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Billy Donovan reacts to Naismith Hall of Fame induction
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Billy Donovan was wrapping up a shootaround with his Chicago Bulls team and preparing to do a radio interview when he saw a message on his phone.
“I look down and it says ‘Hall of Fame.’ I’m like, ‘OK, this is either gonna go 1 of 2 ways,'” Donovan told ESPN’s Rece Davis and Jay Bilas on Saturday, moments after the announcement that he would be a 2025 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “I walked off the court behind the bleachers and they gave me the news. Obviously, I was thrilled and humbled and incredibly grateful.”
Donovan first called his wife, Christine, with the news, telling Davis and Bilas about her sacrifices during his coaching career.
He also credited Rick Pitino, his former head coach at Providence who hired Donovan as part of his initial staff at Kentucky in 1989.
“I’ve been fortunate that I learned from an unbelievable coach in Coach Pitino — maybe the best there is out there — and he gave me an opportunity,” Donovan said.
Then, of course, were his former players and assistants at Florida, who he led to back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007.
“From a coaching perspective, when you’re sitting up here, you’re really only as good as the people around you. And I’ve been blessed to be around really, really great people — players, coaches, assistant coaches,” Donovan said.
Across 19 seasons as the Florida head coach (1996-2015), Donovan won 467 games, 6 SEC regular-season championships, and 4 SEC Tournament titles. He led Florida to 4 appearances in the Final Four and 14 straight March Madness appearances.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
