Billy the Kidder

by user DNL

Last Thursday, I went to a fundraising dinner, where Billy Donovan, the Once and Future King of Florida College Basketball, was honored as "Coach of the Year." Following in the footsteps of the likes of Bill Self and Rick Pitino, Donovon was being praised by a very interesting, and truly important organization: Student Athletes. I'll let them explain their mission:

At Student Athletes Inc., we believe every child should have a future filled with promise and hope. We believe every child, regardless of economic circumstance, should feel free to dream big dreams.

At Student Athletes, our mission is to make dreams come true for kids in the Tri-State [NY/CT/NJ --DNL] area by providing educational, recreational, tutorial and guidance services for those who need support because of their economic and social factors.

We provide adult supervision and guidance, often fulfilling needs unmet either at home and or at school.

Our programs help children become mature, self-reliant adults.

I knew virtually nothing of the organization before the dinner other than the above. But after hearing one of the program's alums speak, and after learning more throughout the evening, I'm convinced of the organization's greatness. In short, they focus on inner-city kids with a passion for the game (typically, basketball, as a number of their alumni played in the NBA, unfortunately including Jayson Williams) and use that passion as a motivational tool for educational and character improvement. The results are astounding, with 95% of their students going onto college.

In short, you could state Student Athlete's motto as this:

Obligations first. Basketball second.

Do your homework, get good grades, respect yourself, respect your teammates. Only then can you take the court. It doesn't matter if you're Jay Williams or Herb Schloblotik.

Which is why Billy Donovan's speech was, well, somewhat insulting. The entire text is below:

--end speech--

That's right. Donovan was a no-show. The stated excuse was that he was too busy hammering out his contract (with either Orlando Magic or University of Florida, who knows), and the unstated one was that he didn't want the glare of the (press-free) New York crowed focused on him and his transgressions.

Life's tough. Donovan is being honored as a role model, and should have acted like one.

JuTMSY4Hall of Famer

409 days ago

Score 1

I find it suprising that his excuse was contract related...and very unprofessional. In my limited professional experience (about 2.5 years of legitimate work), I've also been told that if you say you're going to do something, you better well do it...that's how you move up...

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KelsdadAll-Star

408 days ago

Score 1

I had thought about offering you a challenge on a no show Dan, but no way I thought he'd pass up a speaking engagement, especially since he had likely already cashed the check. Now he has to pay these people back for the no show.

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