Sunday, June 3, 2007

Breaking Story in Florida

Tip of the hat to Brett Jacobsen on a gutsy performance. Not having to put Casey Weathers on the mound to finish the game was huge - he gets a full day of rest and should be fresh for what might be a piecemeal pitching effort tomorrow night.

In other news, Billy Donovan has asked the Orlando Magic to be released from his contract so that he can return to coach the Gators. It's up to the Magic whether to let him go and whether to make him pay a penalty. I'm guessing Anthony Grant's not stoked about this.

Stay tuned...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

...or maybe Anthony Grant is glad that he gets to get some more experience under his belt in a lower-preasure environment while maintaining recruiting cred (not skipping out on his incoming class at VCU), all the while knowing he's still the heir apparent at UF when Billy the Kid rides off into the sunset

just some thoughts from VCU to the VU Cs

Bobby O'Shea said...

I don't really understand why Donovan is having second thoughts. It's not as if Orlando is a complete mess. He is inheriting a good team with a young star and some cap room, not to mention, he won't have to move his family since Gainesville is just up the road from Orlando.

With this story out there, the Magic have no choice but to release him (according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel this morning, they already have). You can't force a guy to stay and coach your team if he doesn't want to, what kind of message does that send?

Still, this is a strange situation. I don't know that that many better opportunities will open up in the NBA for a college coach with no pro coaching experience.

Anonymous said...

Billy D is scared.

As far as Grant....must suck. It's not like Billy D is old, if he returns to UF he'll be there for a LONG LONG TIME. Grant better start having new dreams, either way he won't be at VCU much longer. Those folks in Richmond might need to start looking for a coach, not some guy that's going to use their program as a steping stone. Then maybe they'll have a program and stop hanging their hats on ONE win in the NCAAs.

Seamus O'Toole said...

I agree with O'Shea about the strangeness of the U-turn.

As for Anthony Grant: Is VCU lower pressure? Yes. Is there a coach worth his salt that would prefer a lower-pressure, lower-profile coaching job as opposed to a chance to compete for a national championship year-in year-out? Not that I'm aware of.

Also, I don't see how Grant would have lost any credibility with recruits by taking the UF job. Every recruit knows that's a possibility when you hop on board with a rising star, and no one in their right mind would play the "disloyal" card if AG headed back to the school where he was an assistant for 10 years after they're coming off back-to-back national championship seasons.

Stanimal said...

There's been some commentary stating that Billy D. has been receiving some tug from Florida as well since the day he was announced as the new head coach. Considering the modern track record of college coaches making the jump to the pros, Donovan probably feels as though he has a chance to further a dynasty and secure a legacy at Florida, and that the same success in Orlando is not neccessarily guaranteed.

This sucks big time for the rest of the SEC because Florida doesn't hit a bump in the road with its recruiting. And make no mistake, their incomings recruits are outstanding.

Bobby O'Shea said...

SI.com is reporting that Billy Donovan has backed out of the deal. The Magic have offered the job to Stan Van Gundy.

Bobby O'Shea said...
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