ESPN say Donavan accepts the Orlando Magic job

[Fresno St. Alum]

hmmm. mods can you please spell Donovan right for me on the title and add a "s" to say. thanks

[aggie6thman]

Ok, my bad. You are right Fresno: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2888555

[813Jag]

If true "It's great to be a Gator-Hater"xlolx xlolx

[SU Jag]

He'll be back in 5 years tops!xnodx

[GeauxColonels]

I think it's a pretty dumb move for him.

[dbackjon]

I think it's a pretty dumb move for him.


Sucks for UF at this point, but he has brought them two championships - all his starters graduated - can earn some big money for a few years, then come back and coach Kentucky :D

[Grizalltheway]

Sucks for UF at this point, but he has brought them two championships - all his starters graduated - can earn some big money for a few years, then come back and come Kentucky :D

What do you have in mind here, exactly? xeyebrowx xeyebrowx

[AppGuy04]

Dumb move on his part, except financially. He will coach 3 years, be fired and then be back to college. He has it made at Florida and is starting to reload every year.

[dbackjon]

What do you have in mind here, exactly? xeyebrowx xeyebrowx
xoopsx

[PantherRob82]

i'd stay at Florida. You get to recruit any and all players to build your own "all star" teams. All you'll get in Orlando is more money and players with egos.

[813Jag]

Honestly, if he wanted to leave Florida he should have taken the Kentucky job. The NBA is no good for a college coach.

[Go...gate]

Good for him. He had nowhere to go but down at Florida.

[aggie6thman]

Think about all the college coaches who left for the NBA and then came right back because they couldn't take the attitudes of the players. It even goes on in the NFL, just ask Spurrier.

[813Jag]

Think about all the college coaches who left for the NBA and then came right back because they couldn't take the attitudes of the players. It even goes on in the NFL, just ask Spurrier.
True. I can't wait to see how this works out for him.

[SuperJon]

He's getting paired with one of the best young stars in the league (Howard) who isn't one of the ones with a huge attitude. It's a challenge. If he fails, he fails. When you do almost all you can in one job, why not try something else?

[NDSUFREAK]

Sucks for UF at this point, but he has brought them two championships - all his starters graduated - can earn some big money for a few years, then come back and coach Kentucky :D

NDSU now has an even better chance of beating florida now!xrotatehx xrotatehx

[PantherRob82]

Honestly, if he wanted to leave Florida he should have taken the Kentucky job. The NBA is no good for a college coach.

If he wanted to stay in college he should've stayed put. I think the Kentucky job is almost a deathwish.

[Eyes of Old Main]

He's leaving a job where he's revered for a 2-3 year stop over. I understand wanting new challenges, but it's not like there wouldn't have been plenty of those at Florida trying to stay on top/rebuild.

Why didn't he ask Rick Pitino, Lon Kruger and Mike Montgomery how the NBA worked out for them?

[813Jag]

I wonder who's next in line for the Gators? xconfusedx

[blueballs]

I am a charter season ticket holder of the Magic and I am ambivilous about this move.

It is certain to play well in the community full of xxxturd fans and Donavan will likely coach an up tempo brand of basketball, which the Magic brass wanted Brian Hill to do but didn't. The Magic are pushing for a new arena and this won't hurt that effort- at least in the short term.

There will be some new faces in town when training camp starts so it is anybody's guess how the team will shake out.

My major concern is this: All year long Dwight Howard got the short end of the whistle against floppers and journeymen who are nowhere near his talent and star power. It is absolutely the job of the coach to stand up for his player and put a stop to that and gain that whistle advantage for the young rising star. Donavan is a rookie coach and has no credibility with the officials whatsoever, so I look for the "bias" against Howard's style of play to continue and it will hurt the team, retard his development, and may well run him out of Orlando in a couple of years IF they aren't successful in extending him this summer.

The other major concern is this: Turnovers killed the team this past year along with terrible wing play. Jameer Nelson took a step backward in 06-07

The Magic need either Nelson or somebody else to really step up at the point to be able to move into the top tier of teams in the east. . How does Donavan make that happen? Or does he bench Nelson or even run him off in favor of somebody else? That factor alone along with how Howard works out with him will determine if Donavan succeeds or fails.

I also wonder how much say in personnel decisions he will have. Outside of drafting Howard and the two trades in 06, the Magic have really botched alot of personnel decisions in the past decade, and the upper management team that oversaw that- from the VP of basketball ops level upward- remains intact.

Case in point: Think this team of ex-Magic players could win the title? Shaq, Billups, McGrady, Ben Wallace, Drew Gooden, Anderson Varejao, Matt Harpring, Zaza Pachulia, Cuttino Mobley, Darrell Armstrong, Jacque Vaughn.

Financially this is a no brainer for Billy, and his legend in college hoops remains intact. If he fails in Orlando he will be able to land another plum job in college ala Pitino, Floyd, and Calipari. I don't blame him in any way for taking the job and neither should any xxxturd fans.

But the fact remains he hasn't won diddly in the NBA and has no reputation whatsoever, so this is a major reach for the Magic and IMO a whole lot more things can go wrong than right with this move.

[B&G]

blueballs, as an ex-Magic fan I agree with you. I'm an ex-fan b/c I am in Charlotte so I have the Bobcats but I am also an ex-fan b/c Orlando has made horrible moves time and again. That wasted pick of Fran Vasquez two years ago was the nail in the coffin. I laughed when they chose JJ Redick b/c it was a typical Orlando move. Billy Donovan could be successful if the front office stopped making retarded personnel decisions. However I think he has a steep hill to climb.

