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RALEIGH, N.C. ― The two coaches squaring off in the Round of 32 matchup between Florida basketball and UConn on Sunday at the Lenovo Center (12:10 p.m.) share appreciation for a coach that took the Florida Gators to unprecedented heights.
Billy Donovan led UF to two national titles and four Final Fours from 1996-2015 before leaving to start his NBA coaching career. Donovan, now the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, has maintained a relationship with both UF head coach Todd Golden and UConn head coach Dan Hurley.
Hurley called Donovan, a finalist for induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, one of his coaching idols. Both share something in common as the only two coaches this century to lead basketball teams to back-to-back national titles. Donovan pulled off the feat in 2006 and 2007 while Hurley has guided UConn to back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.
"As a young coach, those were the teams that I admired. Billy's always been one of my coaching idols, and he's impacted me in terms of mentors as much as anyone outside of the Hurley clan," Hurley said. "He's had as much or more impact probably than most.
"Although he's gone dark on me the last couple days here. He's not responding to texts or phone calls from me."
Golden, too, said Donovan has served as a sounding board and sent him a congratulatory text message last week when UF won the SEC Tournament. He recalled reaching out to Donovan when he first got the UF job in 2022.
"He was like whatever ― as much as you want to connect with me or as little, I just want you to know I'm here for you and that I want you to be really, really successful," Golden said.
Golden said he goes out to lunch regularly with Donovan's father, William, who still lives part-time in Gainesville. Over the summer, Golden said he played golf with Donovan.
"We had a great time, just talking about hoop and talking about life a little bit," Golden said. "He's been really awesome ... to have someone who's had so much success and been such a remarkable coach at this level, to be so humble to reach out and offer his support, it means a lot to me."
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: How Billy Donovan has influenced both Florida basketball and UConn coaches
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Billy Donovan led UF to two national titles and four Final Fours from 1996-2015 before leaving to start his NBA coaching career. Donovan, now the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, has maintained a relationship with both UF head coach Todd Golden and UConn head coach Dan Hurley.
Hurley called Donovan, a finalist for induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, one of his coaching idols. Both share something in common as the only two coaches this century to lead basketball teams to back-to-back national titles. Donovan pulled off the feat in 2006 and 2007 while Hurley has guided UConn to back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.
"As a young coach, those were the teams that I admired. Billy's always been one of my coaching idols, and he's impacted me in terms of mentors as much as anyone outside of the Hurley clan," Hurley said. "He's had as much or more impact probably than most.
"Although he's gone dark on me the last couple days here. He's not responding to texts or phone calls from me."
Golden, too, said Donovan has served as a sounding board and sent him a congratulatory text message last week when UF won the SEC Tournament. He recalled reaching out to Donovan when he first got the UF job in 2022.
"He was like whatever ― as much as you want to connect with me or as little, I just want you to know I'm here for you and that I want you to be really, really successful," Golden said.
Golden said he goes out to lunch regularly with Donovan's father, William, who still lives part-time in Gainesville. Over the summer, Golden said he played golf with Donovan.
"We had a great time, just talking about hoop and talking about life a little bit," Golden said. "He's been really awesome ... to have someone who's had so much success and been such a remarkable coach at this level, to be so humble to reach out and offer his support, it means a lot to me."
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: How Billy Donovan has influenced both Florida basketball and UConn coaches
Continue reading...
