Donovan brings home gold for USA Basketball

By Adam Silverstein
June 20, 2012

Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan won the first gold medal of his career on Wednesday as he led USA Basketball to an 81-56 victory over Brazil in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.

The United States was the only team to go undefeated (5-0) on its way to taking home the gold. The Americans tore through the competition in Sao Sebastian, Brazil, winning every game by at least 19 and by an average of 38.6 points (105-42 vs. Virgin Islands, 110-59 vs. Mexico, 83-64 vs. Brazil, 107-72 vs. Argentina, 81-56 vs. Brazil).

The FIBA Americas was Donovan’s first go-around as head coach of Team USA. He was joined on the bench by Florida trainer Dave Werner as well as former Gators assistant and Virginia Commonwealth head coach Shaka Smart and Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. Donovan had previously served as a court coach for team trials in 2011.

The strong showing in the tournament qualified the United States for the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship next June. Donovan is not guaranteed to be the head coach of that team though he will likely be called upon again to continue leading the Americans.

2 Comments

  1. Basshole says:

    Nice achievement by Donovan and the guys. The World Championship will be a true test.

  2. Ken (CA) says:

    I’m curious as to who was on the squad and where they are committed to or playing. Maybe Billy’s doing some good recruiting on these U18 kids!

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