With life come decisions, and Billy Donovan has made his share.
Following his sophomore year at Providence, the then-chubby guard thought about transferring to another school. He stayed.
After two years coaching Marshall, “Billy the Kid” was a hot young coaching prospect who was offered the Florida job. He left.
Following the second of back-to-back national championships with the Gators in 2007, the Orlando Magic wanted to make him their coach. He left. And then he came back a few days later.
Donovan will return to Orlando on Wednesday night to lead No. 18/16 UF (5-1) against upstart Central Florida (5-0) in the first-ever college game to be played at the new $380-million Amway Center. And even though he happily remains the head Gator, Donovan said its only human nature to occasionally wonder what might have been.
“I think any time you (make) decisions, I think about that as I reflect back on my life of . . . if I didn’t come here and chose to stay at Marshall,” Donovan said. “I made a choice to do that. I could be in Orlando saying ‘geez, what if I had stayed back at Florida after winning two national championships?’
“I think anytime in life you are going to look back at different places you could have been or might have been. I look back on my days at Providence College, my first two years, I was out the door, I wanted to transfer. Would I even be in coaching if I had got out? Where would I be? So I just try to embrace where I’m at right now. But I think there’s a lot of steps in my life where I can look back and say ‘wow, this has kind of been unique and different the way it’s worked out.’”
Donovan said the only regrets he has about how everything went down with the Magic in 2007 was not taking more time to evaluate how the choice he would make would affect all aspects of his life. He said had he done that maybe he wouldn’t have flip-flopped on his decision.
That said, he hasn’t ruled out ever coaching in the NBA.
“I think one of the hardest parts in coaching is sometimes you don’t know where you’re going to be or what’s going to happen,” Donovan said. “You know? I’ve always looked at it this way: I’m happy where I am at and if I was fortunate enough to stay here for another 15 years I would really, really be happy with that.
“But I think what happens with a coach sometimes, he comes out and says, ‘I’m really happy and never leaving’ and they leave. (Everybody then says) ‘liar’, you know? Or, ‘I’m not sure, I’m going to keep my options open’ (becomes) ‘he’s not committed there. He’s thinking about…’
“All I can say is I’m happy, really happy here, happy with our team, happy with the administration, happy with the people I work with. I am. To say that’s the way it’s going to be for the rest of my life here at Florida, things change. God forbid something happens to Jeremy Foley or there’s a new president, there’s a change in administration, they don’t like the way we play. Things can all change in a very quick period of time in this kind of business.’”
Five questions entering Wednesday night’s game against Central Florida:
1. A native of Casselberry, just outside of Orlando, Chandler Parsons will be coming home for this one. Will he have a breakthrough game?
2. Central Florida has opened 5-0 and is putting up 85.8 points-a-game, one of four offensive categories the Knights rank top-15 nationally. None of UCF’s opponents have been UF (the Knights have beaten four of the five by more than 25 points), but still, the numbers are impressive. How close will UCF get to its scoring average?
3. The Knights also have played stellar defense, allowing just 53 points on 34-percent shooting while forcing around 19 turnovers-a-game. Meanwhile, Florida is scoring 75.3 points-game on a tick less than 49-percent shooting. Obviously, something has to give here. What will it be: UCF’s defense or UF’s offense?
4. There is a really nice matchup of shooting guards here. UF’s Kenny Boynton is averaging a team-high 15.3 points, while UCF’s Marcus Jordan, the son of Michael Jordan, leads the Knights with 16.8 ppg. Which of the two sophomores will have the best night?
5. Alex Tyus or Erik Murphy? Vernon Macklin or Patric Young? Who plays the most minutes (and contributes the most) in the post for the Gators?
Here are the five questions and answers from Sunday night’s Florida State game:
1. This is Florida’s first road game of the year, and the Gators will not be welcomed with hugs, high-fives and fist-bumps from the Seminole fan base. Obviously, UF’s veterans have played in environments like this, but how will the freshmen handle it?
Answer: Obviously, Billy Donovan thought they were handling things just fine as the game went along. Patric Young and Will Yeguete each played at least 22 minutes, and each wound up with two points and five rebounds. Casey Prather only saw 11 minutes of action, but he showed he can be effective as the point defender in the press. The freshman whose court time was most affected was Scottie Wilbekin, who played just seven minutes. That can be understood because Erving Walker is in his third year contributing for UF, while Wilbekin is the age of a high school senior. Wilbekin’s minutes will expand as Donovan sees fit. The former point guard knows his point guards. But to answer the question, kudos to the kiddos for how they handled an unfriendly environment.
2. Florida State runs a three-guard lineup, meaning when FSU goes man-to-man there should be times 6-foot-10 Chandler Parsons is guarded by either 6-5 Devidas Dulkys or 6-4 Derwin Kitchen. Will Parsons make the Seminoles pay for this mismatch?
