We caught up with Billy Donovan on Friday night in Sarasota before he and his wife Christine attended Dick Vitale's Gala for Cancer Research. Here a quick look at some of his thoughts.
On Al Horford's NBA season and the playoffs
Donovan said he spent some time speaking with Hawks Coach Mike Woodson, who also attended the gala. "I felt like I was listening to myself,
" Donovan said. As expected, Woodson raved about Horford's play and leadership abilities, which showed when he helped rally the Hawks from two games down in he first roung to force a seventh game against the Celtics. "For him to be mentioned for the Rookie of the Year, and to go in and play 30-plus minutes per game, I'm proud to have coached a guy like that.
"
On Marreese Speights
Donovan and Speights have had some casual discussions about how Speights can improve his game. But the coach said he had no idea what his starting center might do about the coming NBA Draft. Speights went to Vegas to work out and spent some time playing in Gainesville, Donovan said, but per NBA rules, no scouts or pro executives have attended those workouts. "It's not like anybody's has come in,"
he said, "and said, 'Here's an assessement."
That assessment might come at next week's pre-draft camp in Orlando, if Speights plays there. Donovan said he woud leave that decision to Speights and the NBA, but he wonders what a poor performance at Disney might do. "I do worry about that,"
Donovan said. "What happens is you play in Orlando and don't do well. And then you come back to school, and sometimes there is a carryover and you end up hurting yourself (the next college season). Sometimes I think it's better to fly under the radar."
As for a prediction about Speights status, Donovan said he has heard late first round. "But as one GM told me,"
he said, "(picks) 22, 23, 25, that can easily become 38."
On the draft lead-up
Echoing a sentiment expressed at last week's ACC Spring Meetings, Donovan said the period between when guys must declare for the draft and the draft itself, a stretch of about eight weeks, is far too long. He said it can hurt players like Speights, who still don't have a good understanding of their draft stock, and some coaches, who won't know their roster for the coming year unti late June. Billy D.'s possiblle solution? Create a 10-day period, beginning the day after the national championship game, where underclassmen coud work out for NBA teams without jepoardizing their collegiate eligibiity. All players must declare their intention to stay or go by the close of the 10 days, and that decision would be final.
On O.J. Mayo and agents in basketball
Donovan seemed to side with the coaches quoted in this New York Times article from the weekend. He said it's impossible to police everyone around top college basketball prospects. And that instead of limiting coaches' contact with recruits, the NCAA, with a major assist from the NBA Players Union, should restrict the activities of agents and their runners and punish those folks for improper conduct. "C. M. Newton says this every year at our meetings,"
Donovan said of the ex-Vandy coach and Kentucky athletic director. "We're going at this issue on the wrong avenue."
Donovan recommended the NBA's union create a recruiting calendar for agents, similar to the NCAA's for college coaches, that governs when contact can be made. Any vioation of that calendar would result in punishment for the agents such as fines, suspension, or revocation of credentials to negotiate contracts with NBA franchises. Donovan also panned the NBA rule that forces recruits to come to college for at least one year. Players who leave after a year have no obligation to attend second-semester classes, and some of the top players likely have verbal arrangements with agents before they get to campus. "It's not a healthy rule,"
he said. "It's not a good rule for college basketball."
On Nick Calathes heading to Greece this summer
First, a little background: this isn't the first time a UF player has discussed representing his country. Joakim Noah (France) and Al Horford (Dominican Repubic) each broached the subject with Donovan during their Gator careers. Donovan said he visited from representatives of each of those nation's basketball organizations and developed a relationship with them. In Calathes' case, Donovan said he hasn't spoken with anyone from the Greek system, and therefore doesn't know what awaits Nick. But the endgame, Donovan said, would be a dream come true for Calathes (and for UF, which has never had a men's basketball Olympian). "At the end of the process, if he's playing in the Olympics in Bejing, what a phenomenal experience,"
Donovan said. "But I don't know if that's an experience that's going to happen for him because I haven't talked to anybody from Greece who says, "
Here's the way it gets laid out." Donovan said he hopes things work out for Calathes, and he's sympathetic to his point guard wanting to honor his grandfather by playing for Greece. But if he doesn't get to the Olympics, it might hurt the Gators for next season. "Selfishly, I'd love to have him here on campus with five new freshmen coming in, and him being around and starting to provide some leadership,"
Donovan said. "But, there's also a family dynamic that the kid is getting a chance to do something for his grandfather."
Donovan was quick to add he felt most of the other Florida players supported Calathes' decision to give the Greek thing a chance.
