Colleges

Donovan trying to be accountable

When you're looking for reasons for the trouble the men's basketball team finds itself in right now, don't just look to the players.

By Antonya English, Times Staff Writer
Published March 4, 2008

GAINESVILLE - When you're looking for reasons for the trouble the men's basketball team finds itself in right now, don't just look to the players.

Billy Donovan wants it made clear he bears his share of responsibility for the fact that the Gators are hanging on the proverbial NCAA Tournament bubble by a thread. After losing every starter from last season, the challenge of molding this new team is one reason he was excited about this season.

But it's also the reason he's trying to take some of the heat for his squad, which has lost five of eight and is in desperate need of a win Wednesday against No.4 Tennessee and/or in the season finale at Kentucky on Sunday.

"I know some of the situations that we're in right now are not these guys' fault," Donovan said Monday. "We've lost guys in the past over my 10 years here that we've always been able to offset, whether it's been Joakim Noah or (Udonis) Haslem, or (Mike) Miller or Donnell Harvey or Kwame Brown. But we have not been able to offset the departure of six guys."

The Gators lost six of their top seven players from last season, which raises the question: If Florida hadn't played such a soft early schedule and started 19-2, would we even be having this discussion about whether an NIT bid signals a failed season?

Probably not. This is the team most should have expected: inexperienced, wildly inconsistent and still trying to find itself, even 29 games later. So fans shouldn't be surprised. Donovan isn't.

"I knew coming in what this was going to be like in terms of testing myself, my coaching staff and these guys," he said. "So I don't think that there is anything going through the point where we're at right now that's saying I'm surprised or this was unexpected."

IT'S A HOUSE, NOT A SWAMP: Apparently back-to-back national championships and major television exposure hasn't helped some people differentiate between the football stadium and the basketball arena.

Saturday, Mississippi State's Charles Rhodes talked about how thrilling it was to beat the Gators at "the Swamp." And on Monday, ESPN.com's Andy Glockner wrote this about the Gators: "After beating Georgia on the road midweek, the Gators dropped a critical home game to Mississippi State on Saturday. Now Tennessee comes to the Swamp on Wednesday before a season finale at crippled Kentucky, which could be a huge break for Florida's chances. Florida's best nonconference win was over Temple, which tells you all you need to know about that part of its schedule."

Ten wins and a name recognition project. For the record, the O'Dome's nickname is "The House of Horrors."

ONE LAST PUSH: The women's basketball team will make its final run at an NCAA Tournament berth when it begins play in the SEC tournament Thursday. The Gators (17-12, 6-8 SEC) are likely WNIT-bound. But a strong showing in the SEC tournament could put the team on the bubble come Selection Monday (the women's selection show is the Monday after the men's). Florida plays South Carolina, a team it split with in the regular season. Facing it a third time won't be easy.

"It's very tough," coach Amanda Butler said. "South Carolina is a team that has continually improved throughout the season. ... Meeting them for a third time is certainly not ideal, but in this league there's no one that's going to be easy to face."

[Last modified March 3, 2008, 23:28:44]