The 2007 NBA Draft A Testament To Billy Donovan's Coaching Ability

Most of the press surrounding Billy Donovan over the past weeks hasn't exactly been positive. First, there was the flirtation with the Kentucky job. Next came an only somewhat serious look at the Memphis job. Then, of course the whole Orlando Magic debacle. Hopefully tonight everyone can put those events aside to see just how good of a coach Billy Donovan is.

Before we get started here, I want you to keep in mind that Donovan has achieved his success at a school that was never known for basketball. Prior to Donovan's arrival in 1996, the Gators had made just five appearances in the NCAA tournament, with their best showing being a loss to Duke in the '93'-94 Final Four. The Gators didn't even reach their first NCAA Tournament until the 1986-1987 season, 39 years after the start of the program.

College basketball isn't exactly what it used to be. Many kids just see it as a springboard to the NBA. The ultimate goal is to play well enough in college so that you get drafted into the NBA. Before Billy Donovan the biggest NBA stars to come out of Florida were Neal Walk, Vernon Maxwell, Dwayne Schintzius and Andrew Declerq. Since Donovan took over as head coach he's had four of his players taken in the first round. That's double the amount drafted in the first round since the first Gator basketball player was ever drafted back in 1958.

And he's poised to add three more first round picks to that list, with the possibility of Taurean Green rounding out a total of four Gators drafted overall. You might think that Donovan just recruited 5-star athletes, and that their natural ability made them gifted enough to be possible top-10 NBA draft picks. Well, here's how the "Big Three" were ranked heading into Florida:

Corey Brewer: #7 ranked small forward, #31 overall(rivals.com)

Al Horford: #7 ranked power forward, #36 overall(rivals.com)

Joakim Noah: #19 ranked power forward, #75 overall(rivals.com)

And the fourth:

Taurean Green: #19 ranked point guard, #105 overall(rivals.com)

Sure, Brewer and Horford were ranked in the top 10 at their position, but the class as a whole wasn't in the top 10. However, Donovan coached them into a frontcourt that most college coaches dream about having. He helped Green become the driver of the team, and elevated his draft stock in the process. As an example, Glen Davis was the #3 ranked power forward back in '04. Most NBA analysts have him ranked as the #10 rated NBA power forward prospect, whereas Horford is usually #2.

Coach Donovan has shown the ability since he arrived in Gainesville to recruit good players, and be able to hone their strengths. Tonight's NBA Draft will be a prime example of his handiwork.

Orlando Magic Season Ticket Holders Offered Refund In The Wake Of Donovan Fiasco

Today the Orlando Magic took another step in trying to erase any memory that Billy Donovan was their coach for just a few hours. The Magic offered refunds to any individuals that purchased season tickets within 48 hours of the announcement that Donovan was the new head coach. Team officials stated that more than 200 ticket packages had been bought within that timeframe, though they didn't disclose how many people had asked for a refund.

Looking at the Magic's ticket site the cheapest package available is $450 for the entire season. So, the cheapest package with a minimum of 200 packages being bought would equal $90,000 in refunds. Obviously, not every buyer is going to ask for a refund, but every package purchased probably wasn't the cheapest either. It's probably safe to assume that Orlando is looking at at least $90k in lost revenue.

It would be interesting to find out exactly how many refunds are granted because of Donovan deciding to go back Florida. That would be a decent barometer of how much faith the fans have in new head coach(at least this week) Stan Van Jeremy(pornstache yeah!).

Gators Welcome Back Donovan In A Big Way, Plan To Pay Him More Than Meyer

Last week it looked like Billy Donovan had left Gainesville for the NBA. Now he's back, and his new deal will pay him more than head football coach Urban Meyer.

Both coaches have been offered new contracts at the same time, and Donovan's extra championship seems to add a little more value. Donovan is reportedly going to be paid $3.5 million per year over six years(with an optional 7th), and Meyer's contract is setup as $3.25 million over six years.

Both are nice increases for the coaches, Donovan had been making $1.7 million per year, and Meyer had originally signed a contract worth $2 million(guaranteed + incentives) per year. However, I am bit surprised that at a school where football has traditionally been king the head basketball coach will be getting paid slightly more than the head football coach. I always believed that there was a ceiling of sorts in place for the salary of the basketball coach that would keep him from being paid as much, or more, than the football coach. It appears that I was wrong in that assumption. In any case, both coaches are reaping the benefits of their recent championships.

Billy Donovan Seems To Be Experiencing Signer's Remorse

Usually you think of someone experiencing a bad case of remorse when they purchase a car, and then regret the decision 24 hours later. Apparently, that's what Billy Donovan is going through right now, except that it involves an NBA team and a $27 million contract.

"Sources close to the situation"(you always have to love those!) say that Donovan is "attempting to return to Gainesville". The situation is serious enough that Florida AD Jeremy Foley had to return quickly to Gainesville on Saturday morning instead of meeting with VCU coach Anthony Grant, a former Donovan assistant, to discuss the opening. Sources close to that "situation" say that Florida was poised to offer Grant the job for $1.1 million per year.

I guess Donovan realized that the NBA is much more of a grind than college, and that being the King of Basketball in Gainesville isn't all that bad. Heck, a few more winning seasons, and they would probably would change the name on the O'Connell Center for him.

My hunch is that the DeVos family told him that he would have to sell 25,000 units of Amway products, and that BillyD realized that playing Kentucky twice a year wasn't so bad after all. Florida fans may be rowdy, but at least they're not cultlike.

The biggest question now is how will the fans react? Will they welcome him back with open arms? Will they be suspicious, always wondering when the next NBA team will try to lure him away? Personally, I think the two championship trophies in Gainesville speak for themselves, but BillyD might want to carry them around with him on campus for a while just to remind everyone.

As If Kentucky Needed Anymore Reason To Hate Florida

Florida versus Kentucky has become a pretty good rivalry on the hardwood in recent years with the resurgence of UF's men's basketball program. With their two wins this past season, Florida became the first SEC team to ever beat Kentucky six consecutive times. They also continued their recent win streak against Kentucky in the offseason.

The first occasion came in the head-to-head matchup for Florida's coach Billy Donovan. Donovan had recently brought the second straight men's basketball national championship to Florida, and with Tubby Smith's departure to Minnesota there was much speculation that "Billy The Kid" would become the new head coach of the Wildcats. Rumors even surfaced that Donovan was going to sign a 7-year contract worth $3.5 million per year with Kentucky after the tournament. We all know how that turned out for Kentucky.

The second "victory" this offseason came when prized basketball recruit, Jai Lucas, chose Florida over Kentucky(and Oklahoma State) yesterday. Lucas, a McDonald's All-American, is talented enough to immediately fill the void created by Taurean Green's departure. Lucas had been one of the top two recruits pursued by Kentucky, and his decision to head to Gainesville could influence his friend Patrick Patterson, another highly touted recruit pursued by Kentucky, to play for the Gators as well. If that happens, and Patterson is expected to announce his decision on Wednesday, then it's just more fuel on the fire that is the rivalry between Florida and Kentucky.

These offseason events will make the two Florida vs Kentucky games in '07-'08, especially the one in Lexington on or about March 2, that much more intense. I suggest you start making plans now to watch them if you enjoy college basketball even just a little bit.

[Photo by Tracy Wilcox, The Gainesville Sun]