GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Billy Donovan has sent his share of the players to the NBA.
Now he's sending staff members.
Mark Daigneault (left), who has served as Donovan's assistant to the head coach the last four seasons, and Oliver Winterbone (below left), the basketball program's video coordinator during that time, are leaving next month for positions with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Daigneault was named head coach Friday of the franchise's OKC-based Development League squad, while Winterbone was hired to a post in the team's front office.
This is their last week with the program.
During their time with the Gators, Daigneault and Winterbone played key behind-the-scenes roles in the winningest four seasons in UF history, as the team went 120-30, won three Southeastern Conference championships and advanced to four Elite Eights, plus one Final Four.
“Both of those guys are just great chemistry guys,” Donovan said. “Very bright, very knowledge, totally unselfish and always working for the greater good of the staff and the program. Anytime you lose really, really good people, that's tough, but it's a great opportunity for both of them and a chance to be a part of a really good organization.”
For Daigneault, the opportunity to become a head coach at the age of 28 -- and with a franchise as respected as the Thunder -- was too enticing to pass up.
A full-time assistant at Holy Cross at 23, Daigneault took a graduate assistant's post at UF in 2010 and was promoted to assistant to the head coach heading into the 2012-13 season. His duties were multi-fold, with an emphasis on player development off the court.
“I'm going to an organization that values the strengths I bring to the table,” Daigneault said. “You're only as good as your opportunities and I've been fortunate to have a lot of opportunities here to make this position what I wanted and get out of it what I wanted, but I never would have been able to do that I not been empowered by Coach Donovan, the staff and these players.”
The Thunder's D-League squad, the Tulsa 66ers, is relocating to OKC and will operate out of the club's headquarters, which allow Daigneault to be involved with the team -- as in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, etc. -- on a regular basis.
The career track for Winterbone, 31, always has been with an eye toward the NBA. His innovative approach in his video presentations and application of advance metrics made a huge impact on the program and how the coaches broke down and analyzed results.
Now he'll be breaking down personnel and analyzing statistics for Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti, regarding as one of the cutting-edge executives not just in the NBA but in pro sports.
“One of the beauties of working for Coach Donovan is that he gives you a lot of freedom to kind of do your own thing and be innovative and it's a freedom that allowed me to dive into areas I'm really excited about,” Winterbone said. “This organization here [at UF] is as professional as it gets at the college level. And to have worked for a future Hall of Fame coach like him, and seeing how he manages his people and his players, that's knowledge that I will carry with me.”
Donovan is in the process of searching for replacements for the two.
"The one thing you want to be careful of is trying to replicate and wanting people just like Mark and Oliver," Donovan said. "You want to bring in guys to both of those postions that bring value, but through their own unique strengths and talents. That's what we'll try to do."
