In what can only be considered a surprising turn of events for Florida Gators fans, the team and head coach Billy Donovan have decided to take themselves out of consideration for the services of five-star 2010 guard Brandon Knight (Fort Lauderdale, FL), according to Scout.com national recruiting director Dave Telep.

It was widely believed that Knight was choosing between Florida and the Kentucky Wildcats, but with the Gators dropping out it appears to be a certainty that the talented guard will be headed to Lexington, KY, to replace freshman John Wall.

Speculation would have one think that Florida either already knew Knight, who recently won his second-straight Gatorade National High School Player of the Year award, would not be choosing them or cared more about retaining their commitment from five-star 2011 guard Austin Rivers (who is also considering the Duke Blue Devils).

Expect the Gators to focus on signing four-star point guard Ray McCallum (Detroit, MI) to add backcourt depth that is sorely needed.

In related news…
Florida has also decided to end its pursuit of star junior college forward Ricardo Ratliffe, according to The Gainesville Sun. Ratliffe, of Central Florida Community College, is considered by most scouts to be the best JuCo prospect in the country. He attended at least two Gators game this season and worked out with the team last summer. However, being able to start is important for Ratliffe, and with five forwards/centers returning and two more being signed, Florida was not a great fit.

Tags: Austin Rivers, Billy Donovan, Brandon Knight, Central Florida Community College, Kentucky Wildcats, Ray McCallum, Ricardo Ratliffe

The St. John’s Red Storm may have come and gone as a suitor for Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan, but that does not mean no other programs are interested in his services. According to various sources including one from the Eugene Register-Guard, the Oregon Ducks are in the process of creating a lucrative package in an attempt to lure Donovan out West.

Oregon recently fired head coach Ernie Kent after 13 seasons. Funded primarily by Nike, the Ducks athletic department has the funds necessary to offer Donovan a comparable package to what he is receiving from the Gators.

However, if he is unwilling to return home to New York, it is not likely Donovan would want to move his family across the country without the offer making him at least the highest-paid coach in the country (if not offering numerous other benefits).

Florida has once again let it be known that no one from Oregon has reached out to athletic director Jeremy Foley for permission to speak to Donovan, and Foley believes Donovan would let him know immediately if another school offered him a job.

Donovan is set to receive $3.3 million in salary for the 2010-11 season along with a $500,000 loyalty bonus that kicks in on April 1.

Tags: Billy Donovan, Ernie Kent, Jeremy Foley, Nike, Oregon Ducks, St. John’s Red Storm

On Sunday, the New York Post and New York Daily News reported that St. John’s University had made initial contact University of Florida head basketball coach Billy Donovan about filling their job opening. According to the Post’s sources, Donovan spoke with a Red Storm booster late Friday and “was intrigued by what he heard.”

The Post also claimed that St. John’s athletic director Chris Monasch had already requested permission from Florida AD Jeremy Foley to speak with Donovan directly about the position and even had Donovan quoted as saying the following via text message in response to the story: “I am very happy here, and we have a very good team coming back next season. St. John’s has a great tradition, and I have great respect for that program.”

However, Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun said respective statements from Foley and Donovan refuted that story. Foley contended that he had yet to be contacted by Monasch, while Donovan claimed that he could not control what is being written about him in the press and that he had only briefly spoken with a school alumnus who happens to be close to the Post.

Now, two days later, the Daily News is reporting that Donovan has put a halt to the Red Storm’s overtures by turning down “a contract in excess of $3 million per year.” Their source claims Donovan denied the offer with a: “Thank you so much but no thank you.”

“Billy was hugely flattered about being offered a job with such potential,” the Daily News’ source said. “But he and his family have something great going on in Gainesville.”

The Gators are once again denying this report, with a Florida spokesman and Foley himself saying there is “no truth” to the story.

Pete Thamel of the New York Times spoke with Foley, who said he would certainly be aware if an offer was made to Donovan. “There’s no way he’s talking to other schools and getting a contract offer and he’s not talking to me,” Foley said. “He doesn’t operate that way.” He also indicated that no one from the university had contacted him for the opportunity to speak with his coach.

OGGOA will continue updating this item as more information is made available.

Photo Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Tags: Billy Donovan, Chris Monasch, Jeremy Foley, St. John's Red Storm

His Atlanta Hawks clinched their third-straight appearance in the NBA Playoffs with a 119-114 overtime win against the San Antonio Spurs Sunday night, but the highlight of the game was a dominating dunk by former Florida Gators forward/center Al Horford over the Spurs’ Tim Duncan. It’s just nasty.

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Playoffs, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan

1 » Over the weekend, Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel and OGGOA went back-and-forth about the potential transfers of Florida Gators basketball bench players guard Ray Shipman and center Kenny Kadji. Fowler caught up with their former AAU coach, Matt Ramker, who informed him that the duo is expected to remain with Florida. “They are happy at UF and are looking forward to next season,” Ramker said.

2 » Speaking with The Salt Lake Tribune, Shelley Meyer said her husband and Gators head coach Urban Meyer is “150 percent better.” Now that he is back at work, Meyer’s wife is keeping tabs on him in the same respect he stays on top of recruits. Sending him multiple texts ensuring that he is eating, exercising and resting, Shelley claims it is “part of my plan. I’m keeping an eye on him and I’m looking for signs. What happened to Urban was a huge wake-up call that he couldn’t go on like he was.”

