I'm watching the replay of the 2002 Florida game on the SEC channel. Why did we never get Billy Donovan? Why did CM go with Tubby instead of Donovan in 1997? If I remember clearly it seemed like Billy D was a done deal in 2007. Then he was going to go to the NBA. Then he wound up back at UF. What went wrong? It makes you wonder how more banners would be hanging at Rupp had Billy D been our coach all those years.
What went wrong with Billy Donovan?
- Thread starter Swimcat20
- Start date
It is pretty clear to me , Billy Donovan did not want to be the basketball coach at the University of Kentucky.
Nothing went wrong. He just lost Russel Westbrook and the party was over. Not his fault. He's still a good coach.
Not a top five AD in the country would have taken Donovan over Tubby at that time,no head coaching experience.Florida took a chance and he did a heck of a job for them,but it took him a couple of years to get it going,not that luxury in Lexington.
And Pitino did not want him to coach here even more.
How many coaches would want tubbys achievement. Regardless how he got it. He won a damn national title. My friend played for him at Georgia. I heard stories. But he cared about his players and wanted respect. He kicked out the Lawson thugs from Memphis cause he doesn’t play that **** even if it costs him wins. Yes Donovan won 2. The second by probably paying guys to stay. Love to see calipari with a year two Davis and mkg
He didn't have enough head coaching experience in 97. He didn't want the pressure in 07 or 09.
Might have 1 more title, might have 1 less. If he had the same exact results at UK that he had at UF, he probably wouldn't have lasted long enough to win those 2 titles.
Might have 1 more title, might have 1 less. If he had the same exact results at UK that he had at UF, he probably wouldn't have lasted long enough to win those 2 titles.
That is very true. Pitino's ego is his biggest problem. Had to prove how awsome he was by going to the nba and winning 10 titles in a row. Well we all saw how that turned out. Then he had to go to Louisville so he could beat the Cats every year. Well, we saw how that turned out too.
He wasn’t a candidate during the time he might’ve taken the job.
And he was a candidate during the time he didn’t want it.
So, what went wrong? Timing, I guess.
And he was a candidate during the time he didn’t want it.
So, what went wrong? Timing, I guess.
Golly, I'm guessin it's because in 97 Donovan was a nobody coming off a 13-17 losing season in his first year at UF, whereas Tubby was a hot commodity who'd taken Georgia to the Sweet 16 only a year after he also took Tulsa to two straight Sweet 16s.
That was the easiest question to answer ever.
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legacy and loyalty have always been big to Billy.
that, combined with his relationship with foley and his family’s deep roots in Gainesville - kept him at Florida.
Athens, Georgia was the peak of the Tubster's marketability for sure. But I am not sure I would agree that no top 5 AD in the country would have picked Donovan. CM picked Tubby, that is what we know. Compatibility, costs, style of play, and past recruiting tendencies enter into a hiring decision. Nothing will convince me that the Tubster and his wife were ever comfortable in Lexington. It wasn't a societal thing. It was chemistry inside the Athletics Dept. after CM retired, plus the Tubster missing on some recruits he should have signed. Situations with Saul, Carruth, and Rondo were not handled very well and did not help things. Donovan may have been more of a fit if he was interested, but we will never know.
the year before we hired Tubby he had a record of 13-17 at Florida. If we had replaced Pitino with him people would have gone insane.
Think Newton thought Smith would be really good getting top players. Combo of that and being at Kentucky, Newton thought it would be good. Banking on that part being really good, turned out Tubby was not into recruiting a lot and the seriousness of basketball at Kentucky was out of Tubby's realm of thinking.
Agree just like Rick didn’t want Charlotte Hornets in Louisville his master plan was to make Lou basketball the KING with no interference
IMHO the only true hiring mistake was BCG.
Tubby melted under the hot sun of Fan expectations.
Plus the mess with having Saul on his team damaged his drive.
Tubby melted under the hot sun of Fan expectations.
Plus the mess with having Saul on his team damaged his drive.
1997: Billy hadn’t proved himself
2007: seriously, has there EVER been a coach that won a title just to leave for a rival program in the same division of the same conference?
2009: he wasn’t asked again, we went with Cal
2015: followed up a devastating final four loss with a losing season, and was getting his *** kicked by Cal on a regular basis
2007: seriously, has there EVER been a coach that won a title just to leave for a rival program in the same division of the same conference?
2009: he wasn’t asked again, we went with Cal
2015: followed up a devastating final four loss with a losing season, and was getting his *** kicked by Cal on a regular basis
In his new book Side Ball Screen he talks about his explosive diarrhea due to IBS and how it has affected his coaching style
what if Lute Olson would have accepted the job and we would not have hired Sutton and probably Pitino
what if P.J. Carlesimo had accepted the job
so many "what if's" why even make threads like this
what if P.J. Carlesimo had accepted the job
so many "what if's" why even make threads like this
This is what I heard or read. That Rick Pitino was asked which one would be the best at UK and he recommended Tubby.
1) because this is a college basketball message board. And there is no current basketball to discuss.
2) because you are reading the OP's post and responding.
3) why do you NOT just bypass this thread and move on to another one that is more interesting to you?
