Florida Basketball Must Hire Right Replacement for Billy Donovan

Billy Donovan is leaving the Florida Gators after 19 seasons to become the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA. From Florida’s perspective, the question is who replaces Donovan?

First of all, replacing Donovan will be nearly impossible. Florida had experienced only minor success on the hardwood before Donovan’s arrival in Gainesville. But Donovan lifted the program to new heights, taking the team to four Final Fours and winning two NCAA Tournament championships.

If Athletic Director Jeremy Foley expects his new coach to come in and do the same thing, he must be dreaming. Florida is not likely to have that level of success again, and the current roster does not exactly look like a team that will be ready to compete in the SEC next season.

Foley really has two routes for his new hire. One, he can hire one of Donovan’s assistant coaches, and he would actually have a couple of decent choices. Donovan is apparently lobbying for John Pelphrey to get the job. Pelphrey, who played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, was 149-126 in nine years as a head coach, including a 69-59 record as head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Anthony Grant is also now on staff in Gainesville after being fired by the Alabama Crimson Tide. Grant was 193-110 overall as a head coach and 117-85 in Tuscaloosa.

If Foley elects to go outside of his current program, the prime candidates appear to be Archie Miller of Dayton, Chris Mack of the Xavier Musketeers and Richard Pitino, head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Foley faces an interesting choice, one that will determine the future of the Gators’ basketball program.

Tim Letcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.