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
It is so hard when you have departures all the time to stay at the highest level. It's almost like coaching junior college now, and people want to level to stay up high.
I thought that they basically beat us in just about every facet of the game. For whatever reason, we didn't have it tonight, and I think as individuals, as a team, as a coaching staff, we have to take a level of responsibility in this performance.
Our guys have done a pretty good job so far of keeping a level of humility and trying to get better each day.
I think I'm going to have to look at some things from the recruiting standpoint. We have not had the level of continuity in this program like Kentucky has had, in terms of having three, four seniors every year.
I think it probably means something to their players because they understand what they're representing. A lot of times, it's the past players that they know are watching them that gives them a level of expectation of the way they're supposed to perform. I think that's a good thing for a program.
I don't care how old you are, there's a level of humility that comes with that.
What happened is significant in basketball in the state of Florida, is significant to the University of Florida. To be a part of it, as I am, I'll remember this for the rest of my life. I'll remember these 10 years, in terms of trying to build things and create a level of consistency.
There has to be a level of balance that makes sense for the players, for the program, for the fans, for everybody.
One of the biggest things to stop is momentum. There are always teams that can get on a roll. Some people say that if you have won 15 games in a row, it's good to take a loss into the (NCAA) tournament. Other people say that if you lose a game, your confidence level is lower, that you are not going into the tournament playing your best. I always say that just because you lose, you can still play well. You can get beat by a better team.
I'm very happy for John. He's done an absolutely fantastic job with his team this season. It's always difficult playing a game at this level against such a close friend.
He's probably never going to get to a point where he feels great the rest of the season. But I think his confidence level is high. It's good to see him take the amount of shots he took. He put up 11 3s on the road. It was great to see him confidently shoot the basketball and it was great to see him move to the next shot, even when he missed a couple in a row.
It was great to see him shoot the basketball and let it go with the confidence he did. The biggest thing I look at with Lee is the confidence level he's shooting the ball with. Tonight, he was just letting it go and shooting it with a great deal of confidence.
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.
It's one of those things I can hope will get better and he can get back to playing because it's very obvious watching him play that he's not as reckless and daring and playing like he's capable of. I don't know if there's a level of uncertainty if he plants or runs or jumps or if the pain is so severe he just can't do what he's supposed to do.