Answer: I expected more from Parsons this year. He clearly is UF’s most versatile offensive talent, and the truth is, Kenny Boynton probably is the only Gator who should be shooting as much or more than the senior swingman. However, Parsons has played passively this year (on offense, that is… at least one opponent, FAU’s Greg Gantt, has praised Parsons’ work on the defensive end). That was exemplified against FSU, where he took just six shots (making two), finishing with only five points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 30 minutes of action. Topping that off, Parsons also turned the ball over four times. Donovan has said he is partially to blame for Parsons’ offensive struggles, but sometimes it’s easy to wonder how a guy that talented can disappear so often. In all honesty, I still expect Parsons to average around 16 points and eight rebounds this year. But the games only get tougher when the Southeastern Conference schedule begins. There won’t be nearly as many times that he has a six-to-eight-inch height advantage on his man like he did against Florida Atlantic and FSU. Why the Gators don’t put three players on one side and run a two-man game with Parsons posting up an undersized defender while Boynton or Walker handle the ball on the wing, I don’t know. But I think it could work.
3. When he was a student at Jacksonville Raines, Kitchen decided he wanted to be a Gator. For a variety of reasons, that didn’t happen, and he has said he is very happy at FSU. Kitchen doesn’t like to talk about UF, but after all these years does the senior guard bring it a little more against the Gators than he does some others?
Answer: Kitchen shot poorly, making just one of five attempts for three points. However, he did work hard to help his team in other ways. Kitchen led all players with eight rebounds and four assists, while his three steals tied Boynton for game honors.
4. Alex Tyus delivered his best performance of the year in UF’s last game, a 79-63 victory against visiting Florida Atlantic, scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds. He is expected to have UF’s most difficult defensive assignment as he likely will be called upon to cover ultra-talented Chris Singleton, the most recent ACC player of the week. If Tyus can make that matchup as close to even as possible, it should bode well for Florida. How will the Tyus-Singleton matchup go? And how will Erik Murphy fit in to the equation?
Answer: Perhaps this question only should have been about Murphy because the other two didn’t do a whole lot. The sophomore forward scored 10 points (making all three of his shots, including the game-deciding putback) and grabbed a team-best six rebounds in just 17 minutes. Murphy is not a great leaper, but he is very good at positioning himself for shot blocks and he picked up another against FSU. As for Singleton, he struggled, finishing 2-of-12 for eight points with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots. He played what was easily a game-high 38 minutes, six more than the next player, Kitchen. In addition to Tyus and Murphy guarding him, Singleton also was picked up at times by Parsons, Young, Yeguete and Macklin, so UF consistently made him work against fresh bodies. After that strong outing against FAU, Tyus had a bad night in Tallahassee, scoring four points, grabbing three rebounds and blocking a shot in just 14 minutes.
5. To help his ailing knee heal, Vernon Macklin needs rest. Florida hasn’t played since Tuesday, and Macklin has been limited in what he has been asked to do when he does participate in practice. The 6-10 senior center had five points and nine rebounds in the second half against FAU, so will the time off allow him to continue producing that way? Will his efforts help deliver FSU its first loss on the scoreboard and on the backboard this season?
Answer: The big guy is hurting, and he wasn’t all that effective against FSU. Macklin was limited to 13 minutes, and in that time he recorded only five points and two rebounds. He did make his only two shot attempts, but it is pretty clear he’s in a good deal of pain and could use some time off.
