Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Cliff notes: Donovan having second thoughts, wants out of his Magic deal to return to Florida, Magic expected to make a decision tomorrow.

Link

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

weird.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Why would the Magic try to force him to stay? If he doesn't want to be there he isn't going to do a very good job. They should just let him go.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Somewhere, Dick Vitale is hyperventilating.

Edited to add: Not that that's unusual.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

What an idiot if he turns this job down after accepting it. I think he should have stayed at Florida, but he looks like an idiot if he accepted the offer, had a press conference, and then a few days later says "whoops, I didn't MEAN to do that!"

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Generally speaking, Donovan staying would be great for the SEC and college basketball in general. That being said, it prob would have been slightly better to have made this decision BEFORE being announced as the new coach of the Magic.

The Kentucky job opening came at a very poor time from a Donovan perspective, but generally speaking it seems as if he has handled these courtships very poorly.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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generally speaking it seems as if he has handled these courtships very poorly.

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QFT. How could they have been handled worse? Billy is a graduate of the Nick Saban School of Coaching Changes obv

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

So can Orlando try to get some money out of him? Donovan looks like a jackass here.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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So can Orlando try to get some money out of him?

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They absolutely can. He has a signed contract. I doubt they will take that route though - teams in similar positions in the past typically haven't.

But who knows - maybe tomorrow he will want to coach the Magic again. Or maybe the Kings. Or maybe the LA Kings.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Magic will certainly let him out of it. No way they would want him there if he doesn't want to be there.
They just have to consult with their lawyers and figure out what the hell to do about all this before they let him off the hook.

They may also be continuing to talk with him to be sure that he's officially not-fingers-crossed sure about it this time.


But what is up with these Saban/Donovan flip-flops?
I understand it's an emotional issue leaving the people you've been working with, the program you've been devoting 80 hour weeks to, the community that doesn't want you to go and the other community that so bad wants you and wants to pay $27 mil to get you.

But you would think a guy like Donovan would talk about all this stuff with the Florida officials and his family a bit more before letting Orlando give him a giant standing-ovation and make his move to the NBA the lead story on Sportscenter.

Seriously, what on earth is his deal? It's just weird.

Will be interested to hear his explanation no matter what happens regarding ORL trying to sue him or whatever it is they do about this.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

200 new season tickets sold since Donovan announced as coach. Oh NO.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

What a pussy, and an ass.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

I love Billy but this is a pretty stupid thing to have come out.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

I hate, hate, hate the contractual double standard. Coaches can rip theirs up at any time but teams/unis need to put up so much buyout money. I understand this is the way the business world works, but it still disgusts me.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Pretty stupid of him to sign before he was 100% sure he wanted to be there. but it probably doesn't matter since he'll get out of the contract.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Yowza. Orlando should let him out AND they should seek any and all financial penalites that they can get from him.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Tony Soprano went and had a little chat with Billy D. He had a change of heart.

Go Gators!

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Donovan was visited last night by the ghost of Rick Pitino.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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What a pussy, and an ass.

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yea, awful if he ditches them like this...

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

I heard on the radio this morning that he hasn't actually signed anything yet. I have no clue if that's true or not though.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

This actually is not that uncommon, it's just that most of the flip-flops don't get the publicity of Saban/Donovan.

The college/pro decision is a tough one... do I want insane coin but no job security and a much tougher league, or do I want great but not insane money in a place where I am a god among men?

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

I understand the difficulty of the decision, but if you're that unsure you might want to hold off on PTI interviews and the like.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Meh, I don't want to castigate him like everyone else is doing. I actually like that he's staying put and building on his legacy. Not to mention that college coaches going to the pros generally bomb badly.

Since I'm not a huge follower of college sports, I've never understood why Pitino didn't go back to Kentucky, or why Spurrier didn't go back to Florida. Aren't they legends in those places? Why start over somewhere else (even if it was Spurrier's alma mater)?

