Bill Donovan, the father of Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and a member of Boston College’s Hall of Fame, died Saturday. He was 85.
Bill Donovan played three years of basketball for the Eagles, where he became the fourth player in school history to score 1,000 points. A three-year starter and team captain his senior season, he finished with 1,012 points and was inducted to the Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2000.
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Donovan never played basketball professionally. After being discharged from the U.S. Army, he graduated from Harvard’s business management and was appointed president of JP Stevens Textiles.
“He made everyone feel like a billion dollars,” longtime Florida Gators play-by-play broadcaster Mick Hubert wrote on Donovan’s obituary page Monday. “His light shown everywhere he went. His smile and laugh was infectious. He sat next to me on so many Gator basketball broadcasts. His set shot was a thing of beauty. Heaven has gained another Hall of Famer.”
The younger Donovan played one season with the NBA’s New York Knicks before embarking on a long coaching career in college and the NBA. He was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2025.
Bill Donovan is survived by his wife, Joan, three children, 11 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
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