[AZGrizFan]

I think it's a pretty dumb move for him.

They gave him $36 million reasons to make the move. xnodx xnodx xnodx xnodx

[813Jag]

I am a charter season ticket holder of the Magic and I am ambivilous about this move.

It is certain to play well in the community full of xxxturd fans and Donavan will likely coach an up tempo brand of basketball, which the Magic brass wanted Brian Hill to do but didn't. The Magic are pushing for a new arena and this won't hurt that effort- at least in the short term.

There will be some new faces in town when training camp starts so it is anybody's guess how the team will shake out.

My major concern is this: All year long Dwight Howard got the short end of the whistle against floppers and journeymen who are nowhere near his talent and star power. It is absolutely the job of the coach to stand up for his player and put a stop to that and gain that whistle advantage for the young rising star. Donavan is a rookie coach and has no credibility with the officials whatsoever, so I look for the "bias" against Howard's style of play to continue and it will hurt the team, retard his development, and may well run him out of Orlando in a couple of years IF they aren't successful in extending him this summer.

The other major concern is this: Turnovers killed the team this past year along with terrible wing play. Jameer Nelson took a step backward in 06-07

The Magic need either Nelson or somebody else to really step up at the point to be able to move into the top tier of teams in the east. . How does Donavan make that happen? Or does he bench Nelson or even run him off in favor of somebody else? That factor alone along with how Howard works out with him will determine if Donavan succeeds or fails.

I also wonder how much say in personnel decisions he will have. Outside of drafting Howard and the two trades in 06, the Magic have really botched alot of personnel decisions in the past decade, and the upper management team that oversaw that- from the VP of basketball ops level upward- remains intact.

Case in point: Think this team of ex-Magic players could win the title? Shaq, Billups, McGrady, Ben Wallace, Drew Gooden, Anderson Varejao, Matt Harpring, Zaza Pachulia, Cuttino Mobley, Darrell Armstrong, Jacque Vaughn.

Financially this is a no brainer for Billy, and his legend in college hoops remains intact. If he fails in Orlando he will be able to land another plum job in college ala Pitino, Floyd, and Calipari. I don't blame him in any way for taking the job and neither should any xxxturd fans.

But the fact remains he hasn't won diddly in the NBA and has no reputation whatsoever, so this is a major reach for the Magic and IMO a whole lot more things can go wrong than right with this move.

Very well stated xthumbsupx

[AppGuy04]

I wonder who's next in line for the Gators? xconfusedx

thats the most interesting part for me

who the hell is available in June?

[Mr. C]

How many people on this board would turn down $36 million to do ANYTHING?

I have my doubts about how successful Billy will be (probably about as successful as he was as an NBA player), but I wish him well. I was the very first member of the Southen Conference media to interview Billy after he got his job at Marshall and we hit it off very well. He is a good guy and the type of person who would stop you on the street to say Hi, if you crossed paths with him (yes, he has actually done that with me).

[Mr. C]

Ok, my bad. You are right Fresno: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2888555

Some of us with Fresno State diplomas know how to spell Billy Donovan. Some of us actually know Billy, too. And, unlike Billy Packer (is it really Done-O-Vin, Mr. Packer? Don't think so), some of us know how to pronounce his last name, too.

[813Jag]

thats the most interesting part for me

who the hell is available in June?

I wonder if they make a run at Anthony Grant.

[AppGuy04]

I wonder if they make a run at Anthony Grant.

I say either him or Jay Wright

[ngineer]

I say either him or Jay Wright

Reported in Philadelphia today that Wright is on a 'short list' of candidates. From my perspective, you'd have to pay me a ton of money to take that job. No where to go but down in a town that is nuts--remember how Ron Zook was treated in football BEFORE he even coached a single game? Unrealistic expectations. PLus, I think Donovan saw that the cupboard isn't what he thought it would be.

[Mr. C]

I wonder if they make a run at Anthony Grant.

ESPN was reporting that Grant was the most likely candidate to get the job and that if he did, Florida wouldn't lose ANY of its new recruits. Being that Grant is a former Gator assistant, it seems to make sense. He is a coach on the rise after last season at VCU.

[813Jag]

Reported in Philadelphia today that Wright is on a 'short list' of candidates. From my perspective, you'd have to pay me a ton of money to take that job. No where to go but down in a town that is nuts--remember how Ron Zook was treated in football BEFORE he even coached a single game? Unrealistic expectations. PLus, I think Donovan saw that the cupboard isn't what he thought it would be.

Zook did himself in telling the boosters they couldn't come to practice and with poor coaching. He recruited very well. Urban Meyer had the same expectations placed on him. And he was able to win.
The Gators had a great recruiting class coming in, so the cupboard (while young) won't be bare.

[AZGrizFan]

He's leaving a job where he's revered for a 2-3 year stop over. I understand wanting new challenges, but it's not like there wouldn't have been plenty of those at Florida trying to stay on top/rebuild.

Why didn't he ask Rick Pitino, Lon Kruger and Mike Montgomery how the NBA worked out for them?

And yet, they're probably ALL still cashing BIG paychecks from their NBA stopovers.... xthumbsupx xthumbsupx xthumbsupx xthumbsupx