Donovan is king of all Gators
Florida Coach Billy Donovan is the dean of SEC basketball coaches in terms of being at his school for the longest period of time.
There is one reason for that, as Greg Stody of the Palm Beach Post found out.
“Billy Donovan is in his 18th season as head basketball coach at the University of Florida,” Stody wrote. “He’s still only 48 years old, which means he already has spent almost two-fifths of his life leading the Gators. That’s startling.
“But the names tell an even more astonishing tale. They are the names of Gator football bosses Donovan has seen come and/or go during his tenure.
“Steve Spurrier has gone. Ron Zook has come and gone. Urban Meyer has come and gone. Will Muschamp has come.
“I’m probably more surprised that I’ve been here 18 years,’ Donovan said last Saturday after the Gators’ 66-49 win against Fresno State in the Orange Bowl Classic at the BB&T Center. ‘Steve could have stayed as long as he wanted to, and Urban could have, too. They made career decisions to make a move.
“Florida has been a perfect fit for me.’
“The Gators have won two NCAA titles - back-to-back in 2006 and 2007 - and reached the championship game another time on Donovan’s watch. They made it to the Elite Eight each of the past three years, and would surprise absolutely nobody by getting at least that far again this season.
“This is as good a place as any to remind everyone that Donovan came close to leaving Florida himself after that 2007 national championship. He did, in fact, leave … for a week. He took the Orlando Magic job, but rescinded the acceptance to return to the Gators’ fold when Athletic Director Jeremy Foley had not yet replaced him.
“Now, it’s not far-fetched to imagine Donovan staying at UF another couple of decades. It’s not far-fetched to imagine his legacy with the Gators eventually being similar to what Mike Krzyzewski’s is at Duke.
“Iconic, that is.
“He has the Gators set up for what looks like another successful regular season, a challenge for the SEC crown and perhaps another deep NCAA Tournament run.
“Eighteen more seasons, anyone? Or would that be too few ?”Regrets, he has a few
Michigan State linebacker Max Bullough, the team’s leading tackler, was suspended from the team this week and will not play in the Rose Bowl because of a “violation of team rules.”
Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press wrote nobody should feel worse than Bullough about what happened.
“Max Bullough told us many times this season what a Rose Bowl would mean to him,” Windsor wrote.
“That he’d waited to play in one all his life. That he wanted to get there to uphold his family’s legacy.
“I believe he meant every word.
“Whatever the senior linebacker did to get suspended from Michigan State’s football team - and I’m not going to speculate - doesn’t undo what he has done as a Spartan or the sincerity with which he has done it.
“I’m guessing no one is feeling worse right now than Bullough, as he must live with his choices while the team he captained jetted off to California without him Christmas afternoon.”Quote of the day
“He’s devastated. Devastated. He puts a lot into this.”
Dallas Cowboys Coach Jason Garrett on
quarterback Tony Romo missing the rest of the
season because of back surgery
Sports, Pages 24 on 12/28/2013