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
anytime basketball building college cost equalizer field good greatest guard inability limit line night percent shoot shot team
I've often said the greatest equalizer in college basketball is the 3-point line. They outscored us by 12 from the 3-point line. Our inability to limit them to one shot and inability to guard the 3-point line cost us. Anytime a team can come into your building and shoot 53 percent from the field and 47 percent from the 3-point line, you have to have a very, very good night on offense.
build faculty game rep scratch start win
Our faculty rep said to me before the game that when you start with something from scratch and you build it up to win a championship, that's something special.
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Our faculty rep said before the game that the greatest thing is to build something from scratch. This is a huge milestone.
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At the time, it did bother me but as I've gotten older in this business I realize there can be a lot of negativity and things said. I take a lot of pride in trying to build a program.
build tradition trying
We are trying to build tradition. Kentucky's the one that has the tradition and we are trying to get there.
build scratch start win
When you can start something from scratch and build it up to win a championship, that's something special.
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What happened is significant in basketball in the state of Florida, is significant to the University of Florida. To be a part of it, as I am, I'll remember this for the rest of my life. I'll remember these 10 years, in terms of trying to build things and create a level of consistency.
build start trying
That's what we're trying to build here at Florida. That's what we're trying to create. It has to start somewhere.
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He was a great guy. It was such a tragedy, what happened. He touched a lot of lives. I know with St. Francis, he and (athletic director) Randy Maris had a lot of plans, he wanted to give Bud the chance to build a basketball program and unfortunately it didn't work out. At least his family, his kids, will have something they can hold to and remember him by.
build start trying
It has to start somewhere. That's what we are trying to build at Florida. It's never been done, never been sustained.
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We tried to make them score outside their offense. We gave up 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, but in the second half I felt like their frontcourt was fatigued.
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We just recently had a function where we had to go into the student assistance fund to get players some clothes. Some of our kids come from backgrounds where getting a suit on short notice is difficult.
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We just wanted to continually attack and mix up our defenses.
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We just tried to continue to attack and mix up our defenses. I told our guys this game would come down to the same things we've been doing all year - unselfishness, making the extra pass and being able to defend and rebound.