Billy's Bitch Out is Complete
It looks like Billy Donovan is now the college coach that lasted the shortest amount of time in the NBA. Orlando released him from his contract so he could return to the University of Florida. Congrats buddy. You have the same job that you had a week ago, but now you look like an ass. Now that's working some magic.
Donovan claims that his heart never left the University of Florida, but if you love the school that much, you wouldn't take the Orlando job to begin with. Perhaps he thought that coaching the Magic was the move that he should make, but I would hope that he has the fortitude to do what he wants and not what others think he should do. And if Donovan was really torn, he could have waited a year. This is the NBA we're talking about. There are at least four coaching vacancies a year.
I think that he started doubting himself after he took the job. The media listed the many coaches who failed to successfully jump from college to the pros and suddenly, he started doubting whether or not he could actually do the job. Personally, I thought he was going to have success there. The Magic have some young players, such as superstar Dwight Howard, J.J. Redick, and Jameer Nelson. Because of that, he'd have an easier time coaching them than he would established stars like an Iverson, Carter, or McGrady. The team has talent and Donovan could have molded them into a competitor.
Part of the deal of his split from the Magic was that Donovan will not be able to coach in the NBA for five years. I doubt any team would really want to try to hire him in the next five years because it's be tough to know if his heart would fully be in it. This experience makes him a shaky hire from now on.
On the other end, the Magic were screwed because they could lose out on Stan Van Gundy. While Billy Donovan was signing his soon-to-be five day contract, Van Gundy has been pursued heavily by Sacramento. It could be too late for the Magic to jump in the game.
Next year, Billy Donovan will bring his perfectly angled haircut back to the court in Gainesville, where he will try to turn Florida into a dynastied program like Duke. He lost his big four starters to the NBA draft but will try to rebuild his program. If he succeeds, people will soon forget about this Magic ordeal. If not, they'll just remember him as the guy who didn't have the balls to try coaching in the pros. And perhaps it'll be deserved.