I also never got why Roy Williams went "home" when he was on his way to becoming a Phog Allen-sized legend at Kansas, but that's for another thread I guess.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

It's official.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

[ QUOTE ]
Meh, I don't want to castigate him like everyone else is doing. I actually like that he's staying put and building on his legacy. Not to mention that college coaches going to the pros generally bomb badly.

Since I'm not a huge follower of college sports, I've never understood why Pitino didn't go back to Kentucky, or why Spurrier didn't go back to Florida. Aren't they legends in those places? Why start over somewhere else (even if it was Spurrier's alma mater)?

I also never got why Roy Williams went "home" when he was on his way to becoming a Phog Allen-sized legend at Kansas, but that's for another thread I guess.

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Do coaches ever go back? I can't remember a coach that ever went. Kansas is a huge program but UNC is still a bigger name in the College Basketball world. That's where he's from, and the program was in a funk. Of course he quickly fixed that. It's also easier to win at UNC, the recruits flock there much easier than Kansas which is good knows where.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

capone0,

Well as of today North Carolina and Kansas are 2-3 in all-time wins, so there's definitely prestige in both places. I'd consider it a wash from a recruitment perspective, I mean I'm sure Chapel Hill is nice but it's not near a beach and I suspect the weather and bitches aren't a huge pull either relative to some other programs.

Addressing your initial question, there are of course examples of big-name coaches returning, such as Joe Gibbs to the Redskins, but not sure of anyone in college basketball off the top of my head.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

It isn't a wash on recruitment. Just look at who UNC recruits vs who Kansas recruits. Yes you have Paul Pierce, Danny Manning etc. but they are noway near UNC recruits in the long run.

Another reason why Roy could leave is his young stars were on the way to the NBA in Hinrich and Collison. I still think for most UNC is a more presitious (spelling) job. Look who Kansas replaced Roy W with. A good but not outstanding coach. Then when UNC was looking, Roy, Larry B and George Karl were all lining up to get the job. Since 1980, UNC has easily been the better job. Kansas is great and all but still doesn't have the recent prestige. I know the recent coaching line of UNC pretty much comes from Kansas but I think I'm in the boat that thinks UNC is a bigger job then Kansas on top of other reasons of why he left.

There aren't many examples of college coaching returns. Other pros include Bill Walsh returning to the 9ers at another position, same with Larry Bird as well as Phil Jackson returning.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Waaaay easier to recruit at UNC (Jordan, Dean Dome, hottest chicks anywhere other than Austin, TX) than at Kansas (wheat fields and, um...).

Also, the UNC job had always been Roy Williams' dream job since he was a college student. More money too.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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is a more presitious (spelling) job

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I'm a terrible speller, but even I'm a little embarrassed for you here. It isn't even close phonetically. "prestigious".

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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Waaaay easier to recruit at UNC (Jordan, Dean Dome, hottest chicks anywhere other than Austin, TX) than at Kansas (wheat fields and, um...).

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Bolded part - wow.

I'm not knowledgeable enough regarding college basketball to really engage you guys in debate here, but if you're the third-winningest team in NCAA D-I history, I would think there would be some prestige there. So I was thinking more NC > Kansas than the NC >>>>>>> Kansas that you guys are implying.

Also, Santa Clara >>>> NC because that's where Nash went.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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Waaaay easier to recruit at UNC (Jordan, Dean Dome, hottest chicks anywhere other than Austin, TX) than at Kansas (wheat fields and, um...).

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Bolded part - wow.

I'm not knowledgeable enough regarding college basketball to really engage you guys in debate here, but if you're the third-winningest team in NCAA D-I history, I would think there would be some prestige there. So I was thinking more NC > Kansas than the NC >>>>>>> Kansas that you guys are implying.

Also, Santa Clara >>>> NC because that's where Nash went.

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Do you know anything about college basketball?

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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Waaaay easier to recruit at UNC (Jordan, Dean Dome, hottest chicks anywhere other than Austin, TX) than at Kansas (wheat fields and, um...).

[/ QUOTE ]
Bolded part - wow.

