Florida Basketball underwent a wild transformation this past offseason. One could argue the Gator basketball program was the second best basketball program in the SEC. The Gators are only 7th in the SEC in all-time wins but have more Final Four appearances than everyone except Arkansas and Kentucky, and more Championships than everyone except Kentucky. So, expectations in Gainesville, especially post-Billy Donovan era, are different.
Which is why Mike White, after a mostly successful seven-year run leading the Gators, opted for a soft landing a little further up north in Athens, Georgia. Rather than enter a hot seat year after missing the tournament for just the second time in seven seasons - in a year when his best player missed six games, mind you - he left for a far worse job and a much bigger rebuild.