When a position came open Wright State
head coach Billy Donlon didn't have to look far when he asked his father, Bill
Donlon, Sr. to be part of the Raider staff.
Donlon,
Sr., formerly an assistant coach at Providence (1982-87) and Northwestern
(1987-94), has most recently been the dean of students at Lake Forest High
School outside Chicago. During his time at Providence, Donlon, Sr. helped
lead the Friars to the Final Four in 1987 and led the recruiting effort that
included Billy Donovan, current University of Florida head coach.
Donlon
began his coaching career at St. John Villa Academy on Staten Island, New York,
before moving to Maria Regina High School in Uniondale, New York, where his teams
posted a three-year mark of 44-16. He
then served three years as head coach at Methuen High School in Massachusetts, posting 49
wins and earning the school's first two berths ever to the state tournament. At Methuen, one of Donlon's players was Gary McLain,
who went on to help Villanova to its 1985 NCAA title.
A
native of Sunnyside, New York, Donlon, Sr. graduated from Virginia Commonwealth
University with a degree in social relations in 1969. After starting two years on VCU's basketball
team, he pursued graduate work in sociology at John Jay College in New
York.
