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 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.
His game is slashing, driving, getting into the lane. He made some spectacular, athletic plays.
It's not about me, how young I am. I don't know all the stats. It's about the people you coach all the time. I get pleasure seeing the players celebrate.
It's not about just getting to the NBA with these guys. It's about making an impact. This is their decision.
As a coach, I can't put the ball in the hole for them. But what I can try to do is put them in the best position to take advantage of the talent level they have that they can make plays ... Right now, we have a bunch of guys that are unproven in that area so I'm going to try to eliminate any focus on them worrying about scoring.
As a coach, all you're trying to do is feed them stuff that's going to help them grow faster. You hope that they take their vegetables, and they grow up healthy and they understand. And some of them do and, you know what, it certain situations they have.
That's a really, really interesting question because I've always been a big, big believer that things that have happened in the past, negatively or positively, don't affect your future. I believe I have to work harder now as a head coach, and what I mean by that is we've got to try to continue to recruit good, quality kids.
Every time we were ready to blow it open, they hit a three.
Arkansas' fans do a great job in this building. It's a shame the weather caused a big problem -- this was the smallest crowd I've ever seen here.
Arkansas fans are great fans. It's a shame because you have two really great teams playing against each other and it wasn't a sellout because of the weather in the area.