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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Billy Donovan expected to become Orlando Magic's next coach - Orlando Sentinel : Orlando Magic Billy Donovan expected to become Orlando Magic's next c

posted by WeRDevos @ 3:58 PM  

5 Comments:

  • At 5:06 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    I just heard the news on CBSSportsline.com.

    Assuming all these reports are true, I must say I'm really stunned, surprised, but at the same time very happy. From all indications, prior to today, Billy Donovan was expected to sign a contract extension and stay at UF.

    I feel a little bad for all the Gators fans out there who are losing an excellent coach, but at the same time, being a die-hard fan of the Magic, I'm ecstatic!

    By the way, nice to see you back on the blog, WeRDevos.

     

  • At 5:59 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    No coach could have made as big of a "splash" as Billy-Ball in everyway possible.

    Orlando now has a young talented team, Dwight Howard, Donovan, and the hopes of a new arena to offer; sounds pretty sweet to me.

    And since they're in the mood for opening their wallets, how about we go ahead and forget about luxury tax and sign both Darko and Lewis.

    Of course all of this is pending on Donovan actually signing, but locally they are saying it's all but done.

     

  • At 6:03 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Billy Donovan was meeting with the Gators team in Gainesville Thursday afternoon to explain his exodus to Orlando and will pore over his very lucrative Magic contract tonight before officially accepting the offer to become an NBA coach.

    It's a truly blockbuster deal for the Magic, who fired Brian Hill last week and were looking for a fresh change.

    Say what you want about the Magic --- and a lot of you have at a nasty, high volume recently. But you can't say they aren't going for the gusto, taking a gamble, perhaps, and landing the hottest college coach in basketball.

    They aren't afraid to pay up, either, offering Billy a deal that could make him $25 million-$30 million.

    It doesn't get any fresher for the Magic than Billy D, the two-time national championship coach who is just 42.

    Short of Donovan having a change of heart, he will take over the Magic, hoping to supply Orlando with:

    X A buzz. The Magic are back to being an NBA darling, not like they were during the Shaq-Penny days, but at least people are talking about them. Plus, few coaches can actually draw crowds, but Billy in Central Florida might do just that. Expect more sell-outs, and more attention paid to the Billy D-Dwight Howard show.

    X A new arena. This should make it a venue slam-dunk now for the Magic. County commissioners will be under pressure now to embrace the Magic's bed-tax financing deal for a new building. Who wants to see the Magic throw up their hands and take the Billy D and Dwight Howard Show to Oklahoma City or Las Vegas?

    X A watchable offense. We don't know if Billy will be done in by the curse that has plagued all college coaches who cross over. But his teams at Florida seemed to get up and down the court and shoot the ball without hesitation.

    X A free agent. Hmmm, this will be an interesting aspect. Does a Vince Carter, say, want to come and play for a college coach? Or does Billy -- a terrific recruiter at UF --- charm the right guy into choosing Orlando?

    Was Donovan's move a stunner?

    Early on, I believed Donovan would make the move, if not to the Magic, somewhere in the NBA.

    He has a taste for it, and said so. He had accomplished about everything he could in 12 years at UF, and would leave the Gators with two titles and a cupboard-full of recruits.

    But the last week or so, as Billy's contract situation at UF dragged on, I was thinking that maybe everybody else was right: He's staying put.

    But as it turns out, I do know this:

    You don't want to play Texas Hold 'em with Billy Donovan, that's for sure.

    Billy can bluff with the best of them, as Gator Nation has discovered.

    Donovan is expected to become the new coach of the Magic any hour now.

    After telling the world his "focus was on the Gators."

    After saying he was waiting on UF to get his deal done.

    What happened was that he was waiting on a contract, all right.

    The Magic's, not the Gators'

     

  • At 6:07 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Espn just reported a 6 year 36 mill contract for donovan. I'm super happy on two fronts,he can make us better with his up-tempo style and my wildcats dont have too see him twice a year anymore...LOL. Sorry WeR !!!!

     

  • At 7:25 PM, Blogger tdawg said…

    I don't watch much college basketball, and only saw Florida play once all last season. But you don't win back to back championships at any level without knowing how to coach basketball

    Also if Orlando would have made this move, say last summer, then maybe Oregon could have went to the Final Four.

     

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