Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ? After Orlando got its man, after Billy Donovan got his millions, after Gainesville got its hug goodbye and after the media got two news conferences 90 miles apart, Adam Allen got the only thing coming to him.
A phone call.
“I was out and couldn’t take it,” the Milton High senior said.
Donovan left a message.
“He said what everyone from (Florida) is saying, that they’re going to hire the best coach for the job, don’t panic, everyone’s going to be happy,” said Allen, who is part of an incoming recruiting class that Rivals.com rated tops in the basketball nation. “That’s what they’re all supposed to say, I guess.”
The kid’s not in college yet and already sounds like he’s got an education. Actually, he’s still getting it. Another lesson is coming soon.
“I definitely want to go to Florida, but if things don’t work out with the new coach, I’ll get my release and go to another school,” Allen said.
Uh, no.
“I think I can do that,” he said.
You can’t.
“I think I can,” he said.
No recruit can. This is how the NCAA welcomes its student-athletes. It’s how schools typically treat prized recruits. It’s a double-standard that’s a standard procedure across college athletics to keep the big-time machinery rolling. There’s nothing wrong with grown-ups grabbing millions and leaving town overnight, as Donovan did.
But 18-year-old kids are signed and can’t just leave the school.
Already, Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley has said recruits won’t be released from their letters-of-intent until they meet the new coach, if there is a new coach.
Published reports Sunday night indicated Donovan is asking for his old job back and it’s up to Orlando whether to let him return to Gainesville.
The AD didn’t say the Gator signees could or couldn’t walk after the new coach arrived. He just said it wouldn’t be considered until then.
Oh, sure, sure, recruits don’t sign with coaches, they sign with schools. Or, as Foley told reporters: “This is a special place to be.”
Tell that to the 18-year-old kid who Donovan wooed for a couple of years. Who Donovan drove across the state several times to see. Who Donovan asked how he did on tests, at dances, on vacations. Who Donovan ultimately swayed Allen to play at Florida rather than the half-dozen other schools he was seriously considering.
“He was a reason I went to Florida,” Allen said. “I definitely thought I could fit in his system.”
This isn’t to jump on Florida, Donovan or Foley. They are just playing by the rules, the same as any coach or school. Every school goes through this.
“It’s a business,” Allen said. “I don’t blame coach Donovan.
“It’s a big amount of money and he’s a coach that likes the pro game. It’s kind of funny, because I thought we were in the clear when he turned down the (Memphis) Grizzlies and the Kentucky jobs.”
