Donovan Has Gators on Cusp of Outright SEC Title in Regular-Season Finale
Saturday, March 5, 2011 | Men's Basketball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On the night the Gators won their 20th game of the season – Feb. 12 against Tennessee – Florida coach Billy Donovan recalled one of his first meetings with UF athletic director Jeremy Foley.
At some point in the discussion, their talk turned to 20-win seasons, long considered a valuable measuring stick in college basketball and a strong starting point for a team with NCAA Tournament aspirations.
Donovan assumed he would need more than one hand to count Florida's 20-win seasons through the decades. Foley informed him otherwise, shocking Donovan by telling him Florida men's basketball had won 20 or more games in a season just five times since inaugural coach C.J. McCoy launched the program in 1915.
You know most of the story from there. Donovan took the job, suffered back-to-back losing seasons his first two years, and then made 20-win seasons at Florida as commonplace as palm trees and humidity.
The Gators won 20 games for the first time under Donovan in his third season, and in his fourth season, they played for the national title, losing to Michigan State.
The Gators finally reached the zenith of the sport with the program's first national title in 2006, and then they went out and did it again the next season, becoming the first school since Duke in 1992 to repeat.
Since that last national title four years ago, Donovan's streak of 20-win seasons has continued to grow – the Gators have reached the mark in 13 consecutive seasons, the SEC's longest active streak – but not without some difficult growing pains.
That's what made Florida's 78-51 win over Alabama to clinch a share of the SEC regular-season title on Tuesday night at the O'Connell Center so memorable for Donovan, in his 15th season and coaching his 500th game with the Gators today at Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale for both schools.
“I'm just so happy for them,'' Donovan said following the Alabama win. “I didn't know three or four years ago if a day like [Tuesday] was possible for some of these guys. Just the way they've grown, the way they've battled; for me as a coach, I was really happy just sitting there watching them.”
You could tell Donovan enjoyed the moment. He's not the chest-bumping, high-fiving type with his players, more like the proud father who watches from a distance and nods with that approving glance.
“The difference for me this year is them wanting more,'' he said. “I'm always talking about the human condition, the human element, because you're always dealing with it. I really tried to talk to them about doing something that they've never done here before – trying to focus on playing well on the road, trying to compete for a SEC Championship.”
The players knew the journey meant as much to Donovan as it did them.
“I'm glad we did it for Coach Donovan,'' said senior Vernon Macklin.
Forward Chandler Parsons agreed, fully aware of how difficult the road back has been over the past four seasons for the players and coaching staff.
They always didn't see eye to eye, but as they matured and Donovan continued to press them to grow as players and people, everyone eventually got on the same page.
“There have been some ups and downs, but winning an SEC title is worth it,'' Parsons said. “We've all grown together and we hope there is more to come. We have bigger goals than this.''
We don't know how the story of the 2010-11 Gators will end yet, of course, but we do know they've made significant strides toward winning their first NCAA Tournament game in four years. A popular question this week: have they done enough for Donovan to earn his first SEC Coach of the Year award.
When you consider Donovan's achievements at Florida, it's difficult to imagine that he has never earned the award while former SEC coaches like John Brady, Rod Barnes and Mark Gottfried have.
Many viewed Tuesday's showdown with Alabama as a head-to-head battle for the award with Crimson Tide coach Anthony Grant, a former Donovan assistant who has Alabama in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid in his second season.
Donovan said if it were up to him, Grant would be named SEC Coach of the Year. Grant passed it off to his former boss, acknowledging that it's long overdue.
“I think he's been deserving for a lot of years,'' Grant said. “I think Billy will be the first to tell you he's not into individual accomplishments. What motivates him is his team competing for championships.”
After three difficult seasons, that's exactly where the Gators are: competing for a championship. They can win the SEC title outright with a victory over Vanderbilt and match the school record for SEC wins (13) win a season, set during that magical run to a second NCAA title in 2007.
Like he has throughout his career, Donovan quickly turned his attention from the past to the present on Thursday in his final media session before today's game in Nashville.
He enjoyed the moments Tuesday night offered everyone in orange and blue, but it was quickly back to work.
“Tuesday night has been written about, talked about and, whenever the time is ready, there will be a banner hanging in the O-Dome,'' Donovan said. “That's done. That's over with now.”
The Gators will know whether they have to win at Vanderbilt to secure the league title outright thanks to the Alabama-Georgia game starting a few hours earlier. Donovan spoke of the challenge to make sure the players stay focused and don't get caught up in the outside distractions.
That's what he does. The coach in him never stops. Neither have the 20-win seasons the past 13 years. The next big question is whether his steak of not winning SEC Coach of the Year finally ends.
GATOR GAMEBOX
Florida at Vanderbilt
Tip-off: Saturday, 6 p.m. (Memorial Gymnasium)
Records: Florida 23-6 (12-3 SEC); Vanderbilt 21-8 (9-6)
TV: ESPN
Radio: Gator Radio Network (click here for affiliates)
Game notes: Click here
Need to know: The Gators, who clinched a share of SEC regular-season title with Tuesday's home win over Alabama, can clinch SEC title outright with victory over Vanderbilt … Florida has won SEC outright just twice (1989, 2007) in school history … This is Gators coach Billy Donovan's 500th game at Florida; Donovan has a 354-145 record since taking over program during at start of 1996-97 season … Donovan's 354 wins at UF are well ahead of second-place Norm Sloan, who won 235 games … Gators can match school record for SEC wins in a season (13 in 2007) with a win … UF reached 23 regular-season wins on Tuesday for just the sixth time in school history; in four of the previous five seasons, Florida made the Final Four … Vanderbilt leads all-time series 63-56, but Florida has won 16 of last 21 meetings … Senior F Chandler Parsons is averaging 16.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists since returning from a deep-thigh bruise that forced him to miss the game at LSU on Feb. 20 … Vanderbilt sophomore G John Jenkins leads SEC in scoring at 19.4 points; he scored game-high 22 points in Gators' 65-61 overtime win over Commodores on Feb. 1 in Gainesville … Florida is 9-0 in SEC play when holding opponent to 70 points or less.
