Guest bengalrick Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 There are many reasons that i can think of for both sides of the arguement... he will never have legendary status at UF... then again, he will never get criticized after having a decent year at UF... he attended UK back in the day and has ties to the school... yet he has more ties w/ UF after being there 11 years... I think he will be the next coach at UK... <crossing fingers> if not though, i hope we give travis ford a shot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bengals1181 Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 had he lost lastnight, I think he would have been more likely. Now the chance of a 3-peat might keep him around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naptown Bengal Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 I say he will go. Nothing more he needs to prove at FLA, but we'll see. I could make a case for him to stay or go so I guess I don't blame him for what he ends up doing. FYI my vote was probably Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest schotzee Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 I say probably not.No real basis for my opinion,just the feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 Why would he? He has in that area what Tressel has in Columbus. Being the head coach at UK is kind of like managing the Yankees. The pressure and scrutiny are almost unmatched. It would take a special coach to take that job. Donovan is a great coach, but why leave such a good thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 [quote name='Bengals1181' post='466479' date='Apr 3 2007, 06:50 PM']had he lost lastnight, I think he would have been more likely. Now the chance of a 3-peat might keep him around.[/quote] I heard someone say the exact same thing on Lances show today but they are losing too many players to repeat, The nucleus Noah, Horford and Brewer are probably gone. Whats harder, building UK back to a respectable level or keeping Florida at their present level? It may be easier for Billy to take over a program in shambles than to sustain such a high level of performance at Florida Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whodey319 Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 not a chance. What would be the point? kentucky fans = steeler fans --- both think their teams are gods gift to the sports world and could never understand why someone wouldnt want to play or coach there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals_12th_Man Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 [quote name='whodey319' post='466534' date='Apr 3 2007, 04:51 PM']not a chance. What would be the point? kentucky fans = steeler fans --- both think their teams are gods gift to the sports world and could never understand why someone wouldnt want to play or coach there.[/quote] Blah blah blah. I'm sensing some overall jealousy and hidden anger from this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ area. My vote was for probably. :crosses fingers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldschooler Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 [quote][size=5][b]Decisions, decisions [/b][/size] By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports April 3, 2007 ATLANTA – When he took over at Florida at age 30, with older coaches sniping at his credentials, Billy Donovan was certain of just one thing: He would outwork them all, driving this football school to basketball scenes like the one here Monday with consecutive championship confetti falling from the rafters. He's a machine, Billy Donovan, never stopping, never resting. He is the single, solitary force that has turned Florida into the hottest basketball program in America. The Gators are historic back-to-back champions after an 84-75 dismantling of Ohio State, a win that has made Donovan the single, solitary candidate to take over the most hotly followed and historic basketball program in America, the University of Kentucky. Donovan is quick to spread the credit for Florida's ascension to the top of the sport, but for all the talk about his boss and about facilities and commitment, this program is Billy Donovan's creation. These titles are the product of Billy Donovan's relentless pursuit of perfection. "The sacrifice," said his wife, Christine. "So much sacrifice through the years." You can't count the missed time with his wife and kids, the skipped dinners, the vacations that never happened. You can't fathom the extra days on the recruiting trail, the early morning workouts and all-night film sessions and the constant, 24-hour-a-day concentration on his job. Even in a business filled with Type-A personalities, Donovan simply overwhelms much of his competition. He used to talk about how even when he was home he wasn't home – a cell phone constantly pressed against his ear, his mind on some practice plan not his kids. He used to say that he didn't even know how to enjoy the victories until the net was clipped, until a title was won. He's no hearts and flowers kind of guy; he's all white-knuckle intensity, all about tomorrow, all about the job. "Every ounce of his blood has gone into this program, to resurrect this program," said his dad, Bill Sr. "It took an unbelievable amount of work. He's not a multitasker. He can't focus on more than one thing at a time." For 11 years, that single focus was doing this with Florida, crashing the Gators into the golden elite of the sport. "I definitely think it took years off my life," Donovan said. And so now, Donovan has to consider the rest of the years of his life and decide whether to harvest this powerhouse he created at Florida or take the job he has long dreamed of at storied Kentucky. He has to decide whether he can walk away from all that work and turn his back on all those ounces of blood. He has to decide just how great it is to be a Florida Gator. