The basketball world was hit with the news that Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan's father, Billy Donovan Sr., had died. St. John's head coach Rick Pitino was one of the people to relay the message to the masses, as he's a close friend of the family.
“They didn't come any better than Billy Donovan Sr. A Special Man in every sense of the word. RIP my friend! You’re already in heaven,” Pitino wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Pitino coached Donovan Jr. when he was a player at Providence, and he later joined Pitino's coaching staff at Kentucky.
Donovan's father was a key part of his life and supported his basketball dreams through and through. He also would take him to New York Knicks games when he was a kid.
“These last 15, 16 years for me — oh my gosh! — have been phenomenal,” Donovan Sr. said in a story written in 2011 by GatorZone. “I played basketball growing up. When Billy was young, we'd watch games on television and I'd take him to see the Knicks. And now, to be able to be around the team and go to all the games and knowing Billy wants me to be a part of it all, I'm just so blessed I can't even tell you.”
Donovan Sr. played college basketball at Boston College and scored more than 1,000 career points.
There's no doubt that Donovan Sr. played a big part in his son's life, and he's still living it out as the coach of the Bulls.
There will probably be more people sending their prayers and condolences to the family in the coming days.
