Turner Thorne has priorities right

Florida Gators coach Billy Donovan was still plucking the confetti out of his hair Monday when the question came. Is he leaving Florida to become Kentucky’s next basketball coach?

“I’m going to enjoy this moment right now,” Donovan said. “All that stuff will be addressed, but now isn’t the time to address it.”

End of story?

Hardly.

Donovan was asked about the Wildcats job again on Tuesday. He’ll be quizzed about it every day until he A) boards a plane for Kentucky, or B) professes his allegiance to Florida (and the new contract he’ll almost certainly receive).

It might seem rude, the media peppering Donovan with questions about his future when he’s just begun to celebrate a second straight national championship.

But such is the state of college basketball this time of year. Coaches become seduced by the bigger paycheck, the bigger job and, in their minds, the greater opportunity.

The March Madness is why John Beilein is leaving a comfortable gig at West Virginia for a troubled Michigan program. Why Gail Goestenkors is dumping Duke for Texas. And why Donovan, more than likely, will take the Kentucky job.

Charli Turner Thorne could have scratched the itch, too.

This would have been the perfect time for Turner Thorne to leave Arizona State. The Sun Devils’ appearance in the Elite Eight made her a hot commodity. Florida and the University of Washington were just two of the schools interested — and presumably willing to write a check for around $500,000 per year.

(Turner Thorne made $275,000 this past season).

No one would have blamed Turner Thorne had she cashed in on her success. That’s what coaches do.

But that’s not what Turner Thorne did. Instead of bolting, she signed a contract extension through the 2011-2012 season that will pay her far less than what she would have made on the open market.

Why?

Because Turner Thorne gets it.

She understands there are more important things in life than money. She knows that just because the grass seems greener on some other campus doesn’t mean there aren’t a few weeds about to take root.

Most importantly, instead of being envious of her coaching peers, she values what she has at ASU.

When you think about it, that’s a pretty peaceful way of going through life.

“It’s easy to get caught up in market value,” Turner Thorne said. “How much would I make there, should I be making more here? But I don’t have some place I’m trying to get to. I’m there already.”

Turner Thorne believes she can win a national championship at ASU. But that’s not the only reason she stayed.

She has no interest in following a legend like Texas’ Jody Conradt. She wants to create her own legacy rather than borrow off someone else’s.

“The tradition thing doesn’t attract me at all,” she said.

Turner Thorne also is acutely aware that the more high-profile the job, the less time she’ll have to spend with her husband and three sons. On Sunday, after she got back home from meetings at the Final Four in Cleveland, her kids confiscated her Blackberry and informed her it was a “no technology day.”

“It was awesome,” Turner Thorne said. “If you chase the dollar you’re back to 90 hours a week instead of the 65 you work now, and you’re never around. I would rather continue the relationships I have here and be able to have some family time.”

They’ll kick her out of the coaching fraternity for that kind of talk. There’s no guarantee Turner Thorne will stay at ASU until she’s old and gray. The perfect job might open, the leadership in the athletic department might change and not be to her liking, or she may decide she needs a change. She could be fired, too. But it’s refreshing to know that after 11 years on the job, Turner Thorne isn’t looking to leave. She’s just settling in.

“I guess this is just a great fit for me,” she said. “I am very blessed.”

You can’t take that to the bank. But you can take it home.