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'm just a big believer that when guys are injured or hurt, if they elect to play, there's a certain expectation they have to uphold. And if they can't uphold that expectation, I'm totally fine if they sit out.
I'm fortunate to coach an unbelievable group of guys who have been totally selfless. They've been all about the team, and all about winning. ... I'm happy that I can be a part of the first-ever national championship.
I'm so proud of these kids. I'm shocked that we're 22-6. To me, these kids have really, really overachieved.
If one of my guys would have hauled off and punched somebody, that would be the story right now.
In scouting George Mason, they had been shooting 33 percent on their 3-pointers all year and as much as 42 percent. We knew we had to control their perimeter shooting. I thought we did a great job of shutting them down and keeping them off-balance.
If your point guard doesn't play great, generally your team's not flowing very well. It's just kind of the way it is.
If you win games, it sounds like you have a better chance of getting into the tournament and getting a higher seed. And if you lose games, chances are you may not get in or get a bad seed.
In my opinion, they are a better team this year than they were a year ago watching them on film. I would say that our basketball team is totally different.
It has to start somewhere. That's what we are trying to build at Florida. It's never been done, never been sustained.
I think our guys took great pride in facing a tougher road to get to this point than other teams. I think our team got better. They were a very, very focused group that worked hard. They peaked and probably played well because of some setbacks in February that helped us grow.
I think our guys are eager to get on to the next phase. We have some guys who know what it takes to win in this tournament.
I think our guys are a little further along mentally than a lot of guys their age.
I just felt like our guys were playing with blinders on. We weren't taking what the defense was giving us. I don't think our 3-point shots were that bad in the first half.
I realize the magnitude of what's happened for the program. It's a huge milestone.