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kentucky is coming now and Billy Donovan is going to listen because he spent his career waiting for them, working toward them. When he arrived in Lexington as a 24-year-old assistant under Rick Pitino for his first college coaching job, the entire Big Blue experience blew his mind. The people camping out for Midnight Madness; the standing room only at Rupp Arena even for early season patsies; the all-encompassing interest in the program from Paintsville to Paducah. He spent years talking about it with friends and family, dreaming of being the King of the Commonwealth, the program Pitino called the "Roman Empire of college basketball." If Kentucky ever called, he used to tell them, he was answering. "Things change," Bill Sr. said. "I don't know how it is at this time. Kentucky is a great program, has great tradition, is a great job. He enjoyed his five years in Kentucky. Now he gets to sit back and see where he wants to be with his family." That there is even a decision is one byproduct of this run of success. Three years ago, when Gators fans were on him for five consecutive early tournament exits, when rival coaches were assailing his ethics, when the old school establishment was trying to keep him and his hard-charging self down, when something like back-to-back titles seemed farfetched, he would have been long gone. Florida was Florida and Kentucky was Kentucky. But things do change. Florida is on fire and as much as postgame Donovan was talking about the challenges ahead, he knows it will be easier now. Not easy, but easier. The way it is easier to win at historic places such as Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA. Florida was no easy job when he got there. It wasn't the Sisters of the Poor, but the program still stands in the shadow of football. Fan support, even in the best of times, is a bit soft – the Gators sold out their 12,000-seat stadium just eight of 18 times this season. In terms of recruiting to little Gainesville, you're always on an airplane, always going into the backyard of other schools to sign kids – none of Donovan's starting five hailed from within 300 miles of campus. Ohio State's were all within 180 miles of Columbus. But now Florida means so much to so many young, star-struck recruits. This isn't 1996 or even 2004, when the heart of this team was signed. That's the thing that's changed. If Donovan stays in Gainesville, he'll continue to win big. Only Bob Knight won two titles at a younger age and unlike Knight, Billy Donovan doesn't fish. At 41, his drive is as all-out as ever. His mind, soon enough, will be on one more recruiting call, one more individual workout, one more task at hand. He has more blood to bleed. "I feel like I, over the last 11 years, have left no stone unturned in trying to help the program," he said. Can he walk from that? Can he walk from his own kingdom? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To a man, Donovan's friends and family say he hasn't spent more than a minute thinking seriously about Kentucky. As his dad said, he can't focus on more than one thing and winning this title was it. But the future is now. Kentucky will break the bank, will offer creative enticements, business opportunities, anything he wants. Florida will match in as many ways as possible. In the end, as absurd as it is to say about a man being wooed by competing $25 to $30 million dollar contracts, it won't be about the money. To leave UF he'll have to disappoint his athletic director Jeremy Foley and so many friends, so many players. To stay at UF, he'll have to disappoint so many friends in Kentucky, such as mega booster Seth Hancock – the legendary horseman, and a generation of former players he's still close with. This one is going to be emotional for a mostly emotionless guy, a heart check for someone who thrives on cold, calculating decisions. The future of two programs and any number of future Final Fours rests on it. Donovan can say the program at Florida is bigger than just him, but that really isn't true. If he stays, the Gators are going to be a contender for a long, long time. Kentucky will return to greatness even if Donovan says no, but he can make it happen in a hurry. Two titles now and he's positioned himself as the most important person in college hoops; the future is in his hands, choosing between honoring spilt blood or old dreams. "I'll tell you the truth," his dad said amid the celebratory chaos, "I don't know what he's going to do." [i]Dan Wetzel is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist. Send Dan a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast. [/i][/quote] [url="http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=dw-billydonovan040207&prov=yhoo&type=lgn"]http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=dw...oo&type=lgn[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 I would love to have Donovan but I won't believe it until I see it, it appears likely but as a fan I just can't get a good feeling its going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 [quote name='whodey319' post='466534' date='Apr 3 2007, 02:51 PM']not a chance. What would be the point? [b]kentucky fans = steeler fans --- both think their teams are gods gift to the sports world and could never understand why someone wouldnt want to play or coach there.