I'm not knowledgeable enough regarding college basketball to really engage you guys in debate here, but if you're the third-winningest team in NCAA D-I history, I would think there would be some prestige there. So I was thinking more NC > Kansas than the NC >>>>>>> Kansas that you guys are implying.

Also, Santa Clara >>>> NC because that's where Nash went.

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Do you know anything about college basketball?

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My post made perfect sense. Did you miss this part:

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I'm not knowledgeable enough regarding college basketball to really engage you guys in debate here

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?

So after reading your incredibly dumb post above I remembered that you're the guy that occasionally trolls sports threads with useless one-liners like the one above. Thanks for the reminder.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

I'm pretty sure I've never read your posts in other NCAA threads. Just because Kansas is #3 in overall wins doesn't make it on the same level as UNC in this day and age. Honestly, what are the biggest programs in college basketball today. You have Duke which just about every game is on TV, you have UNC, you have UCLA and then you have your Kentucky which is probally on the rise, Florida which is up and coming and Kansas which has been very good especially in the Roy Williams era. Kansas is a HUGE program, I never denied that but it just isn't as big of a job and it isn't as great to recruit. UNC has had some of the biggest players in NBA history, that doesn't hurt. UNC and Duke over the last 30 years I think are tied in number of finals 4, I think they both have the number of titles (Kansas has 1 over the same period).

As I said earlier, just look who Kansas got to replace Roy Williams with. Bill Self is a good coach but nowhere near on the level of Roy Williams or other big time coaches.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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Also, the UNC job had always been Roy Williams' dream job since he was a college student. More money too.

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Is that why he turned it down the first time it was offered and it took Dean Smith begging him to take it after Doherty? Also, the fact that Dean's immediate successors were Guthridge and Doherty kind of argues against capone's point about Self, no?

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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Waaaay easier to recruit at UNC (Jordan, Dean Dome, hottest chicks anywhere other than Austin, TX) than at Kansas (wheat fields and, um...TORNADOES!!![img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] ).

Also, the UNC job had always been Roy Williams' dream job since he was a college student. More money too.

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Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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Also, the UNC job had always been Roy Williams' dream job since he was a college student. More money too.

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Is that why he turned it down the first time it was offered and it took Dean Smith begging him to take it after Doherty? Also, the fact that Dean's immediate successors were Guthridge and Doherty kind of argues against capone's point about Self, no?

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I've always understood that RW came very close to taking the UNC job the first time it was offered. He stayed out of a feeling of loyalty to the school and his players.

Guthridge was hand-picked by Smith to succeed him (reward for 30+ years as loyal assistant), I think they could have gotten a much bigger name.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Being from Kansas, albeit a wildcat and not a gayhawk, I just wanted to add my two cents. I agree that UNC is more prestigious, but I think Roy would have a had a bigger legacy staying at Kansas.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

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Waaaay easier to recruit at UNC (Jordan, Dean Dome, hottest chicks anywhere other than Austin, TX) than at Kansas (wheat fields and, um...).

[/ QUOTE ]
Bolded part - wow.

I'm not knowledgeable enough regarding college basketball to really engage you guys in debate here, but if you're the third-winningest team in NCAA D-I history, I would think there would be some prestige there. So I was thinking more NC > Kansas than the NC >>>>>>> Kansas that you guys are implying.

Also, Santa Clara >>>> NC because that's where Nash went.

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To answer you seriously, there is a lot of prestige at Kansas. It's one of the top 5 or 6 programs in the nation, for sure.

But for Roy Williams specifically, the lure of the UNC job had to be almost impossible to resist, for the reasons above.

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

And Coach D was a mistake. Too young, not enough experience. He could recruit but the team he took over for just couldn't wait nor could he coach at the ACC level after coaching at ND.

Here is a story on the Doherty-Roy Williams thing in 2001.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/bas...c_williams_ap/

Re: Donovan going back to Florida?!?!
 

Hi everybody -

Isn't this thread to talk about Donovan and UF/ORL stuff?