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
dealing maybe practice surgery understanding
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).
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.
expectation gives good level means past players supposed understand watching
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.
class collection greatest guys piece team terms understanding
This has probably been the greatest collection of guys I have had in one class in terms of understanding what unselfishness, what team is all about. They get that piece of it.
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I felt like our team learned a lot today. I think our guys understand a little bit more how hard you've got to compete, and I'm talking about physically. Our guys play with great emotion and energy, but there's also a physical side they've got to learn. They are an unfinished product, but they really try. We played aggressively, we got up and down the floor and we played our style.
hard helped piece playing stretch understand
They started to understand that playing hard isn't enough. I think that stretch helped them understand that there was another piece to winning.
certain effort guys problem understanding
Effort has never been a problem with these guys. Our problem has been our guys not understanding and not recognizing certain situations.
bad great hard league loss miss people stan understand
Stan has done a great job. People don't understand how hard this league is. Arkansas' loss at Ole Miss was not a bad loss. Ole Miss is a very good, well-coached team.
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.
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.
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It's hard to win a road game when it's 42-20 at the free throw line. It really disrupted our flow and made us stagnant in our offense.