3 » In a question-and-answer session with The Gainesville Sun, former Florida cornerback Joe Haden said he felt the pressure of running an improved 40-yard dash at Pro Day last week. Asked how important 40 times actually were, Haden agreed that they were overrated. “They don’t really measure how you run on the field during a game,” he said. “You may be running with someone who runs a 4.2, and you might not be able to run a 4.2, but if you can run with him and cover him, you’re OK. But it’s part of the process and I respect that.” Haden also admitted that he did not do much to help Meyer’s heart issues, playing an April Fool’s joke on him last season when he and former Gators safety Major Wright told their coach they planned to transfer.

4 » One of the biggest disappointments of the 2009 Florida football season was the lack of development of now-redshirt junior wide receiver Deonte Thompson. Though he failed to make much of an impact throughout the season, Thompson is confident he can turn it on in 2010 with new quarterback John Brantley. “I feel I had a good Sugar Bowl,” Thompson told the Sun. “I know now I’ve got to come out hard every day because I pretty much should be the No. 1 guy.”

Photo Credit: Willie J. Allen, Jr./St. Petersburg Times

Tags: Deonte Thompson, Joe Haden, John Brantley, Kenny Kadji, Major Wright, Pro Day, Ray Shipman, Shelley Meyer, Urban Meyer

The New York Post confirmed Sunday that St. John’s University has indeed made initial contact University of Florida head basketball coach Billy Donovan about filling their job opening. According to the Post’s sources, Donovan spoke with a Red Storm booster late Friday and “was intrigued by what he heard.”

Nevertheless, it would take a lot (and certainly a contract exceeding his current $3.5 million per season) to lure Donovan away from Gainesville, FL. Currently, the school is looking to spend under $2 million per year for a coach, though it could raise plenty of additional money through private donations.

“I am very happy here, and we have a very good team coming back next season,” Donovan told the Post via text message. “St. John’s has a great tradition, and I have great respect for that program.”

Donovan, who is already “breaking down film of his team’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to BYU and working on his recruiting plan” for Florida, is doing exactly what one would expect a coach to do in preparation for remaining at his job next season.

The Post also reported that Red Storm athletic director Chris Monasch already requested permission from Gators AD Jeremy Foley to speak with Donovan directly about the position, though that information is being disputed by Foley (see below).

UPDATE: In text messages he received from Donovan and Foley, respectively, Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun reports that the Post’s story is not 100 percent accurate. Donovan told Dooley that he cannot control what is being written about him in the press and that he has only spoken with a school alumnus who is close to the Post, while Foley contends that he has not yet been contacted by Monasch.

OGGOA will continue updating this breaking story.

Tags: Billy Donovan, Chris Monasch, Jeremy Foley, St. John's Red Storm

1 » OGGOA was going back-and-forth with Tommy Dee of The Knicks Blog during the Florida Gators’ first round 2010 NCAA Tournament game about the potential future move of head coach Billy Donovan to the St. John’s Red Storm. Citing the fact that St. John’s is now willing to spend money on a coach, Dee thought it was possible that a move could happen. Throwing gasoline on that fire is Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News, who claims that Donovan is the “answer to St. John’s coaching needs.” From his time at Providence and with the New York Knicks to his continued ability to recruit out of the northeast, Weiss says the Red Storm should start and end their search with Donovan because “he is the perfect choice for this job.”

2 » On Oct. 16 and exactly one month later on Nov. 16, OGGOA reported that Gators redshirt sophomore forward Adam Allen’s career was likely over after a third surgery on his knee. Allen’s chronic knee, which was thought to be a bone bruise but turned out to be an MCL injury with a “loose” kneecap, appeared to be career-threatening. That is until he met with Dr. Lonnie Paulos at the Andrews Institute, who gave him some encouraging news, according to Gator Country. “[He] said he could probably do some stuff to it,” Allen said. “I had the surgery and after the surgery, he was pretty confident that I would be able to come back.” He hopes to get support from the NCAA to remain a sophomore since one injury has kept him out two seasons.

More on basketball and a National Coach of the Year winner after the jump!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Billy D to St. John’s? Allen’s recovery.

Tags: Adam Allen, Billy Donovan, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Mike Holloway, NCAA, NCAA Indoor Championship, Ray Shipman, SEC Championship, St. John's Red Storm, USTFCCCA

Returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons, the No. 10-seed Florida Gators had two chances to put away the No. 7-seed Brigham Young Cougars. Alas, the Gators failed on both occasions, leading the game to enter a second overtime and the Cougars to an eventual 99-92 victory in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, OK.

BYU star guard Jimmer Fredette led his team with 37 points on 50 percent shooting, while Michael Loyd, Jr. came off the bench for the Cougars with a career-high 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting in a surprising turn of events. Florida freshman guard Kenny Boynton posted a career-high 26 points of his own, hitting 8-of-17 shots from the field and 5-of-10 from downtown. Unfortunately for the Gators, Boynton fouled out with 3:57 remaining in the second overtime, removing the team’s most dynamic player from the court in the waning minutes.

Read the rest of OGGOA’s Florida vs. BYU NCAA Tournament story after the jump!
Continue Reading » UF falls to BYU 99-92 in double overtime thriller

Tags: Brigham Young Cougars, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Erik Murphy, Ford Center, Jackson Emery, Jimmer Fredette, Kenny Boynton, Michael Loyd, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Vernon Macklin