Wednesday, September 18, 2019

I thought it was down South............my 1st guess was Kentucky............wrong.......i finally rememberd........

Billy Donovan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Billy Donovan
Billy Donovan 2014.jpg
Donovan in 2014
Oklahoma City Thunder
PositionHead coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
BornMay 30, 1965 (age 54)
Rockville Centre, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight171 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High schoolSaint Agnes
(Rockville Centre, New York)
CollegeProvidence (1983–1987)
NBA draft1987 / Round: 3 / Pick: 68th overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career1987–1989
PositionPoint guard
Number1
Coaching career1989–present
Career history
As player:
1987Wyoming Wildcatters
1987–1988New York Knicks
1988–1989Rapid City Thrillers
As coach:
1989–1994Kentucky (assistant)
1994–1996Marshall
1996–2015Florida
2015–presentOklahoma City Thunder
Career highlights and awards
As player: As head coach:
Career statistics
Points105 (2.4 ppg)
Assists87 (2.0 apg)
Steals16 (0.4 spg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
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.[1]
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. Donovan served as an assistant coach for the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball from 1989 to 1993 under Pitino, working his way from serving as a graduate assistant to Pitino's top assistant. He accepted his first head coaching position at Marshall University in 1994 and led the Thundering Herd to a 35–20 record over two seasons.
Donovan was hired to revive Florida's basketball program in 1996. After two losing seasons while he rebuilt the roster through relentless recruiting, Donovan's Gators began a streak of sixteen straight 20-win seasons, a period which included multiple conference championships, four Final Four appearances, two NCAA championships, and three SEC coach of the year awards.
During Donovan's tenure at Florida, he was often rumored to be a candidate for various NCAA and NBA head coaching positions. In June 2007, after leading the Gators to their second consecutive national title, he accepted an offer to become the head coach of the NBA's Orlando Magic. However, he immediately had second thoughts, and after a week, he persuaded the Magic to release him from his newly signed contract and allow him to return to Florida, where he remained for eight more seasons.[2]

No comments:

Post a Comment