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Former Florida Gators HC Billy Donovan Named Chicago Bulls Head Coach

Former Florida and Oklahoma City Thunder head coach, Billy Donovan, is now the head coach of the Chicago Bulls.

Graham Marsh

© Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

His name is on the court in Gainesville, now his name will be at the top of the coaching staff in Chicago. 

Former Florida Gators basketball head coach Billy Donovan has been named head coach of the Chicago Bulls, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Donovan up until this season had been the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder for five years. 

Before his time with the Thunder, the 56-year-old spent 1996-2015 in Gainesville with the Gators. In that time, he enjoyed two national championships, four Final Fours and four SEC championships. The coach brought success to UF's basketball program that, at the time, was unprecedented. 

Before Donovan, Florida had just one final four appearances and elite eight appearance and had never won the SEC. That elevation of winning is what eventually attracted the NBA to Donovan. 

Oklahoma City hired him away from Florida in 2015, in those five years, the Thunder were 243-157 during Donovan's tenure. OKC made the playoffs in all of those five years, including a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2016, in which the Thunder took the Golden State Warriors to seven games. 

Chicago has a promising young roster. The Bulls have reason to be optimistic considering players like Zach LaVine, Coby White and Lauri Markkanen.  Under an experienced coached like Donovan, perhaps Chicago could string together a roster that could make much more noise than it has recently in the Eastern Conference. 

The Bulls have not made the playoffs since the 2016-2017 season, in which they got bounced 4-2 in the first round by the Boston Celtics. Since then, they have not come within 15 points of a .500 record and have been at least three spots out of the playoffs in each of those years. 

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Graham Marsh
GRAHAM MARSH

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