Florida coach Billy Donovan has found a summer job.
On Tuesday, Donovan was named head coach of the U.S. men’s junior national basketball team for the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, held from June 16-20 in Sao Sebastiao do Paraiso, Brazil.
Joining Donovan, the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee — chaired by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim — selected Gonzaga’s Mark Few and VCU coach Shaka Smart as assistant coaches on the U.S. team’s staff.
Smart worked under Donovan as an assistant coach at UF from 2008-2009.
“It’s always an honor to be selected to represent your country, and I’m incredibly thankful for this opportunity to be a part of USA Basketball,” Donovan said in a statement. “I have great respect for Shaka Smart and Mark Few, and I’m looking forward to working alongside them.”
Donovan will open training camp on June 5 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., to the approximately 25-30 incoming college freshmen and rising high school seniors trying out for a roster spot on the team. Only players born on or after Jan. 1, 1994 are eligible.
After three or four days, Donovan will make cuts and name his finalists for the team, which ultimately has to be trimmed to 12 players by the time they leave for Brazil.
This is the second consecutive year Donovan has worked with USA Basketball following a stint last June as a court coach for the 2011 U19 World Championship Team.
That squad featured current Gators center Patric Young and went on to finish fifth in the tournament.
“Coach Donovan has been one of the premier coaches in college basketball over the past 15 years. He’s won at the highest level of college basketball, and I’m sure that experience will translate well to the USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team,” Boeheim said. “The USA Men’s U18 Team is going to benefit from having some of brightest teachers in college basketball guiding them.”
The USA is the reigning champion from the 2010 U18 FIBA Americas Championship, which also had Young in its lineup.
Donovan’s squad will compete against seven other teams in the 2012 U18 zone qualifier, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. The top four finishers in the tournament will also qualify for next summer’s 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship.
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Florida coach Billy Donovan will helm the U.S. men's junior basketball team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Donovan's assistants will be Gonzaga head coach Mark Few and former UF assistant Shaka Smart.
