Donovan Honored With Wooden Award's "Legends of Coaching Award" in Los Angeles Friday
Saturday, April 10, 2010 | Men's Basketball
University of Florida Head Basketball Coach Billy Donovan was honored with the John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching Award” Friday at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Donovan was recognized at the presentation along with the men's and women's 2010 Wooden Award winners, Evan Turner (Ohio State) and Tina Charles (Connecticut), and the 2010 Wooden Award All-American teams. The 44-year-old Donovan is the youngest recipient of the Wooden Award “Legends of Coaching” honor. The “Legends of Coaching Award” was adopted by the Wooden Award Committee in 1999 and the first recipient was Dean Smith of North Carolina. The award recognizes the achievement of coaches who exemplify Coach Wooden's high standards of coaching success and personal integrity.
“This is a great honor and I was very taken back when I learned I was going to be here tonight,” Donovan said. “To me, coaching is about how your players talk about you when they're out of your program five or six years down the road. The true sign of a great coach is how your players speak about you and I am certainly proud of some of the comments my players said about me tonight. You want to have a shared vision at your university and we have a great athletic director and administration at the University of Florida. I love the basketball practices, getting the chance to be on court and provide individual instruction to our student-athletes. Florida is a terrific place. I have been very blessed that my family has been in one place for 14 years. For my wife and our four children, it's been a great ride to be at one place and to build something like we have.”
Donovan has compiled a career record of 331-139 (.704) in 14 seasons at Florida and has recorded 12 straight 20-win seasons with 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. He led the 2006 and 2007 Gators to back-to-back NCAA titles, the first school in 15 years to do so. In 2006 the Gators won a then-school-record 33 games, including the final 11 of the season, winning the SEC and NCAA Tournament titles. The 2007 Gators immediately bested that mark, winning a school-record 35 games and another NCAA Championship.
Donovan is one of only four active coaches to have guided teams to multiple NCAA titles; the other three, Mike Krzyzweski (4), Roy Williams (2) and Jim Calhoun (2), are previous Legends of Coaching honorees. Donovan and Kentucky's Adolph Rupp are the only SEC coaches to have won multiple titles.
In a 16-year head coaching career that includes two seasons at Marshall, Donovan's overall career record stands at 366-159 (.697). Donovan played four seasons at Providence College (1983-87), where he was a two-time All-Big East selection, and spent one year with the New York Knicks (1987-88) before beginning his coaching career. He was inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame in 1999.
“Legends of Coaching” Honorees
2010 Billy Donovan, Florida
2009 Rick Barnes, Texas
2008 Pat Summitt, Tennessee
2007 Gene Keady, Purdue
2006 Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
2005 Jim Calhoun, Connecticut
2004 Mike Montgomery, Stanford
2003 Roy Williams , Kansas
2002 Denny Crum, Louisville
2001 Lute Olson, Arizona
2000 Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
1999 Dean Smith, North Carolina
2010 John R. Wooden Award Men's Winner
Evan Turner, Ohio State University
2010 John R. Wooden Award Women's Winner
Tina Charles, University of Connecticut
Men's 2010 John R. Wooden Award All-American Team
| James Anderson | 6-6 | Jr. | G | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| Da'Sean Butler | 6-7 | Sr. | F | West Virginia | Big East |
| Sherron Collins | 5-11 | Sr. | G | Kansas | Big 12 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | 6-11 | Fr. | F | Kentucky | SEC |
| Wesley Johnson | 6-7 | Jr. | F | Syracuse | Big East |
| Scottie Reynolds | 6-2 | Jr. | G | Villanova | Big East |
| Jon Scheyer | 6-5 | Sr. | G | Duke | ACC |
| Evan Turner | 6-7 | Jr. | G/F | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| Greivis Vasquez | 6-6 | Sr. | G | Maryland | ACC |
| John Wall | 6-4 | Fr. | G | Kentucky | SEC |
Women's 2010 John R. Wooden Award All-American Team
| Jayne Appel | 6-4 | Sr. | F/C | Stanford | Pac-10 |
| Tina Charles | 6-4 | Sr. | C | Connecticut | Big East |
| Kelsey Griffin | 6-2 | Sr. | F | Nebraska | Big 12 |
| Maya Moore | 6-0 | Jr. | F | Connecticut | Big East |
| Nnemkadi Ogwumike | 6-2 | So. | F | Stanford | Pac-10 |
2010 John R. Wooden Award High School Players of the Year
| Division | Player | School |
| CIF Los Angeles City Section | Bryce Jones | Taft High School |
| CIF Southern Section Division I | Tyler Lamb | Mater Dei High School |
| CIF Southern Section Division II | Alex Varner | Eisenhower High School |
| CIF Southern Section Division III | Deonte Burton | Centennial High School |
| CIF Southern Section Division IV | Allen Crabbe | Price High School |
| CIF Southern Section Division V | Wesley Saunders | Windward High School |
| CIF Southern Section Division VI | Jon Conley | Ribet Academy |
-UF
