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 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.
False Hustle = cheap fouls, lunging, reaching, etc.
I love our team, ... I love coaching this team. When I come to practice every day, I just love being on the floor. I just love their eagerness.
I have said before that we are not the most talented team, we are not the best team and there are always ugly moments in games. But you are always going to feel good as a coach walking off the court coaching these guys because they give you everything they have. Whether that is enough to win the game (against Tennessee), we'll see.
It is so hard when you have departures all the time to stay at the highest level. It's almost like coaching junior college now, and people want to level to stay up high.
I thought that they basically beat us in just about every facet of the game. For whatever reason, we didn't have it tonight, and I think as individuals, as a team, as a coaching staff, we have to take a level of responsibility in this performance.
I always felt I was going to have a lot of fun coaching these guys. They've had the right attitude, and winning has been the byproduct of it.
We're blocking more shots than we have in the last several years, but I don't think as a coaching staff we're saying this is a point of emphasis for our defense. We don't want to be a team that's just jumping up in the air trying to block shots because there are a lot of things that happen that are not good if you don't block it. So we just have to be selective.
I'm very blessed and thankful to coach these kids.
I'm sure he'd have too because he's got some wiring in his teeth right now. If he did, he'd definitely have to wear something. I don't know how he feels about that or if that would be comfortable with him, but my guess would be he'd have to do something.
I'm very critical of myself, and I know that you need to realize your mistakes to grow.
I knew this would be a team that would play hard.
Effort has never been a problem with these guys. Our problem has been our guys not understanding and not recognizing certain situations.
Everybody's role on the team is a lot different than a year ago. For us, right now, it's really a one-game tournament. We've got to play to the best of our ability on Friday and hopefully advance and be able to play on Saturday.