Fast Break
College basketball
Donovan stays; players leave
Florida coach Billy Donovan wanted to stay. His star players knew it was time to go.
Donovan spurned a chance to return to Kentucky and take over the tradition-rich program, saying Thursday he hopes to build the same in Gainesville.
He’ll have to do it without Corey Brewer, Taurean Green, Al Horford and Joakim Noah. The four juniors will enter the NBA draft, saying they have accomplished all they could at Florida.
“I’m happy and I’m sad,” Donovan said. “Happy because I’ve never seen a group of kids grow the way these guys have grown, and sad that I’m not going to have a chance to coach them anymore.’
The Gators became the first team to win back-to-back titles since Duke in 1992.
Kentucky received permission to talk to Donovan about its coaching vacancy Wednesday. The coach and Kentucky A.D. Mitch Barnhart spoke early Thursday morning.
College basketball
Hawes to declare, won’t hire agent
Washington freshman center Spencer Hawes he will declare for the NBA draft but won’t hire an agent, leaving open the possibility of returning to the Huskies.
The 7-footer led the Huskies in scoring, averaging nearly 15 points even though he was slowed by injuries and illness for part of the season. Hawes was named to the Pac-10 Conference all-freshman team.
“Everyone has kind of offered their advice, but no one has tried to sway me in one direction or the other,” Hawes said. “I think it’s just kind of been me sitting down and thinking about and focusing on my situation and the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong goal.”
Hawes had until April 29 to state his intentions on the draft. By declaring and not hiring an agent, he can participate in predraft camps and decide before June 18 whether to stay in the draft or return to Washington.
College football
Locker the man for Huskies
The long-awaited collegiate debut of heralded home-state quarterback Jake Locker will likely come in Washington’s season opener Aug. 31 at Syracuse. Tyrone Willingham came as close as a coach can in April to naming the teenage redshirt freshman as the starting quarterback.
“If we had to play a game today, Jake Locker would be our quarterback,” Willingham said.
Willingham said the prep superstar from Ferndale, who was redshirted by Washington last season despite serious temptation to play him after Isaiah Stanback sustained a season-ending injury, would still be the No. 1 quarterback heading into spring drills even if Carl Bonnell was not still recovering from December surgery to his non-throwing shoulder. Bonnell started the last five games of UW’s 5-7 season in 2006.