Bulls Coach Donovan Shares NIL Challenges, Transfer Portal Issues

Former Florida basketball coach opens up on issues surrounding college sports today

The college sports world has changed drastically in just a matter of years. With the transfer portal changing rapidly and the NIL industry growing since it was allowed in the summer of 2021, it's much different than it was years earlier. 

Billy Donovan,  currently the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, was a college basketball coach from 1989-2015, including stints with Kentucky, Marshall, and most notably Florida as the head coach, opened up on the issues in the college sports world. Here's what Donovan said during an episode of The OGs Show with Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem. 

"What happens if one of these guys does get drafted and they sign a four-year deal, and they're not happy in the situation? They can't leave. And I think you've got to be able to work your way through some adversity and difficulty sometimes to find out a little more about yourself, and the way it's set up, there's no resiliency of going through anything that's difficult and tough in life."

Billy Donovan believes NIL and the use of transfer portals are causing young athletes to avoid facing challenges

"What happens if one of these guys does get drafted... and they sign a four-year deal, and they're not happy in the situation? They can't leave. And I think you've… pic.twitter.com/ocRhkI7vwg

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 2, 2024

Both college football and college basketball have seen a lot of movement with the portal and NIL being instituted as players search for other programs in order to find more opportunities on the court and off the court. 

Donovan led the Gators to back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007, featuring a stacked roster of future NBA pros including Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer, who all would have dominated the NIL game during their run in Gainesville.

Donovan has been in the NBA since 2015 with the Oklahoma City Thunder and then the Bulls.