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
I really thought that maybe they were not as fresh coming down the stretch. That was kind of our hope in the second half, that maybe we could try to wear them down because they were really sticking with their seven guys.
The surgery went well. He wasn't at practice because he was dealing with so many things medically. . . . I'll probably have a better understanding maybe (today).
I think they were really ready to play today and they were excited about playing. Maybe too excited.
I think in this tournament, they've been able to inspire a lot of different people, people that maybe are really, really in need. I heard Jim talk about some stories of some people and the letters he's gotten. To me, that's what his team has been all about.
Maybe we can get him a rocking chair or something.
They've been able to inspire a lot of different people... people that maybe are really, really in need.
Maybe the crowd has something to do with it. I don't know what the reason would be. There are some teams, they feel more pressure at home and they play looser on the road. There are some teams that feel a lot more confident at home and they aren't as confident on the road. What gets into it, creeps into the mindset, I'm not really sure. I wish I had the answer.
Flat out, the past several years -- to be totally honest -- we weren't good enough to advance. They didn't advance far enough in the tournament because maybe some of the past teams weren't built to make a deep run in the tournament.
I was hopeful going into second half. I thought maybe they were starting to get a little worn down. We were hopeful maybe their shots wouldn't go in and maybe they wouldn't rebound as well.
I don't know if I would necessarily say we're just tougher. But we have the ability to play more physical and tougher than maybe we did a year ago.
Lee is one of those guys who understands scouting reports, schemes and how we are guarding. You can be rest assured that he is going to follow everything to the minute detail of what he has to do. So, forget about the shooting part of it, we have just lost maybe our best overall defender.
Maybe it was defective spokes, maybe he needs training wheels, I don't know. I just know he slipped off his bike. ... 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.
There's no question Corey has the ability to make game-changing plays with his length, his quickness, and speed. But more than anything else, he gives us an experienced player who gives us a little depth and maybe some size across our frontline to help us rebound a little better.
If it were something where he was riding a motorcycle and he was popping some wheelies and he got hurt, than maybe I would be a bit more concerned. It was just a freak accident.