Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Quotes About Facing Donnie Walsh in High School Basketball Are Amazing

Before he was the nation's leading infectious disease expert and the man tasked with formulating the country's plan to eradicate the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci was a kid from New York City who captained the Regis High School basketball team in Manhattan.

Among Fauci's most prominent opponents in high school was Fordham Prep star Donnie Walsh, who later went on to a very successful career in the NBA as an executive. While Fauci admits Walsh was a much better player than he was, he did say that he played some feisty defense whenever they met up, claiming he was "on his ass all game" when they met during their respective senior years.

Walsh later became an All-American under Dean Smith at North Carolina and a head coach in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets. After his coaching career, Walsh became one of the most respected executives in the league during the '80s and '90s. After building the Indiana Pacers into a winner over a 20-year span, Walsh, who later became president and CEO of the Pacers, became president of basketball operations with the New York Knicks, though he later returned to Indiana after his brief stint in New York.

Fauci is not only the nation's top coronavirus expert, but back in his prime, he was a mean perimeter defender.

Fauci's medical career has obviously proven to be much more fruitful, but he was no slouch during his basketball days.