Florida Gators likely to replace Billy Donovan with La Tech coach

The University of Florida appears to be closer to naming its new head basketball coach, and Louisiana Tech’s Michael White appears to be the favorite.

With Billy Donovan gone to the NBA and taking the envious task of coaching Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the University of Florida has been left without a men’s head basketball coach. Athletic director Jeremy Foley has been mostly quiet in his early search to replace Donovan.

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Until now. Yahoo! Sports reports Louisiana Tech head coach Michael White has emerged as a favorite to land the coveted job. An interview is expected to take place as early as Thursday. Given the extended time Foley has had to formulate a candidate pool–it has been expected for a while Donovan would leave this year for the NBA–his landing on White as his top candidate makes it clear he’s the leading candidate.

In four seasons in Ruston, Louisiana White has accumulated over 100 wins and has better than a .700 winning percentage. Though his name is not as widely known as Brad Stevens or Shaka Smart–the last two well-known coaches from non-Power 5 conferences to be rumored to be leaving for bigger jobs (Stevens first for several jobs before surfacing as the Boston Celtics’ replacement for Doc Rivers; Shaka Smart at several big-time schools including UCLA, before taking the Texas job this offseason)–White is quietly their equal, at least in terms of success.

His resume is not as widely circulated because his team has managed to work under the radar of the top-heavy college basketball media, and the unfortunate fate of his teams to end up stuck in no-man’s land, also known as the postseason NIT.

The other benefits associated with White and his resume include his extensive knowledge and relationship with Florida high school basketball. He recruited the area while an assistant at Ole Miss, and used the talent-laded state to build a solid core at Louisiana Tech–five of his players this past season hailed from the state.

It should also be noted White was a strong possibility last offseason when the University of Tennessee lost Cuonzo Martin to UC-Berkeley, before it hired Donnie Tyndale. In hindsight, the Volunteers probably would have taken White. Then again, the odd circumstances led them in a roundabout way to get the perfect coach for the program, Rick Barnes after he was fired at Texas.

But one question remains: Is White the kind of coach who can lead the Gators back to supremacy in the Southeastern Conference where John Calipari and his one-and-done Kentucky Wildcats are king?

Logic would seem to indicate the Gators need a bigger name to compete in such an environment. But big names are not always the best fit. And, ultimately, fit is the most important element in naming the new coach.

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