Florida Gators basketball has been dead-set on bolstering its 2010-11 out-of-conference schedule since last season ended. They advanced this cause Wednesday, agreeing to face the Central Florida Knights in a neutral-site game at the brand new Amway Center in Orlando, FL, on Dec. 1.

Though Central Florida is based in Orlando, the game’s location is considered to be a neutral-site because the Knights play their home games at the UCF Arena. Their match-up with Florida will be the first college basketball game played at the new $480 million facility.

The game will hold added significance on two different levels for Gators head coach Billy Donovan. Most notably, Donovan will be going up against his former long-time assistant and new Knights head coach Donnie Jones for the first time since he left the program for the top job at Marshall after the 2007 NCAA National Championship season.

He also will be coaching in the new home of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, the team he once agreed to coach before backing out just days later and signing a new contract with Florida in 2007.

UF and UCF last faced-off in basketball on Dec. 20, 2008, in Jacksonville, FL. The Gators prevailed 89-61 and are 9-0 all-time against the Knights.

Tags: Amway Center, Billy Donovan, Central Florida Knights, Donnie Jones, National Championship, NBA, Orlando Magic, UCF Arena

Two former Florida Gators will come together next season on the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball staff as head coach John Pelphrey has hired former All-American guard Brett Nelson (1999-2003) as an assistant coach.

After graduating from the University of Florida, Nelson first worked as director of basketball operations at Colorado State and then Virginia Commonwealth (under Alabama head coach Anthony Grant). He got his first assistant job with Donnie Jones at Marshall in 2007, coaching under him for three seasons before leaving the program with him during a transition to Central Florida just two months ago.

“I am very excited to have Brett join our staff,” Pelphrey said in a release. “Brett has a tremendous basketball IQ and will bring our student-athletes a first-hand perspective of the commitment and dedication that is required to win Southeastern Conference championships and compete nationally. In his tenures at Colorado State, Virginia Commonwealth and Marshall, Brett has been instrumental in both the recruiting and on-court successes of those programs. I have known Brett throughout his basketball career as a player and a coach. He is an exceptional person and will be an excellent addition to our coaching staff and our program.”

During his time with the Gators, Nelson led the team to four NCAA Tournaments, a National Championship game and two Southeastern Conference Championships while averaging 11 points per game.

Grant, Jones and Pelphrey are all former assistants under head coach Billy Donovan.

Tags: Anthony Grant, Arkansas Razorbacks, Billy Donovan, Brett Nelson, Donnie Jones, John Pelphrey, National Championship, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Championship, University of Florida

Adding to an already impressive out-of-conference schedule, Florida Gators basketball will be taking on the Kansas State Wildcats on Dec. 18 in the 2010 MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. The two-game tournament played annually just before the new year at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, FL, usually features the Gators as the main attraction against an out-of-state opponent.

Florida is 7-2 all-time in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, falling 56-53 to Richmond on Dec. 19, 2009 – their first loss in the event since 1997. The Gators took a short break from the tournament but began competing again in 2006, winning their first three games.

Other important out-of-conference contests already on the slate for Florida in 2010-11 are the first game of a home-and-home series with Ohio State (in Gainesville, FL), the second game of a home-and-home series with Xavier (on the road) and an early season road meeting with against Florida State in Tallahassee, FL.

Previously, the Gators had scheduled somewhat easier opponents in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. Since returning to the tournament in 2006, Florida has faced Alabama-Birmingham, Temple, Winthrop and Richmond. Kansas State finished No. 7 in the final 2009-10 polls and ended the year with a 29-8 record.

This will be the first meeting between the two universities on the court, though “the contract states that a return game between the schools will be played at a neutral site in the 2012-13 season,” according to KSU.

Competing in the first game of the event are Miami and Central Florida, the latter of which is led by former Gators assistant coach Donnie Jones.

Tags: BankAtlantic Center, Donnie Jones, Kansas State Wildcats, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic

At one point in his career, Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan was an up-and-coming assistant coach, learning under then-Kentucky coach Rick Pitino for six years (1989-1994) before moving on to his first head job with Marshall (1994-1996).

Since 2002, Donovan has lost four of his own assistants to head coaching gigs across the country, and three have done so well that they moved on to bigger and better programs. In 2002, John Pelphrey departed to take over South Alabama (he is now head coach at Arkansas). Anthony Grant was hired by Virginia Commonwealth in 2006 (he is now leading Alabama). A year later, Donnie Jones took off for Marshall (he was just hired by Central Florida).

Also departing the Gators in that time were Shaka Smart (who took over for Grant at VCU), Tim Maloney (who floated around but is now associated head coach at Massachusetts) and Tom Ostrom (who traveled with Pelphrey to USA and then Arkansas). Even former Florida guard Brett Nelson earned personnel gigs, working as director of basketball operations at Colorado State and VCU (under Grant) before becoming an assistant coach when Jones joined Marshall in 2007.

With Donovan’s coaching tree branching out at a Pitino- and Dean Smith-like pace, it should be no surprise that another one of his assistants is garnering plenty of attention for some college basketball head coaching job openings.

Richard Pitino, who joined the Gators’ staff this season as an assistant partially for his recruiting prowess, is a name being tossed around in rumors about various job openings including Jones’ vacant seat at Marshall, the top spot at Iona, a job with Wagner and the recently available position with Holy Cross.

The younger Pitino’s previous experience was as an assistant coach at Northeastern and Duquesne as well as under his father at Louisville; his name recognition and ability to recruit make him a valuable commodity for a smaller program.

No interviews have been requested and no offers have been made (that we know of), but often times – especially with college coaching jobs – when there’s smoke, there’s fire.

04/02 UPDATE: Pitino has been interviewed by Iona.

Tags: Anthony Grant, Billy Donovan, Brett Nelson, Dean Smith, Donnie Jones, John Pelphrey, Richard Pitino, Rick Pitino, Shaka Smart, Tim Maloney, Tom Ostrom

1 » As OGGOA mentioned two weeks ago, former Florida Gators guard/forward Corey Brewer is much improved one year after returning from surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament. Brewer is playing so well for the Minnesota Timberwolves, in fact, that he is in the running for the NBA’s 2010 Most Improved Player award. “It’s a confidence thing,” Brewer said of his improvement. “My rookie year was tough because I was going from one extreme system to another extreme system. I didn’t know where I could fit in. [...] That’s why I loved Florida because we pressed, I got to get out on the break, got a lot of dunks. Now to be able to do it in the NBA, to actually get some highlights, it’s good.”

Brewer also told The Gainesville Sun that he keeps a close eye on the Gators and is hopeful for the future. “They need a few more players,” he said. “Coach [Bill Donovan] has been doing a good job. Austin Rivers is going to be really good when he comes up. The big kid from Jacksonville [Patric Young] coming in, I like him. And then my man, Casey [Prather], he’s from Tennessee. I like him, athletic 6-4.”

Three more BITS on UF connections in the MLB, NCAAs and PGA…after the jump!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Brewer MIP, LaPorta, Jones, Couch

Tags: Arnold Palmer, Arnold Palmer Invitational, baseball, Bay Hill, Billy Donovan, Central Florida Knights, Chris Couch, Cleveland Indians, Corey Brewer, Donnie Jones, golf, Keith Tribble, Marshall Thundering Herd, Matt LaPorta, Minnesota Timberwolves, MLB, Most Improved Player, NBA, PGA