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
We have not faced anything close or remotely like this team.
With the teams we're playing and the stretch we have the next seven days, these guys need to get to a crossroad. Their backs are against the wall. They're either really going to try to do those things, or they're going to put themselves in a position where we can't play to the best of our ability.
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.
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.
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.
The 3-point line is a great equalizer in college basketball.
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.
He's a great coach. This was just a matter of time.
He runs, he catches and he alters shots. You just don't see a lot of players in college basketball like him.
I can tell you that these kids have a great deal of love and concern and care for one another.
I can't live their lives for them. They could just as easily get hurt doing something on the court.
Get out there and make him a driver, let's see how many times he can finish going to the basket. We allowed him to do what he does well, and that's shoot the basketball.
I don't think anybody beating anybody is going to be a surprise to any coach in this league because of the balance and the parity between the 12 teams in the league.