Kentucky job apparently Billy Donovan's if he wants it
Michigan
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in Sports Talk
There are so many reasons why Billy Donovan should go to Kentucky, not the least of which is that it's a much better job.
Better pay.
Better facilities.
Better fans.
The Kentucky job is the kind that college basketball coaches dream about. It's one of the great jobs in the history of the sport. It's still the second-best job in America.
Put it this way: If there were a Mount Rushmore of college basketball coaching jobs, Kentucky would be on it, alongside North Carolina, UCLA, Duke and Kansas.
The Florida job?
It's a good one, too — mostly, though, because of the man who has it.
Fact is, Donovan made the Florida job what it is. And this is what it is, even now, even as the Gators chase their second consecutive national championship this weekend in Atlanta: a terrific basketball job at a football school.
Heck, it might be the nation's best basketball job at a school that cares far more about football.
But it's not Kentucky.
It's not close.
Florida doesn't have Rupp Arena and its 23,000 seats, all of which are filled for every Kentucky home game, even when the team isn't great and the coach isn't a beloved figure. Florida doesn't have any real basketball tradition, the roots of which run deep in the Bluegrass State. Florida doesn't have anywhere near the passion for basketball that burns within the hearts, minds and souls of Kentuckians.
And none of that is going to change.
Not anytime soon.
Maybe, if Donovan decides to stay in Gainesville and wins enough to become Florida's version of Dean Smith, the Gators will build one of the all-time great programs in college basketball.
Maybe, after a few more national championships, Florida will replace the aging, rarely filled O'Connell Center with a glitzy, new Donovan Dome and pack it for every Gator game.
Maybe, someday, basketball will mean as much at Florida as football does.
But that's probably not going to happen.
Even if Donovan doesn't go to Kentucky now — and if the reports of a seven-year, $28 million offer are true, he'd be a fool not to — you have to think he'll eventually go somewhere.
Which brings me to Reason No. 1 why it's unlikely Donovan will stay at Florida forever.
He's only 41.
That's awfully young for an ambitious, success-driven New Yorker who learned his craft from Rick Pitino. A lot can happen across the next 20 years. He could get restless. He could get bored. He could get an offer he can't refuse.
What if the New York Knicks call? Or the Miami Heat? Or, when Roy Williams is done, North Carolina?
There are other challenges out there. There's more money out there, too. And Donovan, who worked for a Wall Street investment firm before becoming Pitino's assistant at Kentucky in 1989, might be tempted by the lure of greater fame and grander fortune.
If he were 10 years older, maybe he'd be more inclined to hunker down and spend the rest of his coaching days building the second half of his legacy in Gainesville. He loves the town. He loves his job. His loves his life at Florida.
But he'd love Kentucky more.
He'd love being the basketball coach at Kentucky, being part of the Kentucky tradition, being at the center of all that basketball passion — because if he wins there, if he takes the Wildcats back to the top of the college basketball world, he'd be the King of Kentucky.
And you better believe that Donovan, who won at Marshall and won big at Florida, believes he can win even bigger at Kentucky.
So forget all that silly talk about the tough-to-please, basketball-mad masses in Lexington and the overwhelming pressure to win at Kentucky. If anything, it's an indictment of Florida fans, who, even on the eve of the Final Four, even as their basketball team is on the verge of making history, still have more interest in Tim Tebow than Joakim Noah.
Truth is, the demand for excellence and pressure to win at Kentucky is precisely why Donovan, at this juncture of his career, might take the job. You'll notice he hasn't done anything publicly to quash such speculation.
Maybe he wants to use Kentucky's interest for leverage in negotiations for a contract extension at Florida.
Maybe not.
In his 11 years at Florida, Donovan has taken the Gators to three Final Fours, two NCAA championship games and one national title. If he wins another one, he might be ready for a change. He might be looking to move up. He might want a better job.
This is his chance.
But it won't be his last.
Better pay.
Better facilities.
Better fans.
The Kentucky job is the kind that college basketball coaches dream about. It's one of the great jobs in the history of the sport. It's still the second-best job in America.
Put it this way: If there were a Mount Rushmore of college basketball coaching jobs, Kentucky would be on it, alongside North Carolina, UCLA, Duke and Kansas.