GATOR GAME RESULTS & GRADES
Def. UNC Wilmington, 77-60; Gator Player of the Game: Scottie Wilbekin (3 pts, 5 assts, 4 stls); Opposing Player of the Game: Chad Tomko (15 pts, 3 assts, 3 rebs, 2 stls); Patton’s Gator Grade: B-; Record: 1-0
Lost to Ohio State, 93-75; Gator Player of the Game: Vernon Macklin (12 pts, 5 rebs, 1 blk); Opposing Players of the Game: David Lighty (26 pts, 3 rebs, 3 assts, 1 stl) & Jared Sullinger (26 pts, 10 rebs, 2 assts, 2 stls); Patton’s Gator Grade: C; Record: 1-1
Def. North Carolina A&T, 105-55; Gator Player of the Game: Will Yeguete (7 pts, 15 rebs, 4 assts, 3 stls); Opposing Player of the Game: Thomas Coleman (8 pts, 10 rebs, 3 assts, 2 blks, 1 stl); Patton’s Gator Grade: A-; Record: 2-1
Def. Morehead State, 61-55; Gator Player of the Game: Chandler Parsons (13 pts, 11 rebs, 3 assts, 2 stls); Opposing Player of the Game: Kenneth Faried (20 pts, 18 rebs, 2 assts, 2 stls, 2 blks); Patton’s Gator Grade: C-; Record: 3-1
Def. Florida Atlantic, 79-66; Gator Player(s) of the Game: Alex Tyus (19 pts, 7 rebs, 1 asst) & Kenny Boynton (21 pts, 2 assts, 1 reb); Opposing Player of the Game: Greg Gantt (17 points, 2 assts, 1 stl); Patton’s Gator Grade: B-; Record: 4-1
Def. Florida State, 55-51; Gator Player of the Game: Erik Murphy (10 pts, 6 rebs, 1 blk); Opposing Player of the Game: Michael Snaer (15 pts, 2 rebs, 2 assts); Patton’s Gator Grade: A-; Record: 5-1
PREVIEW BOX
Who: No. 18/16 Florida (5-1) at Central Florida (5-0)
Where: Amway Center (Orlando)
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
TV/Radio: FSN/FS Florida /Gator Radio Network/Sirius 219/XM 199
Tickets: Available. Contact the Amway Center box office at 404-440-7900 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Coaches: Central Florida- Donnie Jones (1st year with UCF, 60-41 in four years overall as a head coach); Florida- Billy Donovan (15th year at Florida, 371-160 in 17 years overall as a head coach)
Notable: The coaching matchup will be between old friends. A Gator assistant from 1996-2007, Jones also was UF’s associate head coach in the 2006-07 national championship season. He also followed in the footsteps of Donovan, his mentor, by getting his first head coaching job at Marshall (where Jones was for three years before being hired by UCF). Donovan is 5-1 all-time against his former assistants. … Central Florida ranks third nationally in field goal percentage (55.4-percent) and 15th nationally in three-point shooting percentage (43.3-percent). UCF’s 18.8 assists-a-game ranks 10th in the country. … Two Knights’ starters – center Dwight McCombs and small forward David Diakite – are playing less than 15 minutes-a-game on average. … UF freshman point guard Scottie Wilbekin and UCF sophomore power forward Keith Clanton faced off in the FHSAA Class 1A state semifinals in 2009. Clancy’s Orlando Christian Prep team beat Wilbekin and his The Rock teammates, 62-38, that afternoon in Lakeland. OCP went on to defeat Boca Raton Grandview Prep, 46-43, the next day for the state championship. … Clanton and Parsons had the same high school coach. Reggie Kohn led Winter Park Lake Howell while Parsons was there and later coached Clanton at OCP. … Jordan has reached double figures in scoring every game this year. … Tyus led UF with 20 points and 14 rebounds in last season’s 89-61 Gator victory against UCF in Jacksonville. … Central Florida is 1-28 all-time against Southeastern Conference schools, but that lone win came last year against Auburn. … Florida is 9-0 all-time against UCF, though this is the first time the two schools have met in Orlando. The Gators are 7-0 in Gainesville and 2-0 in Jacksonville against the Knights. … UF is 8-1 against Conference USA under Donovan and 26-19 overall. … Florida also played in the first college game at the old Amway Arena (against Stanford on Feb. 4, 1989). UCF played in the second game later in the event. … The Gators are 77-20 all-time in December in the Donovan Era. … Florida has gotten to the foul line 56 times in the last two games. The Gators have made 89 free throws this year. That is 16 more than opponents have attempted. … Florida is averaging 8.6 steals in its five victories this season. … Boynton and Murphy scored 13 of UF’s final 17 points in the victory at FSU. They also combined to go 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final two minutes. … Clanton and Jordan were members of the Conference USA All-Freshman team last year. Jordan has more than doubled his 2009-10 scoring average so far this season. … Three UCF starters – Jordan, McCombs and point guard A.J. Rompza – played their prep ball at Chicago’s Whitney Young High School. … Jones led Marshall to a 24-10 record last year, up from 15-17 a year earlier. … The 51 points allowed by the Gators on Sunday night in Tallahassee were the fewest given up in a road victory since winning 86-50 at South Carolina on Jan. 13, 2007.
Starting Fives
Florida
Position/Name/Ht., Wt./Year/2009-10 Statistics
G- Erving Walker/5-8, 171/Jr./12.3 ppg, 4.0 apg
G- Kenny Boynton/6-2, 183/Soph./15.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg
F- Chandler Parsons/6-10, 218/Sr./11.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg
F- Alex Tyus/6-8, 220/Sr./9.0ppg, 5.0 rpg
C- Vernon Macklin/6-10, 240/Sr./7.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg
Central Florida
Position/Name/Ht., Wt./Year/2009-10 Statistics
G- A.J. Rompza/5-9, 160/Jr./7.2 ppg, 5.6 apg, 2.0 rpg
G- Marcus Jordan/6-3, 205/Soph./16.8 ppg, 2.6 apg
F- David Diakite /6-6, 215/Soph./5.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg
F- Keith Clanton/6-9, 245/Soph./16.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg
C –Dwight McCombs/6-8, 245/Jr./4.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg