UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Billy Donovan enters the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night alongside a pair of stars he is very familiar with. Donovan attempted to recruit Dwight Howard to Florida before he entered the NBA Draft in 2004 as a high schooler. A decade later, Donovan coached Carmelo Anthony for a season with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the closing stages of the forward’s career.
Eight years later, Donovan remains in awe of the legendary forward who was one of the most gifted NBA scorers this century on his way
“I was always fascinated watching him work out before practice and after,” Donovan said. “He played a ton of one on one, but what he would do is he’d only play one on one and sometimes play one on one with no dribbles. It was amazing to watch him with his footwork.”
While Donovan had great praise for his fellow nominees Friday at the Mohegan Sun Convention Center, the Bulls coach will get a unique gift to start his season with the Bulls at his Hall of Fame induction in Springfield this weekend. The legendary college coach amassed over 500 wins in 21 seasons at Marshall and Florida including four trips to the Final Four and back-to-back titles win in 2006 and 2007. That success led him to a successful NBA coaching career with the Thunder and Bulls over the last decade, joining the slim ranks of elite coaches at both levels.
“There are a lot of great coaches out there who maybe don’t get to coach a Carmelo Anthony or a Kevin Durant or a Joakim Noah or an Al Horford or Brad Beal,” Donovan said. “That doesn’t mean every year we won, but those kinds of situations put you in a position to do something special.”
Donovan credited some of his early influences for his success including Providence coach Rick Pitino. He also praised having experienced coaches around him at the next level including former pros and successful head coaches like Maurice Cheeks and Monty Williams who were alongside him in Oklahoma City.
A large contingent of Bulls players will be in attendance on Saturday night as Donovan is honored at Symphony Hall in Springfield as he becomes just third active coach with Hall of Fame accolades.
“it’s just a reflection of someone who’s had a lot of good quality people in their life from start to finish.”
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