Fansided

Michael White hired as Florida men’s basketball coach

By Cody Williams

Dec 14, 2014; Syracuse, NY, USA; Louisiana Tech Bulldogs head coach Michael White looks on from the sidelines against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse defeated Louisiana Tech 71-69. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 14, 2014; Syracuse, NY, USA; Louisiana Tech Bulldogs head coach Michael White looks on from the sidelines against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse defeated Louisiana Tech 71-69. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Michael White will replace Billy Donovan as Florida Gators men’s basketball head coach.

Billy Donovan leaving the Florida Gators to take a head-coaching job in the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder undoubtedly left a substantial void in the program. The Gators believe they have found the man to adequately fill that void in Michael White.

The Gators announced on Thursday that they have hired the former Louisiana Tech head coach to lead their program and follow in the footsteps of Donovan.

It took only a week for the Gators to fill the substantial shoes of Donovan, who accepted his job with the Thunder last Thursday. Donovan won two national championships as the coach of the Gators and is the program’s all-time leader in wins.

However, White was certainly a sought-after commodity in the coaching ranks of college basketball. The Tennessee Volunteers and the Missouri Tigers, both conference foes of Florida, were vying for White’s services in the past year, but White remained at Louisiana Tech, signing a six-year extension prior to the start of the 2014-15 season.

As for White’s success at his former gig, he certainly built an impressive body of work. He went 101-40 overall in his four seasons with the Bulldogs and either won or tied for the regular season conference titles in each of the past three seasons. However, he never took the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament as they were bounced in the conference tournament in leagues that only received one bid.

There’s never anything that you can say with 100 percent certainty when transitioning from one head coach to the next, but White seems like a great fit to follow Donovan at Florida.

Possibly the biggest thing that works in White’s favor as he starts his tenure with the Gators is that he likes his teams to play at a similar pace to that in Donovan’s style of coaching. Not only will that make the acclimation process for Florida’s current roster to White’s style much quicker and smoother, but it will also allow White to step right in and give a similar pitch to recruits who fit that style as well.

What also can’t be overlooked in this is the fact that White has big-time college basketball ties. He’s the son of Kevin White, who happens to be the athletic director at Duke. In case you hadn’t heard, they have a pretty decent basketball team down in Durham.

Undoubtedly the biggest challenge awaiting White, though, is the high-pressure recruiting wars that await him. He’s done extensive recruiting in Florida while at Louisiana Tech, but the stakes and star-levels of recruits are much higher now that he’s working under the Gators’ banner. It will be a couple of years before we see how he fares in that regard, though. As for the team he’ll be coaching next season, White should slide right in and hardly miss a step as Donovan’s replacement.

More from Mens Basketball