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Tubby was a great hire when it happened and the first 2 years under him were exceptional. And then he had 2 more great years in 03 and 04 . But he didn't like how recruiting changed and didn't want to change with it so he moved on . No big deal . He was good for UK and UK was good for him and when they weren't they found different partners you could say . Hiring the drunk tanker BCG was a HUGE mistake though.
I don’t think Donovan had to pay that group to stay. If I remember correctly, the guys that came back were all really close by that point and staying together in a house joakim Noah’s dad was paying for.
Donovan’s first final four team on the other hand...
I remember reading elsewhere that Donovan told people close to him he was tired of recruiting against Cal. Also that he wouldn’t have taken Chris Walker if not for pressure to keep up with Cal.
Donovan got spoiled recruiting against tubby. Tubby all but handed him two titles by passing on Corey Brewer. I’m not sure he landed a single player head to head against Cal. Towns was probably the straw that broke the camels back. Florida fans on the main board were especially confident in Julius Randle coming off his visit there as well. They were the main ones screaming he’d never play with the twins. Which tells me Florida’s staff was probably the ones spreading that narrative
Everybody that says Pitino made the decision is wrong. How do I know? Because Pitino said he did and Pitino is a liar. Also because CM said Pitino wanted Donovan. During the championship Tubby won, Pitino wanted to glom on some glory. Planted the story that it was his decision in New York papers. CM set the record straight. I can't find a link to the whole 25 year old story, just the part where everyone starts owning up.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1998-03-30-9803300290-story.html
Pitino has a history of that. For years he took credit as recommending Calipari for the UMASS job. But people on the committee said he actually was against it. Whispered they got the impression he didn't like a younger him coaching his alma mater.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1998-03-30-9803300290-story.html
Pitino has a history of that. For years he took credit as recommending Calipari for the UMASS job. But people on the committee said he actually was against it. Whispered they got the impression he didn't like a younger him coaching his alma mater.
I know this is really hard for some of the diehards to comprehend but there are more coaches out there who don’t want to coach at UK than ones that do. Billy Donovan is certainly in the first group. He was asked at least 2 times to coach here and turned them down. He never wanted the pressure and would’ve likely never survived it.
He ran with his tail between his legs back to Gainesville over a billboard in Orlando and then when he jumped to the NBA, went to one of the least pressure jobs. This board is the only place I ever see his name mentioned.
He ran with his tail between his legs back to Gainesville over a billboard in Orlando and then when he jumped to the NBA, went to one of the least pressure jobs. This board is the only place I ever see his name mentioned.
You've got to be kidding. Yes, we absolutely did go after him again in 09. If fact, there were a bunch of people on this board reporting that it was a "done deal", he'd accepted and was on his way to Lexington. We didn't offer the job to Cal until after Donovan turned us down.
Donovan and Lute Olsen belong to an exclusive club, the only guys to turn UK down twice. Olsen did it in 85 and 89, Donovan in 07 and 09.
The players wanted Donovan.
Pitino wanted Tubby because he didn’t want anyone over shadowing him and his accomplishments at UK. Tubby was in over his head and he knew it, just about gave the job up in 2001. I still think Pitino did what he did for personal reasons to do with his eventual return to college basketball.
Billy turned down UK because of his wife. He was actually negotiating a contract with UK that was finalized and he walked away from it. He eventually turned it down for two reasons.
1. His wife
2. He wanted to coach in the NBA so it was not a move worth taking.
loyalty to Florida was not why he’s not at UK. This isn’t church and these guys don’t make moves based on fantasy land loyalty.
I hope Kentucky never makes personnel decisions to protect the mental health of the most outspoken fans, many of whom are already obsessive compulsive and would blow a gasket no matter who is hired or how they perform. John Calipari is a HOF coach whose record rivals if not surpasses Rupp's in most numerical categories, but many of our most vocal fans still have not warmed to him.
I think Tubby was a very good coach and a really nice person. His biggest fault was he got lazy when it came to recruiting. In his first few years at Kentucky he was getting some very good recruits. As his time here went along he would still the occasional top 10-20 recruit to Kentucky but he never could built an entire team of studs like Pitino did before him and Cal after him.
Him favoring his own son over other potential top point guards was his ultimate undoing at Kentucky. Saul Smith was an okay player, but he just wasn't starting point guard at Kentucky caliber.
Him favoring his own son over other potential top point guards was his ultimate undoing at Kentucky. Saul Smith was an okay player, but he just wasn't starting point guard at Kentucky caliber.
True...but (I believe) it was tied to Tubby losing his passion.
That is not an excuse. Just an observation of why OTS slowed down and flopped.
i will respectfully disagree.
billy coached 7 more years at Florida after Kentucky pursued - plenty of time to make the move before trying the nba.
And even then, billy had a very difficult time making the move- and Jeremy Foley was a big reason. OKC had a wildcard in Presti, with whom Billy was very comfortable and confident.
Yes, Christine has always been part of their decisions, but she didn’t squash any “finalized deal”. That didn’t exist.
And for billy, his legacy at Florida and relationship/loyalty to foley - those things did matter.
my point is there has been hundreds of threads discussing this very issue
you can only beat a horse so long then it dies