If you’re an avid college basketball fan and you’ve found yourself wondering who should win SEC Coach of the Year, then you haven’t been paying very close attention.
Mike White deserves it. And I think he’ll get it.
In just two years since Billy Donovan left, White will have led Florida back to the NCAA Tournament, has them in prime position to finish top two in the SEC standings, and has the Gators hovering around the top-10 mark at No. 12 in the country with just two regular-season games remaining.
But to only examine this season of Florida basketball would be a disservice to White and what he has accomplished. His run for SEC Coach of the Year didn’t just begin at the start of this season.
It began in 2015.
It began when he accepted the Florida job two years ago, taking on one of the most difficult acts to follow in college basketball.
In his first couple months on the job, White had to scramble to secure some of Florida’s committed recruits (see: incoming freshmen KeVaughn Allen, Kevarrius Hayes) and convince others to stay (see: rising redshirt senior Dorian Finney-Smith).
Some of those players had promised loyalty to Donovan, not to White. They could have bailed for a steadier program with a tenured coach.
Somehow, White convinced them.
And, in retrospect, that was the easy part.
White’s first season was likely one of the hardest basketball challenges he had ever faced.
As it began, nearly every question White received from the media had some connection to Donovan.
How much pressure do you feel to follow in his footsteps?
How do you get your players to believe in your plan?
How long will it take you to reach the NCAA Tournament?
White answered all of those questions. With class.
He explained that he wasn’t trying to replace a legend. No, that would be impossible.
He was only trying to rebuild a program whose culture had been depleted with the loss of their leader, whose players were uncertain about what direction UF would be headed and whose fan base lusted for winning after a 16-17 final season under Donovan.
So far, White has delivered. He already has more wins (44) in his first two seasons than Donovan had in his first two (27). He has remained competitive in recruiting while persuading the players he inherited to buy into his plan. And he has quickly earned the respect of coaches and basketball experts around the league.
“Mike has them playing through his eyes now,” South Carolina coach Frank Martin said after Florida defeated the Gamecocks 81-66 last week. “Last year was obviously him trying to get guys to see what he sees. That is definitely happening right now.”
That much is clear.
No. 12 Florida is 23-6 and will be one of the favorites to win the SEC Tournament in March, and much of it is because of White.
He has improved on last season’s eighth-place SEC finish and transformed the Gators back into one of the conference’s elite.
He has quickly forced Gainesville to temporarily forget about a coaching legend, distracted by the success of the current team.
He has once again made Florida an attractive landing spot for top recruits who want to play in the SEC.
And he did it all in a little over a year.
“As an opponent, it’s fun to watch,” Martin said. “It’s not fun to play against.”
Award the man SEC Coach of the Year.
No one is more deserving.
Ian Cohen is a sports writer. His column appears on Tuesdays. Contact him at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
UF coach Mike White looks on in Florida's 68-66 loss to Vanderbilt on Jan. 21, 2017, at the O'Connell Center.
