Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan appeared on The Dan LeBatard Show on 790 The Ticket in South Florida on Wednesday and spent 15 minutes on the air discussing a wide variety of topics with host Dan LeBatard, co-host Stugotz and special guest co-host Stan Van Gundy. Below are the topics that the interview touched on and what Donovan had to say about each.

On if he came back to Florida in order to not screw up being happy

“I don’t really think it was about being happy or trying to be happier. The University of Florida has been great to me. It was just one of those things, deep down inside of my gut, that just did not feel right after I did it. I felt terrible going that far down the road. I was very happy that Orlando could get a quality coach like Stan to go in there. There was just something that just did not sit well with me. I can’t put my finger on it. It was just kind of one of those gut feelings.

“Obviously it’s a tough decision when you make the decision and commit to do it and then all of a sudden you retract. I knew in my heart that it just didn’t seem right for me. I don’t know what it was. That’s really what I did. Obviously it was difficult to make that decision when you’re that far down the road.”

On if doing the about-face on Orlando was embarrassing for him

“I think I put Orlando in a very difficult situation. That organization, they’re great people, they treated me very well. For myself to put them in that situation, I felt bad about that. But I was very excited because I know the quality of coach [that] Stan is, I know how respected he is. You look at the job he did in Orlando. At the end of the day, it ended up working out well for both parties. Surely, going through what I went through, embarrassed or felt bad, you just don’t want to put somebody through that. I don’t think Orlando deserved to go through that, and I felt bad about that.”

Read the rest of what Donovan had to say on the air…after the break!
Continue Reading » Donovan speaks on Orlando, Noah, Williams, NBA

Tags: Billy Donovan, Jason Williams, Jeremy Foley, Joakim Noah, NBA, Orlando Magic, Stan Van Gundy

1 » As OGGOA first reported via Twitter yesterday, the Florida Gators have taken home yet another national title: the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship. That’s right – the University of Florida team of Matthew Wercinski and Jake Gipson won the first annual event on Fort Loudon Lake after catching a three-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 10 ounces. The duo won $25,000 cash, $50,000 for UF (either for the club team or as a scholarship, we are assuming) and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-HP outboard motor wrapped in orange and blue!

2 » REMINDER: Five-star shooting guard Brandon Knight (Fort Lauderdale, FL) will officially make his college commitment Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. (EST). Knight is universally expected to pick the Kentucky Wildcats over Florida and a number of other programs vying for his services.

3 » With the 2010 NBA Playoffs on the horizon, a few Gators will be making appearances and attempting to win the league’s title. However, the one with the best shot is likely Orlando Magic point guard Jason Williams. The Gainesville Sun caught up with head coach Stan Van Gundy, who had glowing things to say about the former Florida player. “He really pushes the ball in transition and he brings a real consistent energy,” Van Gundy said. “There’s rarely a time where, in fact I don’t even remember one, where he goes into a game and you just say, ‘Wow, Jason doesn’t have much energy tonight.’ He really brings that every single night. That’s probably the No. 1 thing he’s done for us, plus he’s the best passer we have.”

4 » Though many Florida basketball fans have been quite annoyed with the number of transfers the team has had over the last few seasons, it should be notated that both Kentucky and Alabama have had more (12) and Ole Miss has had almost as many (10). This is neither an indictment nor an excuse, but it is nice to put things in perspective sometimes, especially since Ray Shipman announced his decision on March 24.

Tags: Brandon Knight, fishing, FLW College Fishing National Championship, Jake Gipson, Jason Williams, Kentucky Wildcats, Matthew Wercinski, NBA, Orlando Magic, Playoffs, Ray Shipman, Stan Van Gundy, University of Florida