Friday, April 06, 2007
The Friday Faceoff: Should Donovan Have Stayed in Gainesville?
Welcome to the first weekly segment here at WBRS Sports Blog. Each and every Friday Mikey C. and I (Mini Me) will bicker and banter about the week's hottest sports topic.
This week's topic: Should Billy Donovan have left Florida to go to Kentucky?
Mini Me:
Because the four studs are going pro, and Humprhey and Richard are graduating, Billy Donovan will be starting over fresh at Florida. The majority of his championship team is gone and many fresh-faced Gators will be playing next year. If Donovan is going to have to start over anyways, now would have been the ideal time to move to Kentucky, a place not only with more prestige and tradition, but also a school where Donovan could have been the king of the campus. It has become abundantly clear that no matter how well he does at Florida, he will always come second to football. Do we need any more proof than the fact that after coaching the Gators to a title in 2006, this past year Florida basketball averaged an attendance that ranked 31st in the country, while Kentucky ranked 1st? Donovan has the coaching ability and he could be even more successful recruiting kids to come to a school like Kentucky, one known for its basketball.
Sure the Kentucky job casts a large spotlight, one open not only to pressure but intense scrutiny, yet the possible reward is too great to pass up. Donovan would have been viewed as the savior of the university, and would have gone down as one of the great college basketball coaches of all-time if he were to resurrect a program that hasn’t reached a Final Four since 1998. Wooden, Smith, Knight, Krzyzewski, Donovan? By going to Kentucky, Donovan’s name on that list could have become a reality.
Mikey C: Mike Miller. Jason Williams. David Lee. Udonis Haslem. Matt Walsh. Anthony Roberson. Donnell Harvey. Andrew DeClerq. These are just some of the players that Donovan has recruited and graduated from University of Florida since he arrived. Billy Donovan is a master recruiter and a fantastic coach. He built the Florida program up from nothing, at a time when it didn't have any sort of reputation. Before Donovan, the best player to have graduated Florida was Vernon Maxwell. Billy Donovan with a bunch of scholarships is a scary proposition for the rest of the SEC. He currently has one All-American (Nick Calethas #12 overall senior) committed for next season and he's in the running for Patrick Patterson (#14) as well.
Now I think it's clear that the rebuilding won't be too much of a challenge for Donovan, so the big difference comes down to where would he rather be: Florida or Kentucky? Mini Me, you brought up the attendance point, but both average 90% attendance rates; Rupp Arena is merely twice the size of the O'Connell Center. Personally, I think it's much easier to recruit a kid to sunny Florida then to middle-of-nowhere Kentucky. It also seems nicer for Donovan to live in Florida than Kentucky, but that might just be me. Also, think about the expectations. At Florida, Donovan can have 2-3 down seasons because there's still the glow of the championships. At Kentucky, he'll be knighted the savior, but given very little time to push Kentucky to the top. On Tuesday, there was a column in the Kentucky Kernel: "UK basketball fans' high expectations are hardly irrational." If Donovan doesn't make the Final Four within 3 years, he'll be out on his ass. I'd take the safe sunny route over Kentucky everyday.
Mini Me: Mikey C, I agree with you that Donovan won't have a difficult time rebuilding, no matter where he is. However, I do think from a coaching career standpoint it would have been significantly better for Donovan to rebuild at Kentucky. Yes, both Florida and Kentucky average 90% attendance rates but because Florida's fanbase and consequently arena is so small, 90% at Florida isn't near the same as 90% at Kentucky. Florida basketball will always play second fiddle to Florida football. And because of that while he remains at Florida Donovan will never garner the respect and power he deserves. Meanwhile, leading the transformation of a Kentucky program back to eliteness would transform him into a king of Lexington. This is a status Donovan is incapable of achieving at Florida.
Yes, greater expectations come along with the Kentucky job. But in my opinion it is worth it because of what success in Lexington could mean to Donovan's career and ultimately his legacy.