[/b][/quote] stealers fans? Gods gift to sports? Them's fightin' words right there....like there aren't rabid or arrogant fans in every fanbase of every major sports team..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 Kentucky Basketball was a gift from GOD and typical evil world has shunned it for the most part like all his other gifts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 Steeler fans were GODS gift to trailer park salesmen and producers of cheap whiskey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest #22 Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 I'm not so sure anymore. It's looking more and more like Billy Gillespie or one of 3 different NBA coaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mongoloido Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 [quote name='Storm' post='466531' date='Apr 3 2007, 04:43 PM']I heard someone say the exact same thing on Lances show today but they are losing too many players to repeat, The nucleus Noah, Horford and Brewer are probably gone. Whats harder, building UK back to a respectable level or keeping Florida at their present level? It may be easier for Billy to take over a program in shambles than to sustain such a high level of performance at Florida[/quote] He has a pretty darn good recruiting class to Florida next year, and it's cake to get a kid to want to go to school in the Sunshine State. Even the ugly girls have good bodies there. Would you rather be in Gainesville, surrounded by hot chicks, or in Lexington, surrounded by Kentucky hicks? I exaggerate, but not by much. A crapload of kids outside of Kentucky will pick Florida. I think he stays at Florida or goes to the NBA. Florida is gorgeous, he can get the recruits, he's loved, but not demanded to go Final Four every year, and I'd assume Florida can pay him just fine. Kentucky is in danger of going the way of Indiana, I fear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 [quote name='mongoloido' post='466672' date='Apr 4 2007, 03:04 AM']He has a pretty darn good recruiting class to Florida next year, and it's cake to get a kid to want to go to school in the Sunshine State. [b]Even the ugly girls have good bodies there. Would you rather be in Gainesville, surrounded by hot chicks, or in Lexington, surrounded by Kentucky hicks?[/b] I exaggerate, but not by much. A crapload of kids outside of Kentucky will pick Florida. I think he stays at Florida or goes to the NBA. Florida is gorgeous, he can get the recruits, he's loved, but not demanded to go Final Four every year, and I'd assume Florida can pay him just fine. Kentucky is in danger of going the way of Indiana, I fear.[/quote] I've been to Gainsville and I've been to Lexington, Lexington has hotter chicks by far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest #22 Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 [quote name='Storm' post='466674' date='Apr 3 2007, 11:09 PM']I've been to Gainesville and I've been to Lexington, Lexington has hotter chicks by far[/quote] Been to both, and have to say the same as well. Lexington is a pretty shitty city, but the women there are all smoking hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go Tory Go! Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 [quote name='whodey319' post='466534' date='Apr 3 2007, 04:51 PM']not a chance. What would be the point? kentucky fans = steeler fans --- both think their teams are gods gift to the sports world and could never understand why someone wouldnt want to play or coach there.[/quote] Good analogy, you've put in words what I've been thinking lately after reading the comments in the KY coaching vacancy threads but couldn't quite put my finger on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bengalrick Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 [quote name='whodey319' post='466534' date='Apr 3 2007, 04:51 PM']not a chance. What would be the point? kentucky fans = steeler fans --- both think their teams are gods gift to the sports world and could never understand why someone wouldnt want to play or coach there.[/quote] I HATE the stealers and their fans, but i wish the bengals fans were half as big and as loyal as stealers fans are... and those are the sad facts... if billy comes to Lexington and rebuilds like pitino did, we might name the state after him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bengalrick Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 [quote name='mongoloido' post='466672' date='Apr 3 2007, 11:04 PM']He has a pretty darn good recruiting class to Florida next year, and it's cake to get a kid to want to go to school in the Sunshine State. Even the ugly girls have good bodies there. Would you rather be in Gainesville, surrounded by hot chicks, or in Lexington, [b]surrounded by Kentucky hicks?[/b] I exaggerate, but not by much. A crapload of kids outside of Kentucky will pick Florida. I think he stays at Florida or goes to the NBA. Florida is gorgeous, he can get the recruits, he's loved, but not demanded to go Final Four every year, and I'd assume Florida can pay him just fine. Kentucky is in danger of going the way of Indiana, I fear.