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A Conversation With Mike O'Donnell

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 27, 2007

LAKE BUENA VISTA - University of Central Florida senior Mike O'Donnell is considered one of the best point guards in Conference USA. The former Largo High standout began his collegiate career with North Carolina State in 2003-04, then sat out the next season after transferring to UCF.

During last weekend's Old Spice Classic at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, O'Donnell sat down with The Tampa Tribune.

Take us back to your days at Largo High. Is it true you set eight records there?

I think it might have been eight. I don't keep track of that stuff. I think my mom might, but I don't. Largo High School was a great experience for me. Coach Phil Price believed in me from the get-go, when he started me as a freshman on varsity. I couldn't have been more than 5-5, maybe a buck-fifteen. He was the first person besides my parents and eighth-grade coach to really believe that I could play at a high level.

What led you to sign with North Carolina State?

I was getting recruited by them pretty much my whole senior year, and the head coach, Herb Sendek, came and saw me at one game I happened to play pretty well. He offered me a scholarship after that game. I had been up there on a visit, and I loved the school. I thought it would have been a really good fit for me, so I committed shortly after that.

What prompted you to leave the Wolfpack and return to Florida?

I didn't really believe the system was appropriate for my game. They ran the Princeton system and kind of slowed it down and walked it up, and that worked down the shot clock a little bit. I really felt it just kind of inhibited me a little bit. No bad feelings at all. I love Coach Sendek. He believed in me when very, very few high-major schools did, so I had the utmost respect for Herb Sendek and his staff. And I loved North Carolina State University, but I felt it just wasn't a good fit for me.

How did you land at UCF?

Coach Kirk Speraw recruited me in high school, and I called him immediately because that's where I thought I would have been a really good fit to transfer.

The Knights were on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid last season. Can this year's team make it?

Absolutely. It's a shame. Friday's overtime loss to nationally ranked Kansas State is what we call a March game, and this would have really helped us on Selection Sunday. We're a little disappointed, but we have a few other really big games that we'll be able to play. And playing a close game against a really good team is going to help us when we play against UConn and Ole Miss.

Are you looking forward to returning to the Tampa Bay area for Saturday night's game against South Florida?

I'm really excited about that. Hopefully, we'll have a bit of a crowd over from Largo - a lot of family, a lot of friends - for that game. I have a lot of friends who go to USF. USF's a very good program, but it will be nice coming back to that area. I haven't been home in a little while. It will be really fun.

Do any games in your college career stand out in your mind as being particularly memorable?

There's a lot of games. When we beat Duke at N.C. State - they might have been ranked first in the nation. I think that was huge. At UCF, when we beat Houston at home, I hit a shot to win the game with a couple of seconds left. I don't think people realize how big of a win that was for our program because that got us second in Conference USA. That was the first time anybody really kind of opened an eye toward UCF because we were having a really good year. It was a really special moment.

What would you like to do after graduation?

I'm not totally set on it, but I think my past could lead me into coaching. I've always had a bit of desire to coach. I don't think there's any way I could get away from the game. It's just been a part of my life since kindergarten. I think I could do pretty well. I've had great teachers. ... That, or hopefully some type of sports broadcasting, maybe on the radio. I'm not 100 percent sure yet. It's a little ways off, but it's close enough to where I've still got to be thinking about it.

Bob Bellone

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