It is amazing what Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators have been able to accomplish in the last 2 years, but that dynasty run has finally come to end. It was a good ride for Donovan who lost his starters from their back-to-back championship to the NBA. Although they had a decent record this year at 21-11, but the main reason for that was because their strength of schedule was weak. When they play teams like North Dakota State and North Florida, its pretty much a guaranteed win. Although with this current team, its hard to figure out which team will show up on the court. They ended their season on a 4 game losing streak and in yesterday's match-up agaisnt Alabama they were down as much 28points at one point in the game. The game was won within the first 10minutes!
Unfortunately, the future of the Gators does not look too bright, their current players have no clue on playing defense and believe that the only way that they are going to win games is by outshooting their opponents. Even the coaching staff has questioned the players motivation and lack of confidence. Not only do they show no cohesiveness on the court, but their lackluster performance last night is an indication of what Gator fans should expect next year, which are players that don't like to hustle or play defense. The only one to blame is Donovan for recruiting players that are more complimentary role bench players than starters.
Look for Donovan to jump ship and head to the NBA just like Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Al Horford and Taurean Green did. He would be a perfict fit for the Miami Heat in where he would have an elite guard in Dwyane Wade and could possibly have the overall number 1 selection in the 2008 draft in which could be used to draft foward Michael Beasley. I really don't blame coach Billy Donovan for leaving, because all good things must always come to an end!
