Billy D - The best coach (still) in the SEC

[vk3000gt]

I love this guy.. Whats the over/under on national championships for him when its all said and done. I say 4. As high a level as Gators are playing, hes still not satisfied...
"the No. 1 priority — getting better"...

[swampspring]

Billy...no longer the kid...now the master. He can coach here as long as he wants...one of the greatest coaches to ever grace Florida athletics, not only for his abilities as a coach, but also his character as a person.

[bofusgators]

I agree guys!

[TampaGatorFan]

Yup...Billy D is the MAN!

[SmootyGator]

Why do they call him the "Dean of SEC Coaches"? I mean, I know he's the longest tenured in the SEC, I guess what I'm really asking is do other conferences refer to their longest tenured head coach as the "Dean". Seems I only hear it when it's about Donovan and the SEC.

[Gatorgal04]

Doesn't look like it's an SEC thing only:

http://acc.blogs.starnewsonline.com/19382/beyond-the-arc-a-new-dean-of-coaches-in-the-acc/

[themistocles]

Well, Deans are usually older and more experienced faculty. However, I once met and worked with a 31-year old engineering dean and my 2nd cousin became a dean at age 39, so it is not unheard of for younger people to earn the position.

A coaching dean is merely an honorable title, rather than an actual title and it usually associates with being the senior coach in a conference.

[108]

It's really a shame we didn't make it to the Final 4 the last 2 years...we played better the those terms for the majority of the games

[jjenkins5]

We are truly blessed to have Billy. He's perhaps the best coach ever at Florida across all sports. When you combine his longevity with his success its hard for me to argue placing someone ahead of him - even SOS.

[gtr2x]

Lock for at least SEC coach of the year at this point imo. The only one close would be Kennedy at Ole Miss.

[TampaGatorFan]

It's really a shame we didn't make it to the Final 4 the last 2 years...we played better the those terms for the majority of the games

Butler was a total ref hosejob. We had that game won, and the refs coddled Butler back into it. I like Brad Stevens and what he's doing with that program, but that second half was a traveshamockery.

We just choked away the game against Louisville. The Beal travel near the end of the game was one of those "are you freakin' serious?" moments. Woulda, coulda, shoulda, I guess. We would not have beaten Kentucky last year, though...NFW.

[tommyuf21]

We are truly blessed to have Billy. He's perhaps the best coach ever at Florida across all sports. When you combine his longevity with his success its hard for me to argue placing someone ahead of him - even SOS.

In my humble opinion, there has been noone better at UF.

[gatorbogey]

ICON!

Gator Nation - via GatorCountry.com? - needs to start up an annual "Billy Donovan Appreciation Day".

[fox]

How long will he coach??

[gatorbogey]

How long will he coach??

as long as he wants!

could be a great "retirement gig" for him in gainesville ;)

[Osiris_DPM]

Butler was a total ref hosejob. We had that game won, and the refs coddled Butler back into it. I like Brad Stevens and what he's doing with that program, but that second half was a traveshamockery.

We just choked away the game against Louisville. The Beal travel near the end of the game was one of those "are you freakin' serious?" moments. Woulda, coulda, shoulda, I guess. We would not have beaten Kentucky last year, though...NFW.

Perhaps you forget, but we went to the wire with UK in the SEC Tourney Championship game on a neutral court. We were getting Yeguete back the next game as well if we beat Louisville. I don't think that's a foregone conclusion.

[REM08]

Perhaps you forget, but we went to the wire with UK in the SEC Tourney Championship game on a neutral court. We were getting Yeguete back the next game as well if we beat Louisville. I don't think that's a foregone conclusion.

I'm not saying its a foregone conclusion that UK would have dominated, but a previous matchup doesn't necessarily indicate success or failure in a future one. Both are still possible. I think UK's team was at a point of barely caring about the SEC tourney. They'd already swept the regular season and were also influenced by their coach saying the SEC tournament didn't matter and he didn't care about it. I think avoiding injuries and bad habbits were the teams biggest goals for the SEC tournament. Don't think their performance in it was an indicator of the team they were to be in the NCAA's.

[danky1313]

In my humble opinion, there has been noone better at UF.

I wouldn't even say that's an opinion, I'd say it's a FACT :)

[themistocles]

Questionable argument Rem.

Usually you are pretty much on the ball, but I don't think that any coach says: "Yeah, take it easy in this tournament, you wouldn't want to get injured."

You stretch my credulity here.

[sec1]

i agree Billy is a amazing coach...