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Bulls’ Billy Donovan reveals true focus amid swirling Kentucky rumors

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Scotty White | Last updated 4/10/24

The Chicago Bulls have just three games left in the regular season before they play the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament. There is still a lot to play for in those three games as the Bulls want to get the nine seed so that they can host that play-in game. It’s an important time, and Bulls head coach Billy Donovan is being talked about as a potential candidate for the Kentucky basketball vacancy during this crucial stretch.

Before Billy Donovan was an NBA coach for the Bulls and the Oklahoma City Thunder, he coached the college game, and he was extremely successful. He also started his coaching career as an assistant with the Kentucky basketball team. He would be a good candidate.

Donovan found most of his coaching success with the Florida basketball team. He had a lot of great squads while he coached the Gators, and he led the program to back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007. No team had won back-to-back national titles since then until UConn pulled off the feat earlier this week.

Billy Donovan is focused on the Bulls

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) defends Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) during the first quarter at United Center. © David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The Bulls are hearing their head coach’s name come up in these rumors, but Donovan was asked about them on Tuesday, and he is focused on this Chicago team.

“I have not been contacted by anybody,” Donovan said, according to an article from NBA.com. “My total commitment and focus is here to this team and to this group. I think with what we’ve been through this year and the way we started (5-14), I give our guys a lot of credit for hanging in there and battling through some of the things we had to battle through, and I’m with them on that..A lot of this stuff sometimes turns out to be speculation. I’m happy here at this level. It is flattering to be mentioned with a school and a tradition like that in this game. My focus has been on our team and trying to help these guys get better and trying to close out these last games to the best of our ability, try to find a way to get a home game for the play-in, see if we can find our way into the playoffs.”

Donovan is focused at the task at hand and it doesn’t sound like he is in the running to be the next head coach of the Kentucky basketball team. He wants to get his Bulls into the playoffs.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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