Providence's forgotten great — recruited by Rick Pitino and became the blueprint for the modern point guard under pressure.
William Leonard Donovan Jr. was born in Rockville Centre, New York in 1965. He attended Providence College under coach Rick Pitino and was a solid Big East point guard across four seasons, averaging 14.7 points and 5.3 assists per game. He was an All-Big East selection. He led Providence to a memorable 1987 Final Four run as a senior — one of the great Cinderella stories of that tournament decade — where they lost to Syracuse in the semifinals. New York Knicks briefly signed him as an undrafted free agent. His lasting significance in college basketball is as a coach — he returned to Florida and won consecutive national championships in 2006 and 2007, making him one of only a handful of coaches to win back-to-back titles. He later coached in the NBA. His Providence playing career was good without being exceptional, but his student-of-the-game reputation was evident from his playing days. His story connects the Rick Pitino coaching tree to modern college basketball success.
Big East All-Conference
Career Honours
- Big East All-Conference
- Tournament performer
- Coached Florida to 2x national titles