Mikey C: The key point for me revolves around is it better to be a builder or a restorer? At Florida, Donovan is building a legacy of success; at Kentucky, he would be charged with restoring a team to past glory. A mark of a great college coach to me is building a championship legacy at schools that didn't have one previously. If, we're talking about Florida as a football school, that must be attributed to Steve Spurrier who came in and had the most successful run of any Florida football coach, winning the school's first championship. Look at college basketball's coaching Mt. Rushmore (Dean Smith, John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski and Bobby Knight) and you'll find certain unifying themes: multiple championships and tenure of over 25 years. Furthermore, outside of Indiana, all took over schools with limited previous success. These coaches are forever linked with their schools and cast a large shadow for the remainder of history. Think of Roy Williams, Kelvin Sampson and Ben Howland. All are great coaches, yet none will ever be able to match their predecessors' legacy. They are merely restoring past grandeur, not creating a new history. Billy Donovan has a chance to become synonymous with Florida basketball and I think he's made the right choice in forging his own path rather than try to fill someone else's shoes.
Mini Me: Kelvin Sampson shortly followed Bobby Knight. Roy Williams shortly followed Dean Smith. Donovan would have followed Tubby Smith, certainly not a member of college basketball's Mt. Rushmore. Kentucky has had success in the past, but not continued success since the glory days of Adolph Rupp. If Donovan had left Florida why couldn't he have coached at Kentucky for more than 25 years? I think he could have, which ultimately could have led to a spot on Mt. Rushmore, college basketball edition.
Mikey C: To be fair to Tubby, he is one of only 11 active coaches to have won a national championship. On the other hand, Donovan is one of only 11 coaches ever to win more than one national championship. For me, it all comes down to whether you want to do something nobody has ever done before or whether you want to try and walk in someone else's shoes. I'd rather build a new legacy than resurrect an old one. I'd rather be a Krzyzewski than a Roy Williams and I think Donovan agrees.
Mini Me: I don't really think the Roy Williams analogy is applicable in this instance. Roy Williams arrived at North Carolina with Dean Smith still in the mind's of the Tar Heel faithful. I don't think that would be the case with Billy Donovan in regard to Adolph Rupp. I don't think Donovan would be walking in anyone's shadows. Further, it wasn't like Roy Williams all by himself resurrected the UNC basketball program. I mean for heaven's sake, he won a title primarily using Matt Doherty's players. Even if the Roy Williams situation is applicable, I don't think we could make such a comparison until after he spent 20-25 years coaching at UNC.
In end, Donovan remains at Florida. Only time will tell whether or not Donovan will have continued success (relative to what he has had thus far) in Florida, and if he does, whether or not he will receive the proper praise and attention from Florida fans.
Do you think Donovan made the right decision in staying in Florida?
This week's topic: Should Billy Donovan have left Florida to go to Kentucky?
Mini Me:
Because the four studs are going pro, and Humprhey and Richard are graduating, Billy Donovan will be starting over fresh at Florida. The majority of his championship team is gone and many fresh-faced Gators will be playing next year. If Donovan is going to have to start over anyways, now would have been the ideal time to move to Kentucky, a place not only with more prestige and tradition, but also a school where Donovan could have been the king of the campus. It has become abundantly clear that no matter how well he does at Florida, he will always come second to football. Do we need any more proof than the fact that after coaching the Gators to a title in 2006, this past year Florida basketball averaged an attendance that ranked 31st in the country, while Kentucky ranked 1st? Donovan has the coaching ability and he could be even more successful recruiting kids to come to a school like Kentucky, one known for its basketball.
Sure the Kentucky job casts a large spotlight, one open not only to pressure but intense scrutiny, yet the possible reward is too great to pass up. Donovan would have been viewed as the savior of the university, and would have gone down as one of the great college basketball coaches of all-time if he were to resurrect a program that hasn’t reached a Final Four since 1998. Wooden, Smith, Knight, Krzyzewski, Donovan? By going to Kentucky, Donovan’s name on that list could have become a reality.
