He was previously an assistant coach under his younger brother, Mike D'Antoni, with the NBA's Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers.

Born in Mullens, West Virginia, D'Antoni played college basketball at Marshall University from 1966 to 1970.

[3] After failing to make the Baltimore Bullets, he became the head basketball coach at Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 1975.

He also founded the Beach Ball Classic, one of the most prestigious high school basketball tournaments in the country during his tenure.

On March 10, 2018, he led Marshall back to the Conference USA championship game, this time defeating Western Kentucky and earning an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.

On March 16, 2018, the 13th-seeded Herd defeated 4th-seeded Wichita State 81–75 in Marshall's opening game of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.