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
bigger deserving picture trying whether
Whether or not we're deserving of all this, I don't know, ... I'm just trying to look at the bigger picture of my team.
basketball great year
What they've been able to do this year is great for basketball.
falls felt gets key mitchell run trap tried
We felt like Darrel Mitchell was the key to their team, so we tried to run at him and trap him as much as we could. When he gets his 18 or 19 points, everything else falls into place.
basketball biggest depth team
We're just a basketball team that doesn't have a lot of depth right now. That's our biggest challenge.
good last
We're a different team. I don't know if it's better or good or what it is, but it's different with different roles. I don't know how much we'll take from last year's game. It's a new day, new season, new opportunity.
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.
coach david
We didn't want to put David into the game, but we didn't have much of a choice. Anthony (associate coach Anthony Grant) was out of eligibility.
period quick short
We've got a very quick turnaround. We're going to have to get a lot done in a very short period of time.
basketball billy changing enthusiasm gotten kentucky program since terms understand
I don't think basketball has ever been an afterthought, at least since I've been here. In the Southeast, in terms of enthusiasm and excitement, it's for football. In Kentucky and Indiana, it's for basketball. I understand that and Billy Donovan isn't changing that culture. ... But I think our program has gotten respect.
created dribble five four gotten guys job missed open south team three
I thought there were times (against South Carolina) when guys created off the dribble and didn't find him. I thought he should have gotten up 10 or 11 shots. There was three or four or five times when our guys missed him. Our team has got to do a better job of recognizing when he's open and getting him the basketball.
change good gotten guy hard kids talented totally unselfish worked
If you have a guy that's talented but totally into himself, who never had to be unselfish a day in his life, it's really hard to change that mentality. Now we've got good kids who have been unselfish and have worked hard and gotten better.
based both coaches drama fired given goes gotten great ncaa players provided recognized suffering tournament
It's all based on drama. Drama sells. Coaches have made money, coaches have gotten fired and players have been recognized for their achievements. I was part of Cinderella, but as much as the NCAA Tournament has propelled me and given me a lot of great moments, it's also provided a lot of hurt, pain, and suffering for me. It goes both ways.
bother build business gotten negativity older pride realize trying
At the time, it did bother me but as I've gotten older in this business I realize there can be a lot of negativity and things said. I take a lot of pride in trying to build a program.
basketball gotten happy knew
I'm happy for Jordan. He's gotten a lot better as a basketball player, as I knew he would. He's a hard-working kid.