[/quote] have you ever been to UK's campus? [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//38.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//38.gif[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 If it were about HOT CHICKS, I could win a National Championship. Keeneland that's all you have to do. Apparently somebody thinks Miami is the entire state of Florida. There is no shortage of hicks in Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldschooler Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 [quote][size=5][b]Grizzlies Offer Donovan $5 Million[/b][/size] POSTED: 11:59 am EDT April 4, 2007 UPDATED: 3:19 pm EDT April 4, 2007 LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The Lexington CBS affiliate WKYT reports that Billy Donovan, the top choice to replace Tubby Smith as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, has been offered a $5 million per year contract from the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are currently the worst team in the NBA with a 19-57 record. [b]Sources have told WLKY that Donovan is expected to reject the offer, and that UK has offered Donovan $4 million to coach the Wildcats. [/b] Newschannel 32 and WLKY.com will have more information as it is available.[/quote] [url="http://www.wlky.com/news/11518890/detail.html"]http://www.wlky.com/news/11518890/detail.html[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bengalrick Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 [b]Sources have told WLKY that Donovan is expected to reject the offer, and that UK has offered Donovan $4 million to coach the Wildcats. [/b] this line confusses me... are they simply reporting he will turn down the grizzlies, but was offered the UK job and hasn't made a decision on that yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 Heard an interesting rumor from a 75 year old UK alumni who claims he has connections on the inside. He says that UK is actually trying to iron out a deal that will make John Calipari the next UK coach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bengalrick Posted April 5, 2007 Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 [quote name='Storm' post='466993' date='Apr 4 2007, 05:58 PM']Heard an interesting rumor from a 75 year old UK alumni who claims he has connections on the inside. He says that UK is actually trying to iron out a deal that will make John Calipari the next UK coach[/quote] i heard this on catspause: [url="http://kentucky.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1383&tid=92562962&mid=92562962&sid=888&style=2"]http://kentucky.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid...888&style=2[/url] and [url="http://kentucky.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1383&tid=92554427&mid=92554427&sid=888&style=2"]http://kentucky.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid...888&style=2[/url] [i]Just Got My 2nd DIRECT CONFIRMED Source! Reply -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Folks, I just got my 2nd DIRECT CONFIRMED source--not an "indirect UNconfirmed" source, but DIRECTLY from the "horse's" mouth. This "horse" is a LONG TIME local booster who owns a very LARGE conglomerate of automobile dealerships--his annual contributions to the University(primarily through the Blue/White Fund) is in the mid 6-figure range(EVERY year). According to him(no names please), Billy has already agreed to come and it is in fact a DONE DEAL. Just to relieve a bit of the pressure and to let the Florida folks down easy, Mitch did give Lonnie Cooper(BD's agent) a 7 day "window" after the tourney to actually "back out" of the contract. If Billy has not "de-committed" before next Monday, then we are at the point of no return. What does this mean in terms of timing? Well, WORST CASE SCENARIO is that we hear something official as late as Monday. Best case scenario is that we'll hear something credible in the next 24-48 hours... So, I've PERSONALLY got TWO(2) separate DIRECT CONFIRMED sources that each is VERY high in the UK food chain. They both have told me almost exactly the same thing so this is all becoming more of an absolute REALITY as every hour passes. He's coming, guys, just a LITTLE more patience... Respectfully, Jack C. Lewis II[/i] ------------------------ [i]I have been working the phones this morning, talking to some friends who have much better connections to the UK side of things than I do. This deal is indeed done, and all they are waiting for is a final go-ahead from Billy. More than several people know about this now, and it appears that contact was indeed made within the week via Billy's people. I would not believe every rumor relating to this that you read/hear about, but I can confirm that some of them indeed have complete validity. People worried about UK not getting this done can rest easy -- they did what it took and now it is only a matter of time before an official announcement is made. I have no information about when Billy will decide. He evidently has been impossible to get a hold of by almost everyone. Please do not ask about a timetable because I still have no idea, but my guess now is Tuesday or sooner. And, yes, Patterson and Lucas will definitely be Wildcats.[/i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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