GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Billy Donovan says he isn’t going anywhere.
Donovan made it clear Friday he has no interest in the Kentucky job or any other opening, reaffirming his desire to stay in Gainesville and get the Gators back to the NCAA tournament.
“In response to the rumors circulating about my interest in other jobs, I wanted to address this as quickly as possible,” Donovan said in a statement. “I am committed to the University of Florida and look forward to continuing to build our program here.”
Kentucky fired coach Billy Gillispie on Friday, creating an opening at one of college basketball’s premier programs and prompting speculation that Donovan would again be the top target to return to the Bluegrass State. Donovan spent five years as an assistant under Rick Pitino in Lexington, learning all about Kentucky’s unrivaled fan base and unrealistic expectations.
Nonetheless, Donovan spurned a chance to take over the tradition-rich program in April 2007, turning down athletic director Mitch Barnhart before he even offered him the job. Donovan didn’t even let it get that far this time around. His statement was released minutes after Barnhart announced Gillispie’s dismissal.
Florida officials, including athletic director Jeremy Foley, don’t expect Donovan to waver on his word, either.
Nearly two months after turning down Kentucky in 2007, Donovan took a job with the NBA’s Orlando Magic but changed his mind after just a couple days on the job. He returned to Gainesville, got ripped nationally for his flip-flop decision and apologized profusely to everyone involved.
Donovan eventually signed a six-year contract that pays $3.5 million annually. The deal includes a clause stating that Donovan and his agent cannot directly or indirectly explore, discuss or negotiate any employment with any other school or professional team without Foley’s written approval.
Foley said Kentucky never requested permission to talk to Donovan.
The Gators are 310-126 in 13 seasons under Donovan, who has vowed to get the Gators on the same level as storied basketball programs like Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke and UCLA. He still has work to do.
Florida became the first national champion since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to miss the NCAA tournament in consecutive years. Florida finished 25-11 this season and lost in the quarterfinals of the NIT.
The Gators could return four starters and most of their reserves next season. They also have highly touted guard Kenny Boynton and Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin waiting to take the court.
Nonetheless, some felt Donovan might be ready for a new challenge, especially after the last two seasons, and Kentucky offers a place where basketball is king.
Then again, Donovan has put down deep roots in Gainesville with his wife and four children. His parents also live nearby.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
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Comments » 48
gohawks1 writes:
I guess he figured, "Why leave one NIT school for another?".
TommyJack writes:
Beautiful, I-pee.
MrBamSeydu writes:
Why leave the 2nd best team in the SEC East for the 3rd or 4th best team in the SEC East???
bobbytodd writes:
So true, I would rather whip Florida than Kentucky any day. UK will never get back to the good old days anyway so they will take care of being miserable all by themselves. I'm sure their butt tightens every time they hear the name Louisville.
bobbytodd writes:
Your boys class is gone and they are all sitting the bench in the pros now. They came back for a second championship because they knew it was the last time they would get to shoot the ball without warmup pants on. I don't see him reloading. CBP plays a college style game so he won't draw 1 and done players but he will be fun to watch and just like he promised the first week he was a coach....he will whip your tail over and over again. So no matter what you have to say about anything related to him...come closer...closer..he owns you.
yeavols#228407 writes:
Florida football will soon experience the downfall of Florida Basketball..they had their little stint that will fall in the same category as UCLA, Notre Dame, Nebraska, FSU, and others..into an abysmal pit of nothingness for a while.
gohawks1 writes:
Brings a tear to your eye, dunnit? :-)
murrayvol writes:
The smell of cabbage in the air. Goodnight and good luck.
bobbytodd writes:
Now that you have finished copy and pasting your UF spreadsheet you can add all those PPG together and multiply it by 2 and you would have a good game against the Washington Generals. One more question...Why are a lot of their careers only 3 years? Do they invest their money wisely and retire? I'm sure they do because they are smart because they do have that Florida education, right?
Down_The_Field writes:
who'd want a two time nit coach? his stock's down and he knows it. he should have left with noah and the gang.
besides, with the price of oil being up and down along with the amount he puts on his head, too much $$$ for his grease bill and a good school won't pay it.
good coach when he has players, but he can't make the average player better.
where's the tiger high fans? wasn't tiger high supposed to win? that's what happens when you step out of high school level play and take on a real college team.
DekanGator writes:
Great post DC... Here are a few more that played in the Pros and for Billy
Jason Williams
Donnell Harvey
Matt Walsh
Chris Richards
I know I'd rather play in the NCAA's but in the last 2 years,After the regular season was over with, the gators played 5 more games than Tenn did... And if you are honest with yourself you know Florida will be back.
Down_The_Field writes:
where's the list of victories over pearl????
