Billy Donovan
Billy Donovan
William John Donovan, Jr.is an American professional basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association. He previously spent 19 seasons at the University of Florida, where his Florida Gators men's basketball teams won two NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships in 2006 and 2007. Donovan has more wins than any other coach in the history of the Florida basketball program, and he coached the Gators to more NCAA tournament appearances,...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth30 May 1965
CityRockville Centre, NY
difference year
I think a year makes a difference in a player.
shock
I think it was a shock to his system. He had always been a part of things, and then he wasn't.
enjoyed experience great hard house prepare short themselves white
I think it was a great experience for our players. Obviously, it's hard to prepare for the White House on such short notice, but I think they enjoyed themselves on the trip.
excited maybe ready today
I think they were really ready to play today and they were excited about playing. Maybe too excited.
given happen hard league neutral open past site tournament wide
I think the tournament is wide open. Is it any more wide open than in years past? It's hard to say, but I just think on a neutral site with the way this league is anything can happen on any given night.
bigger final gets media
I think the media, it gets bigger and bigger with the Final Four.
advance ncaa particular teams ups
It is a one-shot game, one-shot deal. Sometimes the ?best' teams don't always advance on in the NCAA tournament. That's why there are so many ups and downs, and that's why there are upsets, because there is one game. One game, you don't play well that particular night, you are going to go home.
concern dealing draining guys
It is an emotional, draining year. And that's always a concern for you as a coach, especially when you are dealing with guys who go through it for the first time.
agree five forest game games grind guys learn miami minutes people rather score ways win winning won
I think sometimes when you win people think you're not challenged, but I don't necessarily agree with that. (Wake Forest and Syracuse) were won by five points, then we went to Miami and with two minutes to go in the game the score was tied. Sometimes people think if you win, it's been all easy. I think our guys have had to grind out games and find ways to win some games. I'd rather learn through winning than losing.
credit dealing floor kid last opportunity room spent time weight year
Last year at this point, I was in the film room dealing with a kid who wasn't getting the opportunity to play like he wanted to. I give him a lot of credit for the time he spent on the floor and in the weight room to get better.
asked beforehand paint picture questions yeah
I said to those guys, we're doing a thing now and I'm probably going to be asked some questions beforehand and/or after and I said what I would like to do is say something. They were like, 'Yeah, yeah Coach, that would be great.' Now the whole thing they did I didn't know. I just told them I was going to paint a picture and say I don't know what those guys' futures were.
across appreciate coming country family graduated playing respect ryan saw tough
I respect and appreciate him for coming across the country and playing at Florida. I think Ryan being away from his family and not playing as much was tough on him, and he saw that (since graduated guard) Anthony Roberson was coming back.
battling game kept kids playing points truly win
Our kids just kept battling and playing hard. I mean, to win a championship game and not even get to 50 points is truly remarkable.
causing giving good guys imagine losing needed shore taught three
Our guys needed to be taught why we were losing, what was causing them to lose. I wanted them to see this is what we're giving up, and we're losing in overtime, we're losing by two or three points. Imagine if we shore this up, how good we can be.