Billy D talks Louisville, Beal, Boynton and next season
Friday, March 30, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Volleyball, Chris Harry
Obviously, he'd rather be knee-deep in preparation for a fourth meeting in barely two months against No. 1 Kentucky, but instead Gators coach Billy Donovan on Friday was driving through Palatka, Fla., when he called to catch up on where his program stands after a second straight season ended in heartbreak one game shy of the Final Four.
“You've got to move on,” Donovan told me.
For the Florida coach, that meant three days on the recruiting trail this week, plus individual meetings with players -- including freshman and projected NBA lottery pick Bradley Beal -- before leaving the office Friday with a car full of notes and video. Donovan was headed for his condo at Crescent Beach to immerse himself in the process of processing the 2011-12 season -- specifically, how it ended -- and formulating a strategy for applying the lessons to the 2012-13 season.
“The further you go into a year, the more teams will expose your weaknesses,” Donovan said of a season that ended with a 68-64 loss to Louisville in the NCAA West Region final last Saturday, a game the Gators led by 11 with just over eight minutes remaining. “We didn't make enough plays down the stretch, offensively or defensively. I need to try and encapsulate the game and where we have to get better. I need to determine if any of the stuff in the game morphed from things we were doing during the course of the year.”
The comparisons to the latest Elite Eight loss and the one to Butler in 2011 -- when the Gators blew an 11 point lead with nine minutes to go -- aren't going away. Donovan pointed out during his post-game remarks in Phoenix that he thought Butler out-hustled and out-scrapped his team a year ago, while Louisville just played better and both ends, plus demonstrated more poise in staging its comeback.
That was the message to his players immediately after the game. It was the one he refined on the flight home and further flushed in a 1 a.m. meeting at the basketball complex in Gainesville. And it will be a general theme in the hot months to come, as well as when the '12-13 Gators convene for the start of conditioning in September and then practice Oct. 15.
“There are things that happen to guys, things they'll go through, that will make them get better. But the hard part is, how many opportunities do you have to get to that point in the season?" Donovan asked. Next year, maybe we don't make the tournament. Maybe we get knocked out earlier. You just don't know. But if these guys can get better from this experience, that's what I want to do. So I think it's important for me to get my arms around the game to try and help them.”
Which guys, however, remains to be seen. It's a question every UF basketball fans would like answered.
That means you, Brad Beal.
Beal, the freshman guard who came of age late in the season to lead the Gators on their postseason run, flew Friday to St. Louis, where he'll huddle this weekend with his family and probably return to Gainesville with a decision on whether to enter the NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Beal, who averaged 14.8 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game, is projected as a sure-fire lottery pick, with ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford listing Beal las the No. 3 overall prospect, behind only Kentucky freshmen Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The lue of financial security is there.
On the flip side, Beal won't turn 19 until June. He enjoys the college life, is a good student and is encouraged by the remarkable progress he made from wide-eyed Southeastern Conference rookie to NCAA superstar in two months. When he goes to the NBA, he wants to be an impact player, rather than a developmental one.
“I think he's really torn,” Donovan said. “But it's going to be his decision.”
Junior guard Kenny Boynton, who led UF at 15.9 points per game and shot 40.7 percent on a team-high 270 3-point attempts, also is considering his pro prospects. Boynton is considered a marginal NBA prospect (second round, maybe), but would have a chance to play his way up draft boards or perhaps sign with a team overseas.
Should Boynton return for his senior season, he would start the the year 502 points shy of becoming the all-time scorer in Florida history. He scored 588 points as a junior and 525 as a sophomore. Boynton's 1,589 career points currently rank him No. 7 on UF's all-time list, with Ronnie Williams (1981-84) having held the No. 1 spot with 2,090 points for 28 years.
“He's going to talk some things over with his parents the next few days,” Donovan said.
The deadline for applying for the NBA Draft is April 29. Players who declare and have a change of heart have until April 10 to remove their name for the draft eligibility list. A player who declares after April 10 cannot return to college.
As for the players definitely back next season, sophomore center Patric Young met with Donovan Thursday and made official his intent to return. Junior guard Mike Rosario, who also may have been toying with the idea of playing internationally, indicated he will be back, too.
In the interim, the Gators have big chunks of school work to catch up on, after being gone for 11 days during the NCAA run. They can commence offseason weightlifting sessions Monday, along with with individual instruction sessions.
Redshirt freshman center/forward Cody Larson has committed to remaining in Gainesville the summer in hopes of bulking up and make a significant jump in contribution next fall. He's expected to have some company, too.
Donovan said he hasn't decided yet whether he'll take advantage of NCAA rules that allow basketball programs to leave the country every four years to play a tour of exhibition games. UF is eligible to do so this summer.
“I'm still trying to figure out who's going to be on the team next year,” he said.
This weekend, he'll begin formulating a philosophical plan for next year, and how the Gators can learn and grow from another season that came so close to college basketball grandest stage.
“What I think I'm trying to do is give them some concrete things they need to be focused on going forward,” Donovan said. “In the grand scheme of things, the reality is we went to two Elite Eights the last two years, with this one after losing our entire starting [frontcourt]. There are a lot of positives to take from that.”
