Northwestern hires Michigan assistant Billy Donlon to replace Pat Baldwin

It took just days for Chris Collins to find his new assistant coach. Billy Donlon, an assistant at Michigan last season and former head coach at Wright State, will join the Northwestern staff and fill the vacancy created by Pat Baldwin’s departure to Milwaukee, Scout.com’s Brian Snow reported.

Donlon, 40, has some serious ties to Collins and Northwestern. The two coaches are longtime friends and Northbrook natives, and they both attended Glenbrook North High School. Donlon also grew up around the Northwestern program where his father, Bill, coached as an assistant from 1987-94.

Though he was only at Michigan for one year, Donlon brings plenty of coaching experience with him. He went 109-94 in six years at Wright State, and has been an assistant for the Raiders, UNC Wilmington, St. Peters and American.

Now Northwestern can hope Donlon was the primary recruiter at Michigan for a mutual recruiting target. Pete Nance has narrowed his list down to Ohio State, Michigan and Northwestern, and would be a huge commit for either program.

Donlon seems to be a great hire for Collins, especially given his familiarity with the program and the area. Because Collins replaced Baldwin relatively quickly, the program will have most of the summer to get Donlon up to speed.