Mike White made the bold move of coming to Florida in 2015 and accepted the immense expectations that came along with being the heir to future Hall-of-Famer Billy Donovan.
Harry Fodder: Coach Will Change, Expectations Won't
Monday, March 14, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — We'll hear from Mike White soon enough. Eventually, he'll explain why leaving Florida, a program he led to four of six possible NCAA tournaments, to become head coach at rival Georgia was the best move for him and his family. White will give an answer, a well-thought-out one, that likely will touch on his time at UF running its course and the exciting opportunity for a fresh start.
He won't, however, reference the toxic social media treatment directed the past several years at a class act, consummate family man, and one of the winningest coaches in program history. White will take the high road on that front. That's who he is.
It was on May 7, 2015, however, that White opted for the hardest of roads in becoming the 18th coach in UF history, which meant replacing the 17th and greatest coach in UF history; arguably one of the five or 10 greatest in college basketball history, actually. The program was barely a year removed from a Southeastern Conference championship and Final Four appearance. The Gators, however, were coming off their first losing season in 18 years when the iconic Billy Donovan bolted for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder.
Mike White at his introductory news conference on May 11, 2015.
Enter White, who'd won 101 games over four seasons at Louisiana Tech, to replace a living legend; as beloved a figure as any in Florida athletic history. The bar "Billy D" set was so high — six SEC championships, four conference tournament crowns, four Final Fours, back-to-back national titles in 2006 and '07 — nobody was going to bump their head on it, much less jump over it.
Ever heard of Phil Bengtson? Didn't think so. He's the guy who replaced Vince Lombardi. A ridiculous comparison, you say? OK, fine. Staying local, how about Ron Zook following Steve Spurrier? Or Will Muschamp replacing Urban Meyer?
It's tough to be the guy after the guy.
In fact, a case can be made (rather easily) that the person following Donovan had a tougher go of it — given the something-from-nothing program he and he alone created — than either of those football heirs. The potential for Florida football dominance was always there. Even Paul "Bear" Bryant talked about it. It took Spurrier to finally realize it.
"Billy D," though, built Florida basketball and became the face of the program. If Donovan, instead of scratching his NBA itch, had stayed and retired here, he'd have one day gotten the Mike Krzyzewski farewell treatment.
Donovan averaged 24.6 wins over his 19 seasons, went to the NCAA Tournament 14 times and competed for league titles pretty much annually. White average 20.3 wins, with one second-place SEC finish. Donovan's teams made a bunch of deep runs into the postseason, which made his numerous early exits and trio of NIT trips easy to overlook. Under White, the Gators advanced to the Elite Eight in his first NCAA foray and managed one win in each of his three trips that followed.
It's worth noting that over the course of Donovan's nearly two decades, the SEC averaged just under five NCAA bids per season. Over Donovan's last seven seasons, the league averaged 3.7 bids, including just two in 2013 and three in 2014 when the Gators won back-to-back outright league titles for the first time. Since White first guided the Gators to the NCAAs (in 2017, his second season), the SEC has averaged 6.7 tournament bids.
Those numbers are not intended to reduce Donovan's accomplishments, but rather illustrate how much better, deeper and more competitive the league has become. Now throw in the fact that three SEC teams that have claimed league titles of some kind the last three years either were embroiled in the infamous FBI recruiting scandal and have been on probation or will be soon.
Former UF coach Billy Donovan addresses the sellout crowd during his emotional return for the "Billy Donovan Court" dedication game on Feb. 15, 2020.
White, of course, never waded into those seedy, cess pool recruiting waters, yet still managed to punch tournament tickets and win games once there. Heading into the 2021-22 season, the Gators' four straight NCAA appearances marked the longest active streak in the SEC. The Gators were one of just six teams in the country to win at least one game in each of the last four tournaments.
You can't win it unless you're in it, the saying goes. Well, under White, the Gators were always in it, sometimes in spite of calamitous circumstances (See Johnson, Keyontae).
And then, this year, they weren't.
So the noise got louder. On Saturday, The Gainesville Sun, forever a supporter for the hometown teams and coaches, called in Saturday's editions for a coaching change following UF's crushing, buzzer-beating exit from the SEC Tournament against Texas A&M last week. White may never admit it, but he heard it all (as did those closest to him) and went looking for an exit strategy.
Billy Donovan (left) and Mike White share a post-game moment after the Gators defeated Vanderbilt the night of the court's official dedication.
White was hired away from LA Tech because his teams played an up-tempo, pressing brand of basketball, but he moved away from that style and was constantly searching for the right system to fit a revolving door of players as the game entered the altogether-different transfer portal phase. His critics will point to a lack of identity, an offense that too often struggled to score, some maddening blown leads and losses, and middle-of-the-pack SEC finishes as traits that defined the White era. Fair game, all of it.
But White will leave with a record of 142-88, making him the third-winningest coach in UF history (Note: No. 2 on the list, Norm Sloan, was fired for violating NCAA rules). White's SEC winning percentage of .581 currently ranks 19th in league history. His six NCAA tournament wins rank second on the all-time Florida list. If White puts up similar numbers at Georgia — with its five NCAA berths this century and just seven wins all time — they'll build statues to him outside Stegeman Coliseum in Athens.
Here's hoping a very good man finds the happiness he's looking for.
Meanwhile, the UF search committee has to figure out who next will be walking the Gators' sideline on "Billy Donovan Court." The list will include some big names, some up-and-coming ones, as well as some surprising ones.
Whoever steps to the podium as UF Coach No. 19, though, will inherit the same immense expectations that White stepped into.
He just won't have to replace the guy who set them.
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