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
against easily until work
We're 16-0 right now, but we could very easily be 11-5. It's that fragile. We have to work for everything we get. We had to work against Auburn all the way to the end. We had to work all the way until the end against Mississippi State.
cares character kid takes wants
That takes a kid with unbelievable character. It takes a kid who cares about the team, a kid who wants to win.
carried deserve exposed impact line team
The three-point line really carried us and really exposed the impact the three-point line could have on the game. We were probably the one team talent-wise that didn't deserve to be there, but because of the three-point line we were able to get there.
best cares college felt game kid needs office physically since single takes walked
He just felt like where he was at physically it was best for Walter to start. I think that takes a kid with unbelievable character, a kid that cares about the team, a kid who has started every single game since he's been here walked into my office and said, 'Coach, Walter needs to start, I need to come off the bench.' . . . I don't know how many sophomores in college would come in and say that.
carried impressive line shocking team took
He carried our team offensively, no question. The thing that was so shocking was he only took 14 shots. The thing that was so impressive was he got to the free-throw line 22 times.
across add biggest cares changing drama guys half mandatory ncaa press road tournament
The biggest thing with the NCAA Tournament is to try to get across to your guys that there's a lot of drama and a lot of changing of routines. Any road game, we've never come in a day and a half early. We have to go to a mandatory shoot-around, we have to go to press conferences. When we go on the road to Alabama, no one cares we're in town. This is an event. For some guys, that can add pressure.
allowed bit carolina game happy south starters
I was really happy for Adrian, especially after the game he had at South Carolina (no points, two turnovers in two minutes. It allowed our starters to get a little bit of a breather.
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It's a totally different team. This one is special because these kids have shown a level of selflessness and play the way the game should be played. They look out for each other. They care for each other. That shows on the court.
carried carry continue hoping needs simple
I'm hoping that has carried over and will continue to carry over. He just needs to let it fly. It's really that simple for that team.
accident bad car fell freak lee soon
Lee fell off his bicycle, that was pretty much it. That's all it really is, no car accident or anything like that. It was a freak thing that I feel bad about for Lee, but we've got to try to get him back as soon as we can.
corey couple definite good second spark start
Corey was a definite spark for us at the start of the second half. He made a couple baskets to get us going and he did some good things defensively.
george great hope mason people seeing teams
It's teams like George Mason that give so many people hope in their lives, just seeing what great things can be accomplished.
february game helped living peaked played playing setbacks
You're playing a game right now, living each moment. Play each moment. They peaked and probably played well because of the setbacks we had in February that helped us grow.
defended disaster gave generally line recipe
That's generally a recipe for disaster, but because we defended the 3-point line that gave us an opportunity.