Florida coach Billy Donovan is known for his laser-like focus on the court during games.
But with the Gators up by 30 in the second half at Jacksonville, Donovan enjoyed a little back-and-forth with a heckling fan at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.
The fan, wearing a Jacksonville sweatshirt, actually said he rooted for Kansas. The back-and-forth began with the fan getting on Donovan for complaining about a call.
“You need to go out there,” Donovan said, turning to the fan. “You can do a better job than them (the referees).”
Later, the fan kept harping on Dec. 10, when Kansas faces the Gators at the O’Connell Center. The courtisde fan asked the coach “What are you going to do about Andrew Wiggins?”
“I’m more concerned about Julius Randle,” Donovan shot back.
Randle, of course, is the Kentucky freshman center who has began his career with five straight double-doubles. Donovan knows Randle well, having coached him on Team USA’s 18-under gold medal winning team in 2012.
Wiggins is a Kansas freshman phenom swingman, but at least Donovan can put Scottie Wilbekin on him. It remains to be seen if Florida senior center Patric Young can guard Randle without getting into foul trouble.
After Florida’s 86-60 win over Jacksonville, Donovan explained his back-and-forth with the fan.
“I just thought the guy was funny,” Donovan said. “I just kind of humored him back there a little bit. I usually don’t do that but I thought he was funny and not a bad guy.”
All and all, Donovan’s lighthearted exchange went better than an
another encounter that a Florida coach recently had with a fan in Jacksonville.
