It was an opportunity described as too good to pass up for former Florida men’s basketball coach Billy Donovan: an opportunity to make the leap to coaching in the NBA, the pinnacle of his profession.
Whatever initial shock that developed in Gainesville following Donovan's departure to coach the Oklahoma City Thunder was soon tempered by realism, an understanding that Donovan had given nearly two decades of work and devotion to developing the University of Florida into a perennial basketball powerhouse.
"It definitely was a shock," redshirt senior forward Alex Murphy said. "I was here in Gainesville late that week … so I was able to see him in person. It was emotional, but it was exciting, too.
"I don’t think he would have been able to live with himself if he passed up on that one."
Following his farewell press conference on May 4, Donovan said he was at peace with the decision to move on from Florida.
Now it’s time for the players he left behind to do the same — live with Donovan’s decision and become at peace with it.
"Coach Donovan built this place, he built Florida basketball," Murphy said. "But I think … with this new staff just from the little that we’ve seen I think we’re still headed in absolutely the right direction."
Winning wasn’t the standard last season, as Florida staggered to a disappointing 16-17 finish that kept the Gators out of the postseason in Donovan’s first losing season since 1997-98.
If anything, new Florida coach Mike White knows more about winning than most players on the roster.
White’s Louisiana Tech teams won at least 27 games the past three seasons, and he coached the Bulldogs to a 50-16 conference record during his four-year tenure in Ruston, Louisiana.
But that was then, and this is now.
This is the Southeastern Conference, a league White is familiar with from playing with Ole Miss from 1995-99, but it’s an entirely different beast when you’re coaching the action in a suit and tie from the sidelines.
Although he had proven himself in Ruston, and to the basketball pundits who labeled him an up-and-comer in coaching, White’s latest challenge is proving himself to the Florida players left in the wake of Donovan’s exit.
For Murphy, who transferred to UF from Duke in Dec. 2013, he said the initial shock was soon replaced with excitement after hearing White had been hired.
"I had heard his name was at the top of the list, like a couple days before that," Murphy said. "Everything I heard was positive. Great coach, great person. I was anxious to get down here and meet him for myself."
Murphy, along with his teammates, are back in Gainesville for the summer, ready to get back to work — and meet the new staff.
"In the short time we’ve been together, he’s lived up to everything that I’ve heard," Murphy said about meeting White. "Already he’s developed a relationship with a lot of us guys."
One of those guys is Devin Robinson, who is excited about playing for the first Florida team led by White.
"Last year is over with. It was rough," Robinson said. "But coming in this year, we’ve got a whole different mindset of what we need to get done and what it takes to win."
That mindset is to play team-first basketball – something Donovan repeatedly said the team struggled with last season.
While the growth into a team-first basketball team won’t happen overnight, Florida is hoping it happens under White.
"If we can take some of the mistakes that we made, and some of the things that happened last year and learn from them and help us grow, that would be the best thing," Murphy said. "I think the culture here is going to remain the same. Winning is the standard and I think we’re all excited to continue that."
Follow Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311
Devin Robinson dunks during Florida's win against Vanderbilt on Feb. 18.
