Florida set to honor Donovan
Florida will name its basketball court after former coach Billy Donovan, who led the program to two national championships and four Final Four appearances during his 19 seasons in Gainesville, ESPN.com reported on Friday.
The court will officially be renamed on Feb. 15 at the men’s basketball game against Vanderbilt with Donovan in attendance during NBA All-Star break, the school announced.
Donovan left Florida in 2015 to become head coach of the NBA’s Thunder.
Former athletic director Jeremy Foley, who hired Donovan in 1996, and current athletic director Scott Stricklin recently delivered the news to Donovan in person.
“I was totally shocked,” Donovan said in a statement. “It was really emotional. I didn’t anticipate this. I’m thankful, I’m honored and just incredibly humbled by it all.”
Donovan, 54, went 467-185 during his time with the Gators and in addition to the national championships and Final Fours, Florida won six SEC championships, made 14 NCAA tournament appearances and had 16 20-win seasons.
The 2006 and 2007 national championships are the only back-to-back titles in men’s basketball over the past 25 years, and Florida reached a No. 1 national ranking in five seasons under Donovan. That includes 2013-14 team, which won a program-record 30 straight.
“It had been on my radar for some time, and Jeremy had made it clear it was something that was important to him,” Stricklin said in a statement. “During my time at Kentucky, I had a front-row seat for the impact Billy made, not just on the Florida program, but our league.
“You saw the kind of coach and person he was, and the respect he had around the country. This was just an obvious way to honor him.”
UNC’s Bacot out: North Carolina coach Roy Williams said freshman big man Armando Bacot is likely out with an ankle injury when the seventh-ranked Tar Heels meet No. 5 Virginia on Sunday
Bacot sprained his left ankle early in a lopsided home loss to No. 6 Ohio State on Wednesday night. Williams said that the 6-foot-10 Bacot is walking without crutches, but has swelling.
Williams says he doesn’t see “any way in the world that he can play.”
Bacot was averaging 11.7 points and 9.6 rebounds before his early injury against the Buckeyes, providing rebounding help and the potential for easy baskets inside.
He was coming off a 23-point, 12rebound, six-block effort in a 78-74 win against a ranked Oregon team on Nov. 29 in the Battle 4 Atlantis’ third-place game.
The Tar Heels’ 74-49 loss to the Buckeyes was their most lopsided at home in Williams’ 17 seasons in Chapel Hill.
Details of alleged incident emerge: Two Washington, D.C., Metro police department incident reports corresponding with a restraining order filed against one of the three Georgetown men’s basketball players accused of burglary, harassment and assault revealed details about the alleged crimes.
According to one incident report obtained by USA TODAY Sports, which coincides with the police report numbers on Josh LeBlanc’s restraining order request, a victim reported that three males burglarized their residence.
Among the items allegedly taken included a Playstation 4, a Nikon camera, a camera lens and a pair of shoes, with an estimated forfeiture value of $1,625.
The report also states a victim contacted one of the suspects on FaceTime, when the suspect allegedly told her “If you tell anyone we’ll send people after you.”
Auburn still perfect: Christian Okoro scored a season-high 18 points, including two free throws with 1.6 seconds left in overtime, to lift No. 14 Auburn to an 81-78 victory over Furman late Thursday.
The Tigers (8-0) rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit.
Samir Doughty scored on a drive with15 seconds left but Mike Bothwell drilled a 3-pointer for Furman (7-3), which quickly fouled Okoro. The freshman made both foul shots. He also pulled down nine rebounds.