving Florida. After struggling to change his mind, the Magic reached an agreement with Donovan on June 6, 2007, releasing him from his service and leaving him free to return as the head coach of the Florida Gators basketball team. He is said not to coach in the NBA for the next five seasons as a result of his release. Donovan extended his apology to all interested parties and the Orlando Magic soon hired Stan Van Gundy as their head coach shortly after.

Donovan was named head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 30, 2015, after losing Scott Brooks, who had previously worked with the Thunder for seven seasons, on April 30, 2015.

Donovan would not return to the team until the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension on September 8, 2020. Donovan's average was 243-157 in his five seasons in Oklahoma City, only once breaking the first round.

Donovan's contract was not renewed after the 2019-20 season, and both sides decided to mutually part ways.

Donovan, the Chicago Bulls' new head coach, was hired on September 22, 2020, under a four-year contract worth $24 million. Donovan won his first game as Bulls coach on December 29, defeating the Washington Wizards 115–107.

National team career

Donovan has been selected to serve as a head coach for USA Basketball on three occasions. He coached the 2012 U18 team to the 2012 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship, going 5–0 in the tournament. He then led several of the same participants in the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, going 9-0 in the tournament. He coached the US team at the 2014 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in the United States once more, winning the tournament by a 5–0 record.

Some commentators have agreed that Donovan should've replaced Mike Krzyzewski as the head coach of the United States men's national basketball team at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

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