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
almost coaching college hard highest junior level people stay time
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.
credit dealing floor kid last opportunity room spent time weight year
Last year at this point, I was in the film room dealing with a kid who wasn't getting the opportunity to play like he wanted to. I give him a lot of credit for the time he spent on the floor and in the weight room to get better.
basketball good passion played team time win year
Our basketball team this year has played with energy; they've played with passion and enthusiasm. And this time of year, those things will keep you around and keep you in the game, but they're not good enough to win the game.
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.
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.
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.
blocking floor gets guys leaving luxury mistake position praise time
We don't have the luxury of making a mistake on the backboard, and we make mistake after mistake. For every time one of our guys gets praise for blocking a shot, when they don't, they give up position by leaving the floor too early.
created shots timely trying
He created and made some things happen. He made some very timely 3point shots when they were trying to make a run.
created shots timely trying
He created and made some things happen. He made some very timely 3-point shots when they were trying to make a run.
absolutely conference florida means point regular season time tournament wants
If someone wants to say, 'What Florida has done to this point in time means absolutely nothing... the regular season doesn't mean anything... the Southeastern Conference tournament championship means nothing.' That's fine.
almost life opportunity tears time
He was almost in tears because, for the first time in his life, he wasn't getting an opportunity to play. I told him, this is going to come to an end this season. And when it does, your time is here.
everybody experience last love national night playing talks time tried
Everybody talks about the end result. You're playing for the national championship. I think the only experience I tried to use from 2000 was, you've got to want this night to last as long as you can. You've got to want them to put more time on the clock. You've got to love playing.
classify defense foul leave leaving offensive people team time vulnerable
I wouldn't classify our team with the way we play defense as a shot-blocking team. I think one of the things you always leave yourself vulnerable to, any time you have big people leaving the floor, is offensive rebounding and foul trouble.
balance conference country given league leagues opponents outside quality teams time top
I've been in this league a long time and I never feel like the SEC is given its due. If you look around the country right now, there are leagues out there that are very top heavy, but there are not many out there that have the balance that our conference has. If you look at what some of our teams have done to quality opponents outside the league, it's pretty impressive.