LOOK: Billy Donovan returns to Florida, visits with Todd Golden
Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan payed a visit to new Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden recently, returning to visit the program after leaving for the NBA in 2015 after spending nearly 20 seasons as the Gators head coach.
“Great to have Coach Donovan back in Gainesville, and to spend time with him at our [Florida Men’s Basketball] facility. He still bleeds the orange and blue!! Also, we were able to honor [Florida Gators] supporter Hugh Hathcock, and his wife Kalah. We are grateful for them!” Golden wrote on Twitter.
Hathcock, a Gators booster, is responsible for the single largest donation in Florida Athletics history of $12.6 million back in April. Hathcock’s earliest memories of the program stem from the Steve Spurrier days on the gridiron, which means he was cheering on Donovan’s Gators every step of the way – a nice present for a longtime Gators faithful-turned coveted boosted.
During his time as headman, Donovan led Florida to consecutive national championship in 2006 and 2007, respectively, as well as four Final Four appearances (2000, 2006, 2007, 2014). He was a four-time SEC Tournament Champion (2005, 2006, 2007, 2014), six-time SEC regular season champions (2000, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014), not to mention being a three-time SEC Coach of the Year (2011, 2013, 2014).
Todd Golden shares message from Billy Donovan
Florida named Todd Golden its next basketball coach shortly after the departure of former head coach Mike White, ushering in a new era for the Gators. As the gold standard for the program, both incoming and outgoing coaches have been compared to Billy Donovan and measured by how their accomplishments stack up against his.
During his introductory press conference, Todd Golden revealed that he has a conversation with Billy Donovan, now the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, during the hiring process.
“I was able to talk to coach Donovan last Saturday for about 30 minutes,” said Golden. “It gave me goosebumps really the whole time we were chatting because he was so unselfish, so willing to be a resource to me. He said he was willing to help as much or as little as possible. Talked about how passionate him and his family were about Gainesville, and how big of a part that this place played in his life, in his family’s life, the maturation of his kids. He considers this place home, and it’s really important to him that this place is great.
“He said, ‘you don’t have to worry about me.’ And I said, ‘coach, I’m going to be calling you a lot, don’t worry.’ I want to pick his brain, I want him to be a big resource for me. He’s a guy I look up to, both from a coaching standpoint but also as a man. Everything I hear from others is about how great of a person he is. I got a chance to meet him a couple years ago when they practiced in our gym at San Francisco. I’m going to strive to have the same amount of success and to lead in a similar way that coach Donovan did.”