Billy Donovan Won’t Rule Out NBA Return

After winning the National Championship in 2007, Florida head coach Billy Donovan surprised many when he accepted the Magic's head coaching job.  He surprised even more people when he backed out of the comittment and returned to Florida just six days later.  One might think that Donovan is through with pursuing a career in the professional ranks, but he told Dan LeBatard of AM 790 that's not the case.

"The one thing that I think is always intriguing the older I get is the fact that [the NBA] is just all about basketball. I love the practices, I love the games, I love doing individual instruction and breaking down tape and game planning and doing those things," Donovan said, according to Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.

Donovan signed a three-year contact extension a year ago with Florida that pays him an average of $3.5MM per year through the end of the 2015/16 season.  There is a $500K buyout clause, though both sides can terminate the contract without cause for a one-month window between March 1 and April 1. 

The deal is tied for the second-most lucrative in college, right along with Michigan State's Tom Izzo and behind Kentucky's John Calipari.  The contract Donovan was set to sign with Orlando would have paid him $27.5MM over five years.

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