Billy Crystal After graduation from Long Beach High School in 1965, Crystal attended Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, on a baseball scholarship, having learned the game from his father, who pitched for St. John's University. Crystal never played baseball at Marshall because the program was suspended during his first year. He did not return to Marshall as a sophomore, instead deciding to stay in New York to be close to his future wife. He attended Nassau Community College with Janice and later transferred to New York University, where he was a film and television directing major. He graduated from NYU in
Billy Donovan Mullaney. Mullaney retired after the 1984–85 season, and New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Pitino became Providence's new head coach. Soon after, Donovan informed Pitino that he would like to transfer to Fairfield or Northeastern to get more playing time. However, when Pitino called the coaches of those smaller conference schools on Donovan's behalf, they declined to offer him a scholarship, so Pitino advised Donovan to stay at Providence and get himself into better physical shape for the upcoming season. Donovan flourished in Pitino's system, which emphasized the new three-point shot on offense and a fast-paced full-court press defense. "Billy