Bwaaaaaahaaaaahaaaa.
oh, and go get fonzi some dapper dan. his hair's been looking dry lately.
DekanGator writes:
I forgot all about Tauren Green another draft pick.
There are so many of them you can't keep count...
Im still waiting for Pearls list of NBA players!
Down_The_Field writes:
dang, i don't know. why do you answer your own posts???
how do you know he's not??? just because you don't read it in the orlando rag doesn't mean he's not getting calls.
besides, if he's not getting calls, good. i don't care if he wins the east or the big one the rest of his stay here...i happen to like his record against grease head right now.
Down_The_Field writes:
did i read the news correctly this am???
mempus scored less than missouri. hummmmm, still no tiger high fans.
bobbytodd writes:
My bad. I guess I should have mentioned before I sent you on your homework assignment that I haven't watched a NBA game since the Shaq/Kobe years. I just wanted to see how much effort you would put into it....Now as far as the list of UT players in the league it just show how well Pearl coaches his players up and your boy has bench caliber NBA talent and still can't put a L on him. Now go ahead and say it....The reason that Billie's name comes up every time a job is available might be just because he is a..dare I say a...coach wh0re???
Down_The_Field writes:
tauren green, yep, good job.
you forgot about nick colitus who turned his back on his country and played for the turzechistan national team at the last olympic games.
DekanGator writes:
Some people (Tenn fans) Forget,
If the 04's stayed one more year, we may be talking about back2back2back National championships.
And there response wouold be .. Yeah we Own Florida basketall.
The can beat us every year... I'll take championships any day!
In 20 years nobody will remember, Cousin Brucy beat Florida, It's going to be }THE 2 TIME NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPION'S FLORIDA GATORS!
Down_The_Field writes:
don't understand the "in your head" part. since pearl is 7-1 against fonzi. the one loss btw was with chris loften on the bench hurt. anyway wouldn't that mean that bruce is in fonzi's head. yes. that means a lot on fonzi's head. pearl's in his head and there's a lot of havoline on it too.
the titles are gone with the players. i doubt any of his current players make the ero-league. he win with good players and can't make the average player any better than they are. like...well....now.
Down_The_Field writes:
so i wasn't the only one who noticed that....
MEMPUS HIGH got BEAT!
bobbytodd writes:
I like you DC. Don't have a clue why but I do. Guess it because we can both sling it pretty good. I hope he stays put. Its really not to fun if things keep changing. Our football coach needed to go but I hope everybody else stays put. I'm gonna call this one a draw..until next round...have a good one.
smokyredbone writes:
Dang it, I wanted him at Kentucky! He couldn't beat Pearl with a baseball bat! Now Kentucky might find someone that could like Gillispie!! Ha Ha!!!!
smokyredbone writes:
But we'll just keep enjoying dogging those GatorS!!!!!!
TommyJack writes:
I don't have a clue why you do either, bobby.
TommyJack writes:
zz4 returns
BSweet writes:
Strange how gator fans always talked of not "living in the past" when it came to football, yet seem perfectly willing to do it themselves when it comes to basketball.
Also, the KY AD did not offer Billy D. the job, nor did he say he was going to offer him the job. Media speculation was that Billy D. would be a candidate, based solely on the fact he was an assistant there. I'm not sure KY wants a coach with a losing record against Pearl. They want to dominate again.
Billy D. has had some great players, kudos to him for that. He won back to back NC's with them, again, kudos. Even with that superb talent, he wasn't beating Pearl. Say what you want about teams not beating down Pearl's door, but he does know how to beat Billy D., like a drum. If Pearl is such a "bad" coach as gator fans seem to want to believe, then why is he so successful against their "great" coach? Bruce is doing something right.
Winning NCs is about having all the pieces of the puzzle and putting them together. Billy D. had all the pieces and he put the picture together. Good for him. Bruce has not had all the pieces yet. IMO, he's getting closer. TN basketball had a deep hole to crawl out of before it could even begin to climb the mountain. We're on our way up now. I, for one, wouldn't trade Coach Pearl for two Billy D.s. Not saying Billy Boy is a bad coach, but Pearl's the right man for the job.
TommyJack writes:
zz4
BSweet writes:
No so-called "dynasty" thinks they'll fall, but they eventually do. When the pendulum swings, all your brash talk will be revealed for the bs it is. Please try not to cry when the Vols start taking your boys to the woodshed again. It will happen, maybe not this year as Tebow is a great college player(gotta give him his props), but it will happen. Know that most of us will be laughing at you when it does, though I doubt you'll be posting on here as you'll be too embarassed, seeing as how you tend to make a complete arse out of yourself. What will you do when your gators fail you and you no longer have a leg to stand on when it comes to taunting Vol fans? Perhaps you'll actually have to get a life. Good luck with that.
