Donovan - “Whatevah, I do what I want!”
We’re not sure what is in the water in Lexington, but something about ties to Kentucky makes a coach yearn for the company of barely adolescent boys. After current UK coach Billy Gillespie’s child-chasin’ forced the National Association of Basketball Coaches to “strongly” encourage college coaches to stop seeking and accepting commitments from players before they finished their sophomore year, current Florida coach (and former UK assistant) Billy Donovan accepted the commitment of a player who just finished his freshman year.
In fairness to Donovan, the newly-tagged Gator in question is hardly the type of spring (swamp) chicken the recruiting covenant was meant to protect - he is Austin Rivers, the youngest son of one Glenn Anton “Doc” Rivers of Boston, Mass., formerly of JustwontheNBAtitle-ville. Still, Donovan essentially pooped in the hat of the NABC by hitting the candy store recruiting trail only two weeks after the NABC’s decision came down.
But because he’s Billy Donovan and has won two national titles, and you are not, no criticism for the blatent flimflamming has come his way. Needless to say, the Kentucky faithful are less than pleased at the double standard, after taking more than their fair share of crap for Billy Clyde’s junior high skeeziness.
It’s really too bad that the NABC has no teeth whatsoever. We would have paid good money to see JTIII enforcing the new policy in a very NSFW fashion upon Messr. Donovan.


1
After the fine career Jeremiah had at Georgetown, why would anyone be surprised that Billy Donovan wanted Austin so badly?
Oh, wait.
Comment by Chuck — July 7, 2008 @ 12:34 pm
2
Jerk.
Comment by eirishis — July 7, 2008 @ 1:52 pm
3
Doc has been Billy’s friend for a long time and his son has been going to Donovan’s camps since he was a 7th grader. Moreover, the kid’s sister is a freshman volleyball player at Florida. While he accepted a commitment almost a full year earlier than the NABC now “strongly encourages”, it’s not like Donovan’s poaching flavor of the week middleschoolers like Billy Gillespie and Tim Floyd. He’s had a longstanding relationship with the kid and his family and is merely doing what inevitably will happen. It’s not like commitments are binding anyway.
Comment by Mel — July 10, 2008 @ 8:05 pm