Guess he didn’t really want that NBA job, as Fox Sports is reporting that Billy Donovan wants to go back to Florida to coach college basketball, rather than risk becoming another Pitino or Calipari. Again, I stated before he took the Magic job that the odds were against him, and if he wanted control, he needed to stay in the college ranks. But how much of a suckjob is this to pull on a team that actually, wasn’t such a bad place to go if you were going to make the jump with Dwight Howard, Darko Milicic, and other players that could be molded into a fairly good team in the East?
According to one source, Donovan was forced to make a rash decision by the Magic management — and he regretted it shortly after agreeing to the contract.
Dana Altman thinks that was fast. Now Donovan knows how recruits feel. Florida was going after VCU’s Anthony Grant as a replacement, and maybe they might have known about this while meeting with Grant, which, as Burnsy so helpfully pointed out on a Deadspin thread, makes Donovan a cockblocker extraordinaire. Never take him along as your wingman. He’ll go off, talk to the hottest girl in the room, and then steal yours that he didn’t care when you were originally talking to her.
Better email the News Team — this guy now has to make the Douchebag Scale. The question is really whether or not the Magic make him pay out the ass to get out of the contract. He’ll be back at Florida. The Magic brass should probably go offer that jack to Stan Van Jeremy, so he can get his vengeance on Pat Riley.
(And shenanigans on ESPN for claiming Andy Katz had sources tell him about it. Fox beat you to it fair and square.)
Filed under: coaches, college basketball, douchebaggery, NBA, stupidity |
Signal to Noise 
Excellent article.
Pretty much feel the same way, no matter what happens from here on in, Donovan’s done major damage to his credibility. He will get absolutely roasted in the media – right up there with Nick Saban now (worse?)… and what are you thinking of him if you’re the Florida Athletic department too? Lose/lose situation Billy…
http://withmalice.wordpress.com/
Florida will be happy to have him back. It won’t affect college recruiting one bit. Now, Donovan will never get a sniff at the NBA again, but he can be the Dean Smith of the Swamp, and I suspect he’d be fine with that.
I agree with you here, you make some great points. I feel that he will be welcomed back to Florida, because they know that in order for that team to be successful, and for them to be able to recruit for the future, they need him around.