Twenty years ago, Donovan was shooting threes for Pitino and Providence at the Final Four in New Orleans. If you believe the rumors, he might be headed to Kentucky as the next coach of the Wildcats as earlier as next week.

That would pretty much put Donovan, 41, on top of his profession.

“You have to commend them so much,” Howland said. “To be the defending national champion, have all five starters back, to go through and have the kind of year they’ve had, with everybody shooting at them because they’re No. 1, is quite a feat in its own right.

“Billy is obviously a great coach who has really done a great job at both ends of the floor, and off the floor, in helping these kids reach their potential.”

John Thompson III is only 41 years old. Big John says his son is way ahead of where he was at the same age. It helps to have good teachers, like John Thompson and Pete Carril.

They are calling Young John a rookie this week because this is his first Final Four as a coach. Some rookie. He’s been here three times with his Pops. The Final Four is part of the family scrapbook.

“I don’t necessarily think that’s an advantage,” JT III said. “There’s still a lot going on, for lack of a better way to put. That has changed since when Pops was coaching, when they could go 30, 40 miles out of town and not have to deal with a lot of the stuff that is going on.

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“The attention that the program is receiving is positive. You have to enjoy it. At the same time, we do need to hone in and stay focused on trying to win.”

Sounds like the new guys know what they are talking about. That doesn’t mean we have to put the Hall of Famers and legends out to pasture. Not yet.

But things are changing.

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