BSweet writes:
Don't know why I'm even bothering to respond to you, but Pearl didn't have the talent this year. People's predictions had Hopson coming in and being a one-and-done stud. Obviously, he wasn't and needed time to develop. People's predictions also had Maze stepping right in at PG and being successful. He wasn't, but maybe next year he can do the job, because if CBP doesn't resolve the PG situation, next year could be hard as well.
PG is my only real concern for next year. Right now, it's the missing piece. If CBP finds that piece, be it through recruiting or someone already on the team, then we'll be in good shape.
VOLKING writes:
Gee, dude, how many times do you have to get banned and still come on here to talk trash? 6000 posts and counting. Anyway, good luck in everything else in your life...if there is anything else in your life. With all the time you waste posting, you might not have any free time. Keep hating tho, it'll eventually come back to bite you...just ask Memphis.
ccjackson40#254643 writes:
Florida is not a top job but a flash in the pan. Florida shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as Kentucky unless you are talking about the 2009 NIT. You know it wasn't to long ago that Florida was excited to get a coach that got ran out of Knoxville. As for that impressive list of players ask any Alabama fan and they will tell you that their new coach recruited them.
ccjackson40#254643 writes:
It's being reported that thousands of Gator fans are dancing in the streets of Gainesville chanting,"N I T, N I T, N I T, N I T, N I T, N I T!!!!!!!
huntined#565710 writes:
KY didn't go after BILLY-D As I said in the past few days..KY WILL NOT TAKE A NIT COACH THEY HAD ONE!!
smokyredbone writes:
Bingo!!!!!
kman29 writes:
yeah your right, Al Horford and winning rookie of the year last year is just sitting the bench in the NBA.
kman29 writes:
Well if Florida is just a flash in the pan I would hate to think what the Tennessee bball program is considered to be with all of their...um....well I guess they dont really have banners hanging for the mens team. But Im sure there must be something they have done besides never get past the sweet 16.
GahLee writes:
Al Horford didn't get robbed you nerd...see that shows your blind love for your University...Kevin Durant was easily the best rookie last year...by a long mile at that...robbed what a joke you are...I'm sure you won't respond to this cause you know I am one of the many that can make you look stupid on this site.
TommyJack writes:
He needs no help in looking stupid.
GahLee writes:
So true TJ...guess it would be like tripping the kid with a broken leg, huh...just wait around and it will happen.
huntined#565710 writes:
Can't blame Billy D for not going to KY. he makes 3.5 mil per year with a half mil longevity bonus each year. His contract runs through the 2012-2013 year. KY would have him gone by then. They don't like that NIT bid. Donovan knows he can stay at FLA go to the NIT and nothing will be said. He can live a long time on past teams. as he is doing that now.
Ironcity writes:
With all those great NBA players coming from UF, I guess Donovan has really beat down UT and Pearl?
Odd, with that many NBA players Pearl still owns Florida and Donavan.
givehim6 writes:
We were busy kicking gaytoer but, haha. But seriously, Billy want to stay at UF but dose UF want him?
Basketball_Jones writes:
Not getting into this pissing contest but I think Billy D should stay at Florida. Kentucky Basketball is like ND football, living in the 50-60-70's. Yea Pitino won a NC and Tubby did with Pitino's kids but they're basically non exisitent. There the 4th best program in the SEC behind, Florida, Tennessee and LSU. I pray they bring in Calipari and his endless supply of money and hairgel.
murrayvol writes:
Kentucky is like ND football. They are a coach away from moving back to the top of the heap....and it won't take the 4-5 years CatSnatch threw out yesterday. Donovan and a small handful of others fit the bill.
We'll see how it works out. Barnhart's (and maybe Lee Todd's) job hangs on the outcome.
murrayvol writes:
Regarding Donovan and the UK job: I don't think he'll go but it may be his last chance to coach at a place where they love basketball more than he does.
Florida fans don't care about basketball and they never will. Maybe he's okay with that.
Colliervol writes:
On the other hand Murray, you go to Kentucky and you deal with a fan base much like the Alabama football fans. Living in the past and expecting national championships every year. Despite the fact that UK is one of the top jobs in the country, I can't blame Donovan or anybody else for not wanting to crawl into that pit.
In this world where the very best players only stay one year at most, it's not like it was 20 years ago. Very difficult to stay on top. North Carolina and a couple of others seem to do it every year and that's pretty amazing. But even UCLA and Duke aren't the consistent world beaters they were 10 years ago.
murrayvol writes:
Good post Collier. Can't argue a single point. If I were in BD's sneakers, I would stay put as well.
But.....most coaches (not all) who reach the zenith of their profession can't resist the draw of a place like Kentucky. It seems he can.
tennesseebee writes:
A Gator story? I feel like one of those slimeball interlopers commenting on this.
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