Scott Carter at GatorZone confirms this morning's tentative report and tacks on another name: Florida has hired John Pelphrey and Norm Roberts as assistant coaches, reuniting Billy Donovan with two longtime friends.
Donovan announced Tuesday that he has hired former Gators assistant John Pelphrey, who spent six seasons on Donovan’s staff at Florida from 1996-2002, and Norm Roberts, who most recently served as head coach at St. John’s for six seasons.
In what has been an offseason of transition for Donovan, Pelphrey and Roberts provide experience and stability, as assistants Richard Pitino and Rob Lanier are departing the staff to accept other positions.
So Donovan loses all of his assistant coaches from 2010-11 — Larry Shyatt heads to Wyoming, while Pitino presumably leaves to coach with his dad at Louisville and Lanier is Texas-bound — but gets two former head coaches who he knows and trusts? That doesn't sound like a terrible deal to me, especially because these are coaches who won't necessarily be hot commodities in the near future.
Your thoughts?