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 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.
I've never gotten into any of that stuff. If we win basketball games, our seed will continue to improve. If we don't win basketball games, our seed will not improve.
Without question, Ryan is good enough to play anywhere in the country. And he's going to continue to get better.
It's good to see him do well because he was non-existent at South Carolina. He's having a phenomenal year. I'm hoping he can continue to evolve and move forward. We missed his rebounding last game, but he did a terrific job on both ends of the floor today. It's good to see him learning.
We were able to work inside out. We had a little better balance in the second half and we still continued to defend the three. That was a big concern for myself going into this game.
They generally come out and say, Billy if you continue on, you're going to get one. It's very clear where you're at.
This is going to be the most time that we have had off to get ready for an opponent since December. I am hopeful that during that time that we can continue to improve and turn the focus on ourselves.
I think it's a great comparison. Bobby Jones was a great runner in transition, he was a great athlete on the floor. I believe as David continues to grow, his shooting will get better. He's a very versatile guy.
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.
That's a really, really interesting question because I've always been a big, big believer that things that have happened in the past, negatively or positively, don't affect your future. I believe I have to work harder now as a head coach, and what I mean by that is we've got to try to continue to recruit good, quality kids.
I know little about what is going on at Kentucky. I've seen them play almost not at all. Tubby is a wonderful man and a terrific coach who will continue to succeed.
I'm hoping that has carried over and will continue to carry over. He just needs to let it fly. It's really that simple for that team.
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.
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.