Donovan has a chance to build a lasting legacy in Gainesville — much like
Coach K has done at Duke.
No one close to Donovan was surprised that he is staying in Gainesville. His
family is comfortable, his father lives in town for much of the basketball
season and Donovan has a close relationship with Florida athletic director
Jeremy Foley.
Donovan's decision to remain with Florida — which is basically what he did
when he spurned interest from Kentucky on Thursday — means the Gators have an
opportunity to remain as one of the elite basketball programs despite likely
losing their entire starting lineup.
Senior Lee Humphrey is gone. Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer — and
very likely Taurean Green — will declare for the NBA Draft.
Donovan is one of the nation's top recruiting head coaches, but he was able
to bring a pair of national titles to Gainesville with just one McDonald's
All-American: Brewer.
The Gators already have a strong freshman class coming into the program next
season, headlined by Lake Howell (Fla.) High teammates Nick Calathes and
Chandler Parsons and athletic forward Alex Tyus.
"It's awesome," Parsons said after hearing the news. "It's
real exciting. I committed to Florida because of Coach Donovan and the school
and now I get the best of both worlds. If he had left, I would have
reconsidered."
It's unlikely Florida will be able to get to a third consecutive Final Four
next season, but the Gators should be able to close the deal with the nation's
top unsigned senior, Patrick Patterson, a 6-foot-8 power forward out of West
Virginia.
Donovan should be able to take advantage of his recent success with some of
the elite high school juniors and sophomores.
That would allow the Gators to have enough firepower to make a legitimate run
at the Final Four in 2009.
The crazy thing is that just 18 months ago, many were questioning Donovan.
"They were saying he couldn't coach," said Donovan's father,
William. "Now they're calling him a genius."
The elder Donovan is right. After the Gators failed to advance past the
second round for five consecutive seasons from 2001-05, there was actually some
heat on Donovan.
Then Donovan's team won 68 games and 12 consecutive NCAA tournament games
over the past two seasons to answer the critics. He already has one more
national title than his mentor, Louisville coach Rick Pitino.
Donovan will likely ink an extension with Florida in the $3 million range at
some point in the next week, but there will still be speculation on whether he
will bolt for the NBA — whether it's this year or next.
Donovan has been mentioned for numerous NBA jobs, including those in Memphis,
Miami and New York.
However, if he decides to remain in Gainesville for the rest of his career,
he could get the program to the same level as a Duke or North Carolina.
Now that Donovan has turned down the Kentucky job, it's likely that Wildcats
athletic director Mitch Barnhart will turn his attention to Texas coach Rick
Barnes.
"I had a conversation with Billy Donovan today to gauge any interest he
might have in the head coaching position at Kentucky," Barnhart said in a
statement. "Billy informed me that he intends to stay in Gainesville."
"We have had productive conversations with various individuals over the
last two weeks, and it's obvious there are a number of outstanding coaches who
could succeed at Kentucky," Barnhart added.
According to sources, Barnes is Kentucky's top target. However, other names
in the mix are Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Marquette's Tom Crean.