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
lost passion played
When we lost to Manhattan, we were banged up. That's not making excuses. I just didn't like the passion we played with in that tournament.
block broken cause defensive figure giving good helping lost missed shots team three understand
When we lost three in a row, I said it's good for our team because it is helping them figure out how to win. They didn't understand a missed block out, a broken defensive assignment, giving up 3-point shots could cause us to lose.
allowed
We kind of allowed them to get back in and get closer.
basketball both college critical equalizer great held lee line shot
We thought the three-point line would be critical at both ends. It's the great equalizer in college basketball and we held them without one for (nearly) 35 minutes. And I thought Lee Humphrey shot the ball very well.
inside played plays thomas
Thomas played big for them. His 3-pointer was big. He made plays inside and out for them.
hard time
This time of year, everybody's banged up. I think you could see how hard it is to play back-to-back nights.
attention matter pay team
We don't pay any attention to seeds. It doesn't matter if it's a No. 11 or a No. 14 or whatever. It's the team we have to play, not the seed.
control guys point positions team themselves time
We have been right there. There have been some things that have been out of our control a little. I think our guys have put themselves in positions to win, and you are not going to have them all go your way. . . . What our team has done to this point in time and the way they have battled, I think it's pretty impressive.
both fatigue foot game ourselves second settle shot teams
We shot ourselves in the foot a lot of times in the second half. . . . I thought both teams had fatigue settle in as the game went on.
foot four ourselves second shot turned
We shot ourselves in the foot a lot of times in the second half. In the second half, the first (six) possessions, we turned it over four times.
against beat carolina challenge emotion face facet game good great home kids last performed played points season second south start team time totally win
This will be our second time to face South Carolina this season. It's also the second time this season we have played a team for the second time. They played with great emotion the last time we played each other. We got off to a good start early, but they were the better team that night. It was a six-point win for them, but they had us down 15 points at one point. This game will be a challenge for us. They have competitive kids and they totally out performed us. They beat us in every facet of the game. The challenge to our team is to take it one game to the next. Our last time against them is over. Our last home game is over.
corey critical final found game happy hitting night rebound shots stepped
This was a night when Corey Brewer really stepped up for us. He made some big shots and some plays. He was hitting on his 3s and also had the critical rebound in the final minute. I'm happy for him. He really found his game and his rhythm.
confidence crazy decisions defender physical putting
There are going to be times when he makes crazy decisions with the ball. But he's such a fast, quick, physical defender that I have a lot of confidence putting him in there.
ball beating creating defending dribble good job keeping knock paint second
We didn't do a good enough job of defending them in the first half. They were beating us off the dribble and creating opportunities to knock down the threes. In the second half, we did such a better job of keeping the ball out of the paint (for Kentucky).