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Donovan Rips Into Gators

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By ANDY STAPLES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 28, 2007

GAINESVILLE - Jai Lucas could only laugh and shake his head at the thought of the tongue-lashing he and his University of Florida teammates had just endured.

"It was a good message," the freshman point guard said of Coach Billy Donovan's rant after Monday's 71-48 win against Stetson. "I think he got his point across."

Moments later, Donovan offered reporters a taste of what he'd said in the locker room. Printing even the snippet Donovan offered would consume more space than was allotted for a less-than-competitive, non-conference game, but Donovan delivered the message too forcefully to ignore it.

Especially the part about the stardust.

"This program, it's not like it's been North Carolina or Kentucky or Kansas or UCLA where it's been like this for 60 years," Donovan said. "It wasn't too long ago, and it's pretty fresh and clear in my mind what it was like back in '96 and '97. They have no clue of that. In their mind, I think that they think I'm going to sprinkle stardust all over them and we just win.

"It doesn't work like that. They've got to learn what goes into this whole process. I have to tell you, they have no absolute clue or idea what it's about. None."

Donovan, already stewing after the Gators (6-1) took more bad shots than good in a loss to Florida State on Friday, couldn't believe his team came back by going down 6-1 to the lowly Hatters (2-5). So Donovan sent four players to the scorer's table to replace everyone but Lucas.

The gambit didn't work. When Florida went down 10-1, Donovan called a timeout and lit into his players.

That snapped the Gators' funk, and they cruised to a win. Still, Donovan wanted his players to understand winning is not their birthright. They need to find their passion, he said, or they will struggle.

"If there's one thing I'm disappointed in, it was that," Donovan said. "That those guys came out to start the game with that lack of energy, passion and enthusiasm."

Reporter Andy Staples can be reached at (352) 262-3719 or astaples@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Gators

INSIDE THE GAME

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Florida F Jonathan Mitchell came off the bench to score a career-high 10 points. He also blocked two shots.

STAT OF THE GAME: Only two Gators scored in double figures for the second consecutive game.

TURNING POINT: After a timeout with 15:20 remaining in the first half, the Gators turned a 10-1 deficit into a 22-14 lead.

UP NEXT: The Gators will face Vermont on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Tampa.

Report, for Donovan's entire postgame rant.

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