King's Court: Florida's road back

[DocZaius]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... basketball

Florida's journey back to the upper echelon of the college basketball world began four years ago, when Billy Donovan purchased a padlock.
It was March 2008 when Donovan's team arrived at its $12 million practice facility and found the doors chained shut. The coach directed the Gators to an auxiliary gym, where they dressed in a rundown locker room once used by the school's swim team.
Donovan instructed his players not to wear any Florida attire. A team that loses eight of its final 11 games has no business donning school colors, he said. When the NCAA tournament selection show aired that evening, the Gators were still on the court.
There was no reason to watch.
Less than a year after winning its second straight NCAA title, Florida was shut out, marking the first time since 1989 that the defending national champion didn't make it back to the tournament the following year.
[+] EnlargeChristian Petersen/Getty Images
No team has gotten within 12 points of Billy Donovan's Gators this season.


"I knew we were going to take a dip," Donovan said Tuesday. "No one stays on top all of the time. At some point, everyone has to start over."
That's what makes Florida's 7-0 record and top-5 national ranking so impressive as the Gators prepare for Saturday's showdown at No. 8 Arizona.
Florida won national championships in 2006 and 2007, lost three NBA lottery picks, tumbled into the NIT the following two seasons, then returned to college basketball's elite. Most coaches dream of building an NCAA title contender just once during their careers. Donovan's done it twice, from scratch, in less than a decade.
Florida is one of just four schools -- Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky are the others -- to advance to the Elite Eight in each of the past two seasons. This squad could be even better, as its seven victories have come by an average of 25.3 points, and its three best wins (Wisconsin, Marquette, at Florida State) were by a combined 76 points.
"As good as they were last year," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said Tuesday, "the chemistry and execution of this year's team far eclipses last year's Elite Eight team."
For Donovan, the most gratifying element about the Gators' most recent success is how it was achieved.
The assumption after Florida won the 2006 NCAA title was that standout sophomores Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer would enter the NBA draft. Instead, they returned to school and led the Gators to their second straight championship.
Excited as he was to have the eventual lottery picks back, Donovan said their decisions ended up hurting the Gators on the recruiting trail.
"We really had trouble getting some of the top high school players," Donovan said. "A lot of them were like, 'Jeez, these guys just won a championship and decided to come back. What if they decide to come back again?' "

That didn't happen, as Noah, Horford and Brewer became lottery picks after their junior seasons, leaving Donovan to rebuild with a young roster that often felt entitled.

The Gators' coaching staff also experienced turnover. Former Donovan assistants such as Anthony Grant, Larry Shyatt, Shaka Smart and John Pelphrey all went on to become head coaches. Donovan, though, was happy for the success of his former players and aides and never developed a "woe-is-me" attitude.

"With success comes a price," Donovan said. "When you have success, people are awarded opportunities. The one mainstay here has been me.

"I read a quote from Kobe Bryant that really resonated with me. The Lakers won three straight NBA championships, and then Shaq [Shaquille O'Neal] left for Miami, and their team got dismantled. Kobe said one of the hardest things for him was going all the way down to the bottom of the ladder and having to work his way back up. That's how I felt. I looked at it as more of a challenge instead of saying, 'I'm frustrated, I'm down, why is this happening?' "

Three years after winning the 2007 championship, Florida returned to the NCAA tournament and lost in the first round to Jimmer Fredettte and BYU. The next season, the Gators won the SEC title and reached the Elite Eight with players such as Erving Walker and Chandler Parsons, who had experienced the disappointment of having to settle for the NIT.

"It took two years of our guys being humbled," Donovan said. "That period we went through, I look at it differently than a lot of people do. That enabled us to get to the Elite Eight. That enabled us to put ourselves in a position to get to the Final Four, because it forced those guys to look at themselves realistically.

"There's not a magic potion. I don't have dust I sprinkle on guys. It happens through hard work."

[+] EnlargeKim Klement/USA TODAY Sports
Florida knocked off Arizona in overtime last season. The two square off in Tucson on Saturday night.


Florida advanced to the Elite Eight for the second straight season this past spring. Instead of taking a dip, the Gators are only getting stronger and are considered the consensus pick to win the SEC.

But as pleased as he is with its record, Donovan said "the jury is still out" on this season's team. Victories over Marquette, Wisconsin and Florida State may sound good, but none of those is ranked in the top 25, whereas last season by this time, the Gators already had played road games at Syracuse and Ohio State.

Opponents are averaging just 48.3 points against Donovan's squad, but he said teams will figure out how to better attack his zone defense as the season progresses.

"It's too early to tell how good we can be," Donovan said.

One thing the coach loves, however, is the Gators' toughness and fight. Other than four-year starter Kenny Boynton, every significant Florida player spent a season or two on the bench and had to battle to earn his starting position. The Gators relish and appreciate where they are -- mainly because of where they've been.

No matter what happens Saturday at McKale Center, Donovan is confident his team will continue to improve and that it will be in the mix for the NCAA title this spring.

"This Arizona game is going to be a great test for us," Donovan said. "We're traveling across the country and we're going to play a game at 10 Eastern time against a top-10 team, just like we are. We haven't seen a team like this.

"We'll be facing some adversity out there, but that's OK. Adversity is good. In the long run, it only makes you stronger."