FloridaGatorforLife
VIP Member
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]It's remarkable what Billy Donovan is doing. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] He lost his top six scorers from last season -- including five NBA Draft picks -- and replaced them with a recruiting class that is talented as a whole but devoid of a single sure-bet one-and-done prospect like Michael Beasley or Eric Gordon. The word inexperienced does not begin to describe it.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] But the Florida coach has been splendid in transition, leading his Gators to an 18-3 start highlighted by last weekend's 86-64 dismantling of Vanderbilt, and if he keeps this up I really do think he might finally win his first SEC Coach of the Year award. [/FONT]
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Yep, you read that correctly. [/FONT]
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Donovan has two national titles, three Final Fours, three SEC titles, four SEC East titles, three SEC Tournament titles, more wins at his school than any coach in the league and ... zero SEC Coach of the Year awards. It's baffling, really, one of the great mysteries of award distribution -- kinda like how Forrest Gump beat Pulp Fiction and
The Shawshank Redemption for Best Picture in 1995. [/FONT]
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That's crazy. [/FONT]
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But is it any crazier than Donovan sitting here in 2008, some 11 years after arriving at Florida, without a single SEC Coach of the Year award on his mantel? I submit it is not, particularly when glancing at some of the names who have won the honor since Donovan entered the league. [/FONT]
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If you didn't know, AP members and league coaches both vote for an SEC Coach of the
Year every season. [/FONT]
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They have agreed on the winner six of the past 11 seasons. [/FONT]
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They have split it between two guys four other times. [/FONT]
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One year three people shared the award. [/FONT]
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So if you add it all up, what you'll find is 14 different men have won some version of an SEC Coach of the Year award since Donovan came to Florida -- including current league coaches John Brady (LSU), Mark Gottfried (Alabama), Rick Stansbury (Mississippi State), Dave Odom (South Carolina), Bruce Pearl (Tennessee), Andy Kennedy (Ole Miss) and Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt). Put another way, because Billy Gillispie (Kentucky) and John Pelphrey (Arkansas) are in their first years at their schools -- meaning there is no way they could've won an SEC Coach of the Year award yet -- just three of the 10 coaches who could have won the award to date have not won the award to date, and somehow one of them is the man with a pair of national title rings.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"I am aware of it, but only because guys like you bring it up to me," Donovan said with a laugh. "But you know what I think happens on a lot of these awards? It's like this year, Tennessee is a really good team and Bruce is expected to do well. And so if he does really well it's kind of expected. And I've often thought the Coach of the Year award in our league has always gone to a guy who has had some unexpected success in the league. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10611130
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] But the Florida coach has been splendid in transition, leading his Gators to an 18-3 start highlighted by last weekend's 86-64 dismantling of Vanderbilt, and if he keeps this up I really do think he might finally win his first SEC Coach of the Year award. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
Yep, you read that correctly. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
Donovan has two national titles, three Final Fours, three SEC titles, four SEC East titles, three SEC Tournament titles, more wins at his school than any coach in the league and ... zero SEC Coach of the Year awards. It's baffling, really, one of the great mysteries of award distribution -- kinda like how Forrest Gump beat Pulp Fiction and
The Shawshank Redemption for Best Picture in 1995. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
That's crazy. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
But is it any crazier than Donovan sitting here in 2008, some 11 years after arriving at Florida, without a single SEC Coach of the Year award on his mantel? I submit it is not, particularly when glancing at some of the names who have won the honor since Donovan entered the league. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
If you didn't know, AP members and league coaches both vote for an SEC Coach of the
Year every season. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
They have agreed on the winner six of the past 11 seasons. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
They have split it between two guys four other times. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
One year three people shared the award. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
So if you add it all up, what you'll find is 14 different men have won some version of an SEC Coach of the Year award since Donovan came to Florida -- including current league coaches John Brady (LSU), Mark Gottfried (Alabama), Rick Stansbury (Mississippi State), Dave Odom (South Carolina), Bruce Pearl (Tennessee), Andy Kennedy (Ole Miss) and Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt). Put another way, because Billy Gillispie (Kentucky) and John Pelphrey (Arkansas) are in their first years at their schools -- meaning there is no way they could've won an SEC Coach of the Year award yet -- just three of the 10 coaches who could have won the award to date have not won the award to date, and somehow one of them is the man with a pair of national title rings.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"I am aware of it, but only because guys like you bring it up to me," Donovan said with a laugh. "But you know what I think happens on a lot of these awards? It's like this year, Tennessee is a really good team and Bruce is expected to do well. And so if he does really well it's kind of expected. And I've often thought the Coach of the Year award in our league has always gone to a guy who has had some unexpected success in the league. [/FONT]
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