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Billy the Kid’s kid will play for him at Florida

NCAA Basketball Tournament - Louisville v Florida

PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 24: Head coach Billy Donovan of the Florida Gators reacts late in the second half while taking on the Louisville Cardinals during the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball West Regional Final at US Airways Center on March 24, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

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Florida has added a transfer to their roster, and his name will probably sound familiar.

Billy Donovan, the son and namesake of the Florida head coach, will be joining the program as a walk-on after spending two seasons playing at Catholic University, a D-III program in Washington DC. He averaged 5.9 points as a sophomore.

“Obviously, I’ve been around my dad and Florida [basketball] a long time, but now I’ll be a part of it all as a member of the team. It’s exciting,” the younger Donovan told GatorZone.com. “I’m really still processing it all.”

According to GatorZone, the younger Donovan initially headed to DC with an eye on a career in politics, even interning at the Department of Homeland Security. But with a basketball career that was far from embarrassing, and anything-but headed for the professional ranks, he decided to head back to Gainesville to try and follow in his dad’s footsteps as a coach.

Donovan will have to sit out the 2012-2013 season with fellow transfers Dorian Finney-Smith and Damontre Harris.

“Obviously, it’s great to have him back,” said Billy Donovan, the coach. “Growing up here, he loved Florida and loved Gainesville, but being my son I think he felt he needed to go off on his own and experience his own thing -- and I was fine with that. I actually tried to talk him into staying there. But I never wanted it to be like I was telling him what to do career-wise. I think he needs to figure that out on his own. My job, my wife’s job, is to be supportive and help put him in the best situation for him to pursue what he wants to pursue.”

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.