Mikey C: Mike Miller. Jason Williams. David Lee. Udonis Haslem. Matt Walsh. Anthony Roberson. Donnell Harvey. Andrew DeClerq. These are just some of the players that Donovan has recruited and graduated from University of Florida since he arrived. Billy Donovan is a master recruiter and a fantastic coach. He built the Florida program up from nothing, at a time when it didn't have any sort of reputation. Before Donovan, the best player to have graduated Florida was Vernon Maxwell. Billy Donovan with a bunch of scholarships is a scary proposition for the rest of the SEC. He currently has one All-American (Nick Calethas #12 overall senior) committed for next season and he's in the running for Patrick Patterson (#14) as well.
Now I think it's clear that the rebuilding won't be too much of a challenge for Donovan, so the big difference comes down to where would he rather be: Florida or Kentucky? Mini Me, you brought up the attendance point, but both average 90% attendance rates; Rupp Arena is merely twice the size of the O'Connell Center. Personally, I think it's much easier to recruit a kid to sunny Florida then to middle-of-nowhere Kentucky. It also seems nicer for Donovan to live in Florida than Kentucky, but that might just be me. Also, think about the expectations. At Florida, Donovan can have 2-3 down seasons because there's still the glow of the championships. At Kentucky, he'll be knighted the savior, but given very little time to push Kentucky to the top. On Tuesday, there was a column in the Kentucky Kernel: "UK basketball fans' high expectations are hardly irrational." If Donovan doesn't make the Final Four within 3 years, he'll be out on his ass. I'd take the safe sunny route over Kentucky everyday.
Mini Me: Mikey C, I agree with you that Donovan won't have a difficult time rebuilding, no matter where he is. However, I do think from a coaching career standpoint it would have been significantly better for Donovan to rebuild at Kentucky. Yes, both Florida and Kentucky average 90% attendance rates but because Florida's fanbase and consequently arena is so small, 90% at Florida isn't near the same as 90% at Kentucky. Florida basketball will always play second fiddle to Florida football. And because of that while he remains at Florida Donovan will never garner the respect and power he deserves. Meanwhile, leading the transformation of a Kentucky program back to eliteness would transform him into a king of Lexington. This is a status Donovan is incapable of achieving at Florida.
Yes, greater expectations come along with the Kentucky job. But in my opinion it is worth it because of what success in Lexington could mean to Donovan's career and ultimately his legacy.
Mikey C: The key point for me revolves around is it better to be a builder or a restorer? At Florida, Donovan is building a legacy of success; at Kentucky, he would be charged with restoring a team to past glory. A mark of a great college coach to me is building a championship legacy at schools that didn't have one previously. If, we're talking about Florida as a football school, that must be attributed to Steve Spurrier who came in and had the most successful run of any Florida football coach, winning the school's first championship. Look at college basketball's coaching Mt. Rushmore (Dean Smith, John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski and Bobby Knight) and you'll find certain unifying themes: multiple championships and tenure of over 25 years. Furthermore, outside of Indiana, all took over schools with limited previous success. These coaches are forever linked with their schools and cast a large shadow for the remainder of history. Think of Roy Williams, Kelvin Sampson and Ben Howland. All are great coaches, yet none will ever be able to match their predecessors' legacy. They are merely restoring past grandeur, not creating a new history. Billy Donovan has a chance to become synonymous with Florida basketball and I think he's made the right choice in forging his own path rather than try to fill someone else's shoes.
Mini Me: Kelvin Sampson shortly followed Bobby Knight. Roy Williams shortly followed Dean Smith. Donovan would have followed Tubby Smith, certainly not a member of college basketball's Mt. Rushmore. Kentucky has had success in the past, but not continued success since the glory days of Adolph Rupp. If Donovan had left Florida why couldn't he have coached at Kentucky for more than 25 years? I think he could have, which ultimately could have led to a spot on Mt. Rushmore, college basketball edition.
Mikey C: To be fair to Tubby, he is one of only 11 active coaches to have won a national championship. On the other hand, Donovan is one of only 11 coaches ever to win more than one national championship. For me, it all comes down to whether you want to do something nobody has ever done before or whether you want to try and walk in someone else's shoes. I'd rather build a new legacy than resurrect an old one. I'd rather be a Krzyzewski than a Roy Williams and I think Donovan agrees.
