His Gators have had something bad happen to them every year since losing to Michigan State in the 2000 championship game.
This season, leading scorer Matt Walsh tore ligaments in his ankle and staff assistant Major Parker was charged with selling cocaine.
``I would love to go through a year and say no one's going to get hurt, no one's going to get injured, everybody's going to have a great attitude, everybody's going to work hard, everything's going to be great. But it generally doesn't work that way,'' Donovan said.
``I think most people are dealing with some form adversity. That's part of the deal. There's nothing we can do about it now. We've just got to move forward.''
Walsh severely sprained his left ankle Dec. 29, and even though he could return next month, Donovan said the 6-foot-6 forward probably won't be the same again this season.
Walsh has traded in his walking boot for an air cast, but he's still weeks away from running.
``People may look at it and think once we get Matt back, he's just going to pick up right where he left off. That's the furthest thing from the truth,'' said Donovan, whose team plays at Auburn on Wednesday night.
``I have no doubt that Matt Walsh is going to play hard and give us everything he has. But with the type of injury he has, he's going to be dealing with pain the rest of the year and it will be hard for him to get to the level that he was at.''
Walsh's absence leaves the Gators with just 10 scholarship players; sophomore forward Mohamed Abukar transferred to San Diego State last month.
Florida also is short a staff member.
Parker pleaded not guilty Tuesday to five counts of cocaine distribution. Trial is scheduled for Feb. 14.
The 26-year-old former Florida forward was charged with four counts of distributing cocaine, and one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.
If convicted, Parker faces a maximum of 40 years in prison, plus four years of probation and up to $2 million in fines.
He has been suspended indefinitely.
Although the facts and faces change from year to year, the problems are nothing new for Donovan, who is in his ninth season at Florida.
Swingman Christian Drejer shockingly left the team last February to play professional basketball in Europe.
Leading scorer Matt Bonner badly injured his foot in 2003 and hobbled through the last four games. The Gators lost three of them, getting bounced from the NCAA tournament in the second round.
Florida booted guard Teddy Dupay from the team before the 2001-02 season for violating NCAA rules. It caused tension among his teammates that finally boiled over when Brett Nelson and LaDarius Halton got into a fight at practice before the NCAA tournament.
``These are things that none of us can control,'' senior forward David Lee said. ``You just try to make adjustments as you go along and do the best you can. It makes us stronger having experience in that category, but you never like to have these sort of setbacks.''
The 2000-01 season was the toughest.
Donovan's wife gave birth to a stillborn child, a tragic loss that wore on the coach and his family all year. He blocked out the pain by spending extra time in his office and worked himself sick literally. Donovan had to be hospitalized in February 2001 after a monthlong bout with the flu.
His team also had several injuries. Dupay missed several weeks with a herniated disc in his back, Justin Hamilton tore a ligament in his knee and was lost for the season, and forward Brent Wright missed the postseason with a foot injury.
Now, four years later, Walsh is out and forward Adrian Moss is slowed with back problems.
``We've had to deal with it,'' Donovan said. ``The challenge for us is it's happened to our leading scorer or a guy we run our offense through or a main guy on our team. In a capsule, that's life. You're going to have to deal with adversity and different challenges.''
http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/1/143494