OKC Thunder Trivia: uncovering 50 fun, surprising and random facts
Billy Donovan has done more than coach.
According to NewsOK, after a brief season with the New York Knicks, coach Billy Donovan had a bit of an unexpected career change. What was his short-term job? Donovan was a stock broker on Wall Street.
Additionally, he and his wife Christine helped open a Catholic high school in Gainesville, FL. After raising funds and assisting with planning, the school opened in 2004.
Of course, Donovan is most well-known for basketball. Prior to becoming the OKC Thunder head coach in April of 2015, Donovan spent the 1987-88 season as a reserve guard for the New York Knicks. Incidentally, his Knicks coach was also his college coach, Rick Pitino. And just a year later, Donovan joined Ptino as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky.
In 1996, Donovan became the head coach of the University of Florida Gators – where he first coached now-Thunder player Corey Brewer. Before his time at Florida came to an end, the team made four Final Four appearances and earned two NCAA championships.