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
ball coaching easy guys half inside job missed second upbeat
We missed so many easy baskets around the rim at first. We did a much better job in the second half of getting the ball inside and rebounding. As a coaching staff, we have to keep our guys upbeat and not let them get frustrated.
ball course defense half kept movement player pleasantly somewhat surprised
We didn't have the ball movement and the player movement that we had had in the course of the year. But I thought the defense and rebounding in the first half kept us somewhat close. I was pleasantly surprised that we were only down 11.
ball player
We had some better ball movement, some better player movement.
ball both bounce crazy games sides
Sometimes it's crazy what these games come down to. It's a play here, a bounce of the ball there. I've been on both sides of it.
ball inside job moving second
We did a much better job moving the ball inside out in the second half.
balls change constantly frustrated guard guys hard lee post preaching standing watching
I was getting frustrated watching balls go up from the three-point line, when those guys are standing 1-on-1 in the post with a guy 6-6 guarding them. It's hard sometimes. I'm constantly preaching to (Green and guard Lee Humphrey), 'When you're open, let it go.' Sometimes you have to change your thought processes.
alabama ball early game inside letting process south touching
I got on them because our thought process going into the game was go inside first and then come back out. We were letting the ball sometimes go on the perimeter with the ball never touching the paint, and I think South Alabama wanted us to do that early in the game.
ball challenge defense knock maybe shoot shots won
Tonight, we won because of our defense and they didn't shoot the ball particularly well. I would say it was a combination, that we did at times challenge their shots, and there were maybe also some shots they just didn't knock down.
ball game grind night respond shoot talked
That's one of the things we talked about with our guys. How are we going to respond when we don't shoot well? Here was a night where we didn't shoot the ball well. This was a game where we had to grind it out and find a way to win.
ball freshman looking pass post sophomore summer year
It was the first summer he had to get better. It's been a progression for him. There were times his freshman and sophomore year when he got the ball in the post and he was just looking to pass it back out.
ball beating creating defending dribble good job keeping knock paint second
We didn't do a good enough job of defending them in the first half. They were beating us off the dribble and creating opportunities to knock down the threes. In the second half, we did such a better job of keeping the ball out of the paint (for Kentucky).
against ball chance felt good hard inside offensive
They're so hard to get the ball inside against. But I felt if we could just get the ball up against the backboard, we had a good chance at getting offensive rebounds. It was good to see Al and Jo play the way they did.
balls finally frustrated good guy guys line post standing watching
I went off pretty good at halftime. I was getting frustrated watching balls go up from the 3-point line when guys are standing in the post with a 6-6 guy guarding them. They finally got the message.
ball gets pressure quick
He (Green) is so quick and so fast, he can get out and pressure the ball on defense, and he gets the ball and just goes, which makes everyone play at a different speed.