From End of the Bench: Florida's Future

By Jared Trexler
The Phanatic Magazine

In the end, the money was too good. The ego too huge. The situation too perfect.

It's not like Billy Donovan necessarily wanted to leave Florida, a program he built into a modern day dynasty thanks in part to a stranglehold on the state's prized high school recruits and a staff that complemented his energy and communication.

Donovan's most important "get" over the years was assistant coach Larry Shyatt, a defensive mastermind who added a relentless tenacity to Donovan's up-tempo offensive game.

You see, Donovan's early and even middle years with the likes of Mike Miller were spent trying to outscore teams. It worked at times because the Gators had the most talent on the floor, but when shots didn't fall, Florida had no fallback plan.

When teams play fast they have a tendency to exert so much energy on offense that the defensive end of the floor is left for saving wind and relaxation. That's what it looked like at times -- a constant motion offense with a fairly stagnant defense.

Until ex-Clemson head coach Shyatt entered the equation, preaching that scoring is not only a result of execution with the ball but the byproduct of creating offense on defense.

Soon, Florida wasn't working as hard for its points because it was creating run-out opportunities off its ball pressure, and in turn two national championships followed.

No one who knows Donovan well will call him the ultimate basketball tactician, but his uncanny ability to relate and communicate can't be overlooked, especially as he heads to a job in the pros built strictly on egos and managing them.

Success with the Magic will not be based on "X's" and "O's." Each NBA offense runs basically identical sets of ISO and pick-and-roll with several variations of spreading the floor and allowing playmakers to make plays.

But over an 82-game season, Donovan will have to keep his players fresh physically and mentally, handling superstars making in some cases three times as much as he will.

And Billy is getting rich, a first reported $36 million dollar deal still looks like a package just over $27 million and five years. Money was part of the allure -- a new contract in Florida that had been worked out but never signed or announced would have paid the 42-year-old Donovan about $3.5 million annually.

Yet the main culprits of temptation fall to proximity and challenge. Both Donovan and his wife's families live in Florida, keeping him from uprooting his inner circle for a job in Houston or Memphis.

There was also the "what now?" element obviously running through the mind of a young coach who had already accomplished so much. Instead of transforming from the Kid to the Geezer in Gainesville, Donovan decided to try his hand at something new -- more lucrative, just as flexible and with an upside that could distinguish him from his mentor Rick Pinto.

Like Pinto -- and other recent flops Mike Montgomery, Lon Kruger and Leonard Hamilton -- Donovan enters uncharted waters after prolonged success in the collegiate ranks. In his case, he hopes he never has to be mentioned in the same vain as that group again.

All good coaches, sharks in the water in college turned guppies just looking to save their lives in The League. Donovan has a better nucleus than any of the others, a franchise center in Dwight Howard and a solid point guard in Jameer Nelson.

A swingman here and a spot-up shooter there and Donovan's Magic are built for quick success in an ever-changing Eastern Conference.

Back in Gainesville, Donovan's successor should already be on a plane from Richmond. Anthony Grant, an assistant during the first of Florida's title runs, recruited the Al Horfords and Corey Brewers before taking over and succeeding with Virginia Commonwealth.

He built a chain of respect, pushing the Rams past national power Duke in the NCAA Tournament First Round last season before succumbing to Pittsburgh in overtime.

Sounds like a master motivator. Appears like Donovan's clone.

Shyatt should stay on the staff in the same role he has flourished under during Florida's championships.

The two -- communicator/recruiter and defensive fundamentalist -- can work together in harmony as Florida finally picks up the pieces of NBA defection and regroups for another run.

It will be a whole new world for Donovan, Grant and Shyatt. But in the end, all three hope success continues at the next stop.

The situation looks that perfect to the naked eye.
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Jared Trexler can be reached at jtrexler@phanaticmag.com