Mini Me: I don't really think the Roy Williams analogy is applicable in this instance. Roy Williams arrived at North Carolina with Dean Smith still in the mind's of the Tar Heel faithful. I don't think that would be the case with Billy Donovan in regard to Adolph Rupp. I don't think Donovan would be walking in anyone's shadows. Further, it wasn't like Roy Williams all by himself resurrected the UNC basketball program. I mean for heaven's sake, he won a title primarily using Matt Doherty's players. Even if the Roy Williams situation is applicable, I don't think we could make such a comparison until after he spent 20-25 years coaching at UNC.
In end, Donovan remains at Florida. Only time will tell whether or not Donovan will have continued success (relative to what he has had thus far) in Florida, and if he does, whether or not he will receive the proper praise and attention from Florida fans.
Do you think Donovan made the right decision in staying in Florida?
11 Comments:
I would have liked to see what he could have done at Kentucky, but ultimately I think this is a good move... I'm really looking forward to the rest of the Donovan Era.
I think the ability to recruit to Florida over Kentucky is a big issue here.
IMO he made the right choice.
Love the feature btw.
It seems right for him to stay. Billy G just took the Kentucky job though. Good luck!
Good arguments on both sides.
Not to get all Thomas Friedman on you but the world is flat. The Kentucky job isn't what it used to be, there's nothing that Donovan can accomplish there that he can't accomplish at Florida. He could go there and coach 25 years and end up on CBB's Mt. Rushmore but who is to say that he can't do the same thing at Florida? He's got two championships already, if he won a couple more (no guarantee, but it isn't at Kentucky either) he would be in the stratosphere of coaches.
Feed, you bring up a good point about Donovan being able to find the same kind of success at Florida than he could achieve at Kentucky. But I wonder if it bothers him that after back-to-back titles, the Florida fans still care more about football than basketball. The fact that only about 11,000 fans go to basketball games in Gainesville is kind of embarrassing. I know it is relatively filled with 11,000 and is just a small arena, but they certainly have enough money to build a new one. But they don't need to because it is apparent that there isn't a great demand to see Florida basketball games. That is a shame.
And clearly that wouldn't be the case at Kentucky. I think that is the biggest advantage that Kentucky could have provided Donovan. More fans and a bigger spotlight.
That's a fair point, Mini Me. I went to a football school (Michigan) and basketball never registered while I was there. It did during the Fab Five, which I was lucky enough to miss by a couple of years, but otherwise, bupkis. And that's not even a program on the Gators' level.
That said, I wonder if you asked Tubby Smith, Ty Willingham or Ron Zook about coaching for a rabid fan base with overly grandiose expectations each season. Donovan has the money, the recruiting clout and the national recognition which is a fair trade for avoiding the kinds of shenanigans that cost each of the above their jobs.
I think if he does bolt from Gainesville it will be for the NBA not another college job.
If Donovan can bring home one more title to Florida, he's a sure hall of famer. So I think he made the right decision to stay with the Gators.
But were Tubby Smith, Ty Willingham or Ron Zook really that successful?
you really have to separate Tubby from Ty and Zook. Tubby won a national championship and averaged 26 wins a year. He won 5 conference titles and 5 conference tourneys. You can't really argue with that resume. Ty and Zook did not have resumes like that.
yar, I can't spell...
I think it's a shame that Gillispie took the Kentucky job. Take a look at Duke. Bill Foster turned the program around there, taking over for Neill McGeachy. McGeachy isn't mentioned as a coach in Wikipedia's history of Duke's Men"s basketball program! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Blue_Devils_basketball#History Foster left Duke after 6 amazing seasons to take a "better job" at South Carolina to replace the legendary South Carolina coach, Frank NcGuire. Foster left South Carolina in 1985 after a losing season to coach Northwestern. Had he stayed at Duke, we all could be referring to coach F these days instead of coach K!
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home