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NCAA basketball: Ranking the 25 best college basketball coaches ever

By Nate Williamson

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils, Roy Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils, Roy Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Best college basketball coaches ever
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

No. 18: Billy Donovan

Billy Donovan has a reputation as both a player and as a coach. Born in Rockville Centre, New York, Donovan was a third-round draft pick out of Providence after playing in a Final Four as a player.

That fact brings him into an elite group of men who have both played and coached in a Final Four. As a matter of fact, during his coaching career mostly known for his work with the Florida Gators, he’d go to four Final Fours overall. The real highlight of his career came with two consecutive National Championships in 2006 and 2007.

With a school-record 360 wins at Florida over his 15 seasons, he has coached the Gators to more NCAA tournament appearances, NCAA tournament wins and SEC titles than all other Florida coaches combined. Donovan holds the title as the most illustrious, defining head coach in Florida Gator history in the basketball realm.

Before he moved to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015, Donovan was already a coaching legend. In the NBA, he’s been a success as well, taking the Thunder to a first-place divisional finish in his first season with the squad, finishing with winning records and reaching the NBA playoffs each year since.