The Florida job?
It's a good one, too — mostly, though, because of the man who has it.
Fact is, Donovan made the Florida job what it is. And this is what it is, even now, even as the Gators chase their second consecutive national championship this weekend in Atlanta: a terrific basketball job at a football school.
Heck, it might be the nation's best basketball job at a school that cares far more about football.
But it's not Kentucky.
It's not close.
Florida doesn't have Rupp Arena and its 23,000 seats, all of which are filled for every Kentucky home game, even when the team isn't great and the coach isn't a beloved figure. Florida doesn't have any real basketball tradition, the roots of which run deep in the Bluegrass State. Florida doesn't have anywhere near the passion for basketball that burns within the hearts, minds and souls of Kentuckians.
And none of that is going to change.
Not anytime soon.
Maybe, if Donovan decides to stay in Gainesville and wins enough to become Florida's version of Dean Smith, the Gators will build one of the all-time great programs in college basketball.
Maybe, after a few more national championships, Florida will replace the aging, rarely filled O'Connell Center with a glitzy, new Donovan Dome and pack it for every Gator game.
Maybe, someday, basketball will mean as much at Florida as football does.
But that's probably not going to happen.
Even if Donovan doesn't go to Kentucky now — and if the reports of a seven-year, $28 million offer are true, he'd be a fool not to — you have to think he'll eventually go somewhere.
Which brings me to Reason No. 1 why it's unlikely Donovan will stay at Florida forever.
He's only 41.
That's awfully young for an ambitious, success-driven New Yorker who learned his craft from Rick Pitino. A lot can happen across the next 20 years. He could get restless. He could get bored. He could get an offer he can't refuse.
What if the New York Knicks call? Or the Miami Heat? Or, when Roy Williams is done, North Carolina?
There are other challenges out there. There's more money out there, too. And Donovan, who worked for a Wall Street investment firm before becoming Pitino's assistant at Kentucky in 1989, might be tempted by the lure of greater fame and grander fortune.
If he were 10 years older, maybe he'd be more inclined to hunker down and spend the rest of his coaching days building the second half of his legacy in Gainesville. He loves the town. He loves his job. His loves his life at Florida.
But he'd love Kentucky more.
He'd love being the basketball coach at Kentucky, being part of the Kentucky tradition, being at the center of all that basketball passion — because if he wins there, if he takes the Wildcats back to the top of the college basketball world, he'd be the King of Kentucky.
And you better believe that Donovan, who won at Marshall and won big at Florida, believes he can win even bigger at Kentucky.
So forget all that silly talk about the tough-to-please, basketball-mad masses in Lexington and the overwhelming pressure to win at Kentucky. If anything, it's an indictment of Florida fans, who, even on the eve of the Final Four, even as their basketball team is on the verge of making history, still have more interest in Tim Tebow than Joakim Noah.
Truth is, the demand for excellence and pressure to win at Kentucky is precisely why Donovan, at this juncture of his career, might take the job. You'll notice he hasn't done anything publicly to quash such speculation.
Maybe he wants to use Kentucky's interest for leverage in negotiations for a contract extension at Florida.
Maybe not.
In his 11 years at Florida, Donovan has taken the Gators to three Final Fours, two NCAA championship games and one national title. If he wins another one, he might be ready for a change. He might be looking to move up. He might want a better job.
This is his chance.
But it won't be his last.
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Comments
I have said it all along - Donovan is the number 2 man at Florida. At UK, he would be king of the state. As much as he has done for Florida, they still don't sell out a 12,000 seat arean. At Kentucky, they might have to add on to the 23,000 seat Rupp Arena.
Shane
<< <i>Nah, the girls here are much hotter than in kentucky...he'll stick around. >>
I would kindly disagree....I was just in Louisville last week for 4 days and they have some of the hottest girls around. Florida girls wouldn't even be on the radar with these babes
They are Ok in florida but all have the same "fake" look and attitude.
As for the coaching Job...
I'm just glad Big Brue Pearl made it loud and clear he's staying at Tennessee...
">"http://www.cashcrate.com/5663377"
<< <i>Very, very well said. Did you write that?
No, I'm not that good, I got it from somewhere else.