From DG – “Sources at Florida and N.C. State not only deny the Billy Donovan-NCSU rumor, they mock the ridiculous, illogical, completely baseless and fundamentally insane nature of the whole thing.”
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It was a wild day on the Internet this afternoon as apparently erroneous rumors broke that Billy Donovan was in Raleigh visiting/interviewing for the NC State basketball position. The rumors picked up steam shortly before 5:00 pm and then reached fever pitch with this report on twitter:
979ESPNRadio 97.9 ESPN Radio
Reliable source within ESPN tells us Billy Donovan is in Raleigh interviewing for N.C. State Job. Wow.
Additionally, Mike Lederer reported:
Breaking News: Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan is currently in Raleigh, North Carolina interviewing for the vacant N.C. State head coaching position sources say.
Two sources have confirmed that Donovan is in fact in Raleigh and has likely already spoken with Athletic Director Debbie Yow.
Here is a link to Mike’s background. We have no clue if he is credible or not.
This was quickly shot down by Dave Telep of ESPN with this series of tweets(read from the bottom up):
DaveTelep Dave Telep
Billy Donovan was in Crescent Beach, Fla., most of the day today. If you pass him driving home on HWY 301, shoot him a wave!
3 hours ago Favorite Retweet ReplyDaveTelep Dave Telep
Regarding Donovan: two titles in Fla, helped build a church, he’s rich, well paid. Come on people, use your brains a little here.
3 hours agoDaveTelep Dave Telep
I’m not home in Raleighwood but I know this much: Billy Donovan isn’t in Raleighwood either. He’s most definitely not a candidate at NCSU
So where does the search stand? J.P. Giglio gave us some updates tonight as well(read from the bottom up):
jpgiglio Joe Giglio
Those aren’t the only two options, just where the search is at …. both coaches still have games left
22 minutes ago Favorite Undo Retweet Replyjpgiglio Joe Giglio
Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall, as he has been all along, and VCU’s Shaka Smart, are the main targets
27 minutes agojpgiglio Joe Giglio
Debbie Yow is scheduled to go to the Final Four
29 minutes agojpgiglio Joe Giglio
N.C. State search unlikely to end this week
At this point, it appears all big name candidates are off the board and the focus has turned to up and comers and other mid-majors. Gregg Marshall is a name that is familiar to a lot of NC State fans from his success at Winthrop and his flirtation with our job 5 years ago. So it isn’t a surprise that he would be on Yow’s list after doing a very respectable rebuilding job at Wichita St. If you weren’t watching, then Wichita St. pounded Washington St. by 30+ points tonight in the NIT semi-finals.
When Marshall’s name comes up, immediately it will draw comments about personality issues. Regardless, he has built two programs from the ground up, been to the NCAA tournament 7 times, and is making a great run in this year’s NIT. Essentially, he has done nothing but win at a high level his entire career.
There has been a trend in recent years with successful mid-majors turning down major conference opportunities. Brad Stevens stayed at Butler after the run to the finals last year. Chris Mack turned down a $2 million per year, 8 year deal from Tennessee to stay at Xavier(NCAA issues at UT might have been a concern) this weekend. Richmond’s Chris Mooney turned down Georgia Tech although it has been speculated that it may not have even been an increase in pay.
So would Marshall take our job? Opinions vary:
TheBigLead Jason Mcintyre
As of today, i heard Marshall isnt an option at NCSU. okl or stays RT @GottliebShow: My guess is NC State gets Shaka, Marshall the back-up
Fortunately for NC State, another mid-major has emerged with VCU’s amazing run to the Final Four led by Shaka Smart. Smart is charismatic, intelligent, has a chip on his shoulder, has pedigree having worked for Oliver Purnell and Billy Donovan, recruiting experience throughout NC State’s geographic region, national recruiting experience at Florida, and a style of play that will attract players and sell lots of tickets.
In terms of fit for our job, the only thing he lacks is a long track record. However, his potential and room for growth appears almost unlimited. I have said for years that the easiest way for NC State to hire an elite coach is to hire them before they establish themselves at an Arizona(Miller) or a Texas(Barnes) when hiring them away is near impossible. He is a much more attractive candidate than Sean Miller was five years ago. Miller had only been at Xavier for 2 years and his results were average relative to Thad Matta, Skip Prosser and Pete Gillen previously. Should we have hired Sean Miller?
From Smart’s perspective, the NC State job appears to be right in his sweet spot. He and his wife reside in Richmond, so Raleigh is similar enough where the move makes sense(despite three moves recently to Clemson, to Gainesville and then to Richmond). At Clemson, he recruited NC, SC, and GA. At Florida, he recruited Florida and nationally. At VCU, he surely has built connections in Richmond, Tidewater, and the DC metro area. With the buzz from the Final Four run, he should be able to keep the roster and recruiting class together to give himself a chance to win immediately.
Essentially, it is a match made in heaven from both sides and the timing is perfect. He is the hottest young coach in the country, we have a job that suits him, and we have the money to pay what he is going to command. In my opinion, he would recruit at a higher level than either Herb Sendek or Sidney Lowe who combined to bring a top 15 recruiting haul since 1998. His predecessor at VCU, Anthony Grant, got $1.8 million per year from Alabama to give you a ballpark idea of what it will take to land Smart. In my opinion, it could end up taking more than $2 million to get Shaka to Raleigh. His team is built around 4 seniors so there is a reason to cash in now. But if he wins a national title this weekend, then can he really leave?
For those holding out hope that Yow is sending smoke screens to Giglio and his pals, then one NC State website(PackInsider) has stuck to its guns that something is going on regarding Billy Donovan:
Our sources come from people involved in coaching circles. From people who are not being swayed by the Parker Search Firm and by media hype. Could we be wrong? Absolutely, we could have been wrong on every breaking story we’ve ever released, but we haven’t been. Why think that those same people are giving us bad information now? We don’t and we trust what we’ve been told
Check the link and read the whole post from Pack Insider Staff.
As far as the Donovan rumors, various authors have heard Donovan rumors for a month+ from lots of different places. However, it just never made sense to us. I did do some research into Yow’s and Donovan’s background looking for a connection or something that would give us reason to believe the rumors. I stumbled across this old article detailing how Donovan built Florida and his confrontations with South Carolina coach Eddie Fogler and then Kansas coach Roy Williams:
Similarly, Miller’s decision to forgo Lexington and, especially, Lawrence, for sunny Gainesville sent such a shock wave through college basketball that an enraged Kansas coach Roy Williams sicced the NCAA on Florida—and didn’t care who knew it. “I don’t care who Skinny signs with,†said Williams, after his final visit to Miller’s hometown last fall, “I’m turning Florida in.
Never mind that a 10-month NCAA investigation, completed in August, cleared Donovan’s staff of the five allegations made by Kansas. In the murky, rumor-fueled world of recruiting, the mere fact that Williams, a squeaky-clean figure whose public acts and words are usually about as dry as grain dust, openly went after the Gators was tantamount to releasing the Starr report.
I was vague in that entry, but it should be obvious now why that entry was posted. Might the issues with Roy/UNC be a motivating factor to take the NC State job in addition to taking on a new opportunity at a basketball school with a fan base starving for success?
In the end, it doesn’t appear likely. But things can always change.
