Something you don't care about

College Basketball. Since Illinois went 99.9% the distance a couple years ago (Damn you Luther Head) I've become a super fan of the game. Naturally I read a lot of commentary on it. My favorite commentator/game caller is Jay Bilas. He just gets the game, how teams work, and what makes a quality player. However he said something on ESPN that I totally disagree with about Florida and their retention of twice championship coach Billy Donovan:


"...in my judgment, family considerations aside, Donovan turned down a better job [Kentuck] than the one he has... Florida is a really good basketball job, but it is a really good job because of Donovan and the work he has done there. Kentucky is a great basketball job for anyone. With a really good coach in charge, Kentucky simply has more resources, more fan support, more national interest, and more to offer any coach."


I don't believe this to be the case. Florida is a better school because of Donovan but recruits are gonna look at Florida after these past couple seasons and have their jaws hit the floor. Florida won the National Championship twice in a row in basketball, dominated Ohio State for the Football Championship, and a couple years ago went to the World Series of College baseball. This program is a monster.


Four of Floridas starting five are going to be first round picks in the NBA. Donovan is pretty much the reason behind it. ESPN and the rest of the sports media love to forget things like Florida's run of somewhere around 16 wins and undefeated in the 06 season. Everyone was saying there is no way they are that good, their true colors will show, blah, blah, blah. Well of course they lost a few games and Florida was virtually forgotten because they had a practically no name coach, supposedly no NBA talent, and they were in the weak SEC. Well come the NCAAs (the week prior) Florida had a coming out, crushing everyone in their path. The point margin was disgusting.


I'm not a Florida fan, infact I didn't want them to repeat but at this point in the game Florida is a much better program than Kentucky. Florida is party central, they are coming off repeat championships, they have a coach that is committed, rabid fans (in one of the biggest schools in the nation), and their program is going to be flooded with cash for years to come now thanks to all their championship appearances.


What does Kentucky have in comparison? Long history, a new spunky coach, and a ton of fans. Their history will draw recruits but if Donovan goes to Kentucky he'll just be a new coach carrying the torch. Florida is a school that get to the top of the mountain and by staying Donovan can have his name carved in stone at the summit. At Kentucky he would just get in line behind Rupp (the guy they named the court after and made them the winningest school ever), Pitino, Joe Hall, and Tubby Smith. What coaches do you know from Florida? Billy Donovan. Smart decision.

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