The Toronto Raptors announced some additions and changes to their coaching staff today, promoting Brittni Donaldson and Jon Goodwillie to Head Coach Nick Nurse’s bench. The two of them will join Adrian Griffin, Sergio Scariolo, Nate Bjorkgren, Patrick Mutombo, and Jim Sann as assistant coaches.
The Raptors also announced they have promoted John Corbacio to head video coordinator/assistant coach and Tyler Marsh to assistant video coordinator/player development coach. They also added Fabulous Flournoy (who is an interesting character. Read about him here) and Mark Tyndale as assistant video coordinators/player development coaches.
Put differently…
Out: Handy, Castleberry
To 905: Khoury
In: Tyndale, Evans (analytics)
Moved to bench: Donaldson, Goodwillie
Up from 905: Marsh— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) September 9, 2019
Donaldson, who the great Zach Lowe wrote about here, becomes the first female assistant coach in Raptors history and the youngest assistant coach in the league at just 26 years old.
Donaldson’s rise to a spot on Nurse’s bench was as unconventional as they come. A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Donaldson played four seasons at the University of Northern Iowa (2011-15) and had professional aspirations before knee injuries derailed her career. Donaldson graduated with a degree in Statistics and Actuarial Science and eventually got a job with STATS LLC as a data analyst, where she was responsible for their SportVU player tracking product and creating customized reports for NBA front offices, coaching staffs, and media outlets.
Donaldson made such a good impression on the Raptors that they hired her as a Data Analyst in 2017. She thrived in the Raptors organization, gaining trust from the players and staff alike. This summer, Donaldson was a member of the Raptors’ coaching staff at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and served as an instructor at the Giants of Africa basketball camps in Tanzania and South Sudan.
As Zach Lowe put it, “The NBA — overall, and in Toronto specifically — has evolved to the point where Donaldson’s hiring is not surprising. The Raptors under Ujiri have been at the forefront for elevating women into positions of influence.”
Goodwillie is entering his 15th season with the Raptors. A native of Etobicoke, Ontario, Goodwillie graduated from Brock University in 2003 with a degree in Sport Management. He joined the Raptors since 2005 as a video and administrative intern and was later hired as an assistant video coordinator in 2006 before being elevated to head video coordinator in 2011.
Goodwillie has gained the trust of the Raptors organization so much so that — after serving as an assistant the previous five years — he was promoted to the head coach of the Raptors NBA Summer League team in Las Vegas this summer, guiding them to a 2-3 record. Goodwillie was also an assistant coach on Nurse’s staff with Canada’s Senior Men’s National Team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.
Read about Donaldson, Goodwillie, and the rest of the Raptors coaching changes in their press release here.
