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
close faced remotely
We have not faced anything close or remotely like this team.
amount enormous room somewhere team wherever
We have an enormous amount of room to get better. Are we the 75th-ranked team in the country? Are we the second-ranked team in the country? You know what, we're probably somewhere in the middle. Wherever that may be, it's probably fair.
concerned floor safety win
We could have prevented them from storming the floor at Arkansas, you know? Win the game. We could have prevented them from storming the floor at Tennessee. Win the game. . . . The only thing I would be concerned about is the safety of our guys.
draft eight league picks seven
We could have had potentially seven or eight first-round draft picks in our league right now.
We just didn't think he was right for us.
given happen hard league neutral open past site tournament wide
I think the tournament is wide open. Is it any more wide open than in years past? It's hard to say, but I just think on a neutral site with the way this league is anything can happen on any given night.
bigger final gets media
I think the media, it gets bigger and bigger with the Final Four.
advance ncaa particular teams ups
It is a one-shot game, one-shot deal. Sometimes the ?best' teams don't always advance on in the NCAA tournament. That's why there are so many ups and downs, and that's why there are upsets, because there is one game. One game, you don't play well that particular night, you are going to go home.
concern dealing draining guys
It is an emotional, draining year. And that's always a concern for you as a coach, especially when you are dealing with guys who go through it for the first time.
agree five forest game games grind guys learn miami minutes people rather score ways win winning won
I think sometimes when you win people think you're not challenged, but I don't necessarily agree with that. (Wake Forest and Syracuse) were won by five points, then we went to Miami and with two minutes to go in the game the score was tied. Sometimes people think if you win, it's been all easy. I think our guys have had to grind out games and find ways to win some games. I'd rather learn through winning than losing.
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.
asked beforehand paint picture questions yeah
I said to those guys, we're doing a thing now and I'm probably going to be asked some questions beforehand and/or after and I said what I would like to do is say something. They were like, 'Yeah, yeah Coach, that would be great.' Now the whole thing they did I didn't know. I just told them I was going to paint a picture and say I don't know what those guys' futures were.
confidence continue letting might shooting
When he's letting it go and shooting with confidence like that, it makes us a different team. Some days, it might not be his night, but we need for him to continue to be aggressive.
deserve evident given prove
We've got to go out and prove ourselves. I think it's very evident we're not a top-five or top-10 or top-15 team. We were given that. But we didn't necessarily deserve it.