Tater

April 30th, 2015 at 3:29 PM ^

When he left the first time, he had just won two consecutive NCAA Championships.  The offer was to coach a team in need of rebuilding.  Eight years later, he hasn't won another one.   This offer is from a team that may be a piece or two away from playing for the NBA Championship.  

In 2007, it was "wrong place, wrong time."  Now, it's, "right place, right time."  Excellent move.

OccaM

April 30th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^

That worked out for both parties imo. SVG really made that Orlando squad into something special. 

He couldn't get back to the NBA regardless b/c the terms of the agreement he broke stipulated that he not accept any NBA offers for 5 years. 

jmblue

April 30th, 2015 at 2:47 PM ^

I know he's been a candidate for NBA jobs but I don't really get it.  A lot of college coaches don't pan out in the pros.  What makes him a prized commodity for NBA teams?  He played one season there but otherwise has been a college lifer, IIRC.

Ricky from Sunnyvale

April 30th, 2015 at 2:59 PM ^

He really killed it at Florida with four Final Fours, two national championships and a boatload of SEC championships. The guy did a remarkable job.



Man if everyone stays healthy there they should be really, really good. Granted you have to convince Durant and Westbrook to stay in OKC, with all the chatter of them possibly leaving soon(Durant/Wizards & Westbrook/Lakers) there is a chance OKC could become blah. Although if those two guys stay they have a good/deep squad around them with Kanter, Ibaka, Adams, Lamb, Augustin, Singler, Morrow and obviously Mitch.



I wonder who takes over at Florida, maybe Archie Miller from Dayton or Chris Mack from Xavier.

Perkis-Size Me

April 30th, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^

Florida should still get a solid hire since it's a great basketball job, but it's pretty late in the game right now. Oh well.

I will always remember Donovan for that absolute waxing we gave his team in the Elite 8 two years ago. That game was a thing of beauty.




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Real Tackles Wear 77

April 30th, 2015 at 4:42 PM ^

That's kinda the thing. Before Donovan, it was not a good basketball job. He took a program that had never had success and won national titles, SEC titles and churned out many NBA players, some who have become stars in the association. There was nothing more he was ever going to accomplish there, and since he happens to compete in the same league as a Calipari-led UK team, it was never going to be an even playing field or a fair fight. This was a great move for him to make now, but if OKC can't get Durant and Westbrook locked up long term...ouch.

Mabel Pines

April 30th, 2015 at 3:44 PM ^

when Eddie Munster was going to go to the NBA.  Thought it would have been a few years ago, though.  Good luck to him.  Enjoyed watching Michigan play them in the Elite 8 in 2013.

Ty Butterfield

April 30th, 2015 at 4:23 PM ^

I would certainly put Donavan a tier above Izzo. Will be interesting to see how he does.

LSAClassOf2000

April 30th, 2015 at 5:16 PM ^

I had heard somewhere that Donovan was the only name on Sam Presti's list basically, so he got his primary and only target. $30 million deal too, so not bad at all, I would think.

Didn't Donovan come within inches of doing this maybe seven or eight years ago with the Magic? I thought he got as far as actually holding a presser before changing his mind, but I could be misremembering.