The Billy Donovan Era

            Scott Brooks was fired by the Oklahoma City Thunder after 7 years and Billy Donovan’s name soon came up as the potential coach to replace him. After a couple days of rumors & speculation, Donovan signed on to be the new head coach for the Thunder for about $30 million over 5 years.

            It’s tough that Billy Donovan is leaving UF but it was expected as he had multiple opportunities over the years to jump to the NBA and he & the Gators just came off a down year in which they missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1997. Donovan will go down as a legend in Gators sports history for what he has been able to achieve with the basketball program. In a landscape where there are fewer & fewer Coach K’s or Bobby Bowden’s and more college coaches are constantly changing jobs & leaving programs behind for greener grass, Billy Donovan was the man in charge of Gators basketball for almost 20 years. He elevated the program to long-term success in the same way Steve Spurrier did when he took over the football program. 467 wins, 16 20-win seasons, 6 SEC championships, 4 SEC tournament championships, 4 Final Four appearances & 2 national titles. Gators basketball started with Billy.

            The opportunity to coach OKC along with 2 of the best players in the NBA is once in a lifetime and anybody would jump on that. Although the Gators will have to rebuild & find new talent along with a new coach after losing McDonald’s All-American Chris Walker & 3-point specialist Michael Frazier, it will be exciting to see Billy Donovan face off against his old players in the NBA. Older guys from the early 2000’s such as Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Matt Bonner & David Lee. Also, the younger guys from the back-to-back national championship teams & on such as 2014 Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah (one of my favorite players in the league), Corey Brewer (1^st triple-double in Gators history), 2 3^rd overall picks in Al Horford & Bradley Beal, Chandler Parsons, Nick Calathes & Marreese Speights.

            Billy Donovan will be considered as the best coach in Gators sports history and leaves behind almost 20 years of his legacy & fingerprints not only on the basketball program but on the University of Florida. I think we can find a spot in front of the O’Dome in the future for a statue in his honor.