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
against beat carolina challenge emotion face facet game good great home kids last performed played points season second south start team time totally win
This will be our second time to face South Carolina this season. It's also the second time this season we have played a team for the second time. They played with great emotion the last time we played each other. We got off to a good start early, but they were the better team that night. It was a six-point win for them, but they had us down 15 points at one point. This game will be a challenge for us. They have competitive kids and they totally out performed us. They beat us in every facet of the game. The challenge to our team is to take it one game to the next. Our last time against them is over. Our last home game is over.
corey critical final found game happy hitting night rebound shots stepped
This was a night when Corey Brewer really stepped up for us. He made some big shots and some plays. He was hitting on his 3s and also had the critical rebound in the final minute. I'm happy for him. He really found his game and his rhythm.
basketball experience felt games starting team win
This team, starting the season, I felt had all the team makeup. Unselfishness. They wanted to learn, they wanted to work, they wanted to get better. I didn't know if we'd have the experience to win basketball games or enough basketball games because we'd never been there before.
accept address barriers broken creeps game guy guys sniff sudden teammates thinks trust
Every guy comes in and thinks they're going to play 40 minutes, and after the first game when they don't play as much as they want, you've got to be able to address it and get guys to accept their roles. If selfishness creeps in, teammates can sniff that out pretty quickly. Then all of the sudden the barriers of trust get broken down.
attack continue defend extra game guys mix pass tried year
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.
advance best felt game makeup ncaa sitting start starting teams tournament unselfish
To start this tournament over again, I may not be sitting up here. It is a one-shot game, one-shot deal. Sometimes the best teams don't always advance on in the NCAA Tournament. This team, starting the season, I felt had all the team makeup (to go far). They were unselfish and they wanted to win.
deal game issues needed people step
We all deal with issues and challenges. This is a game where we needed different people to step up.
check games guarded key line lost three tonight
Tonight was about consecutive stops, and we guarded the 3-point line. If you want to look back and go to a key thing of why we lost three games in a row, check the 3-point line ... that's why we lost.
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.
beat biggest confidence games good level lose loss people playing stop teams tournament won
One of the biggest things to stop is momentum. There are always teams that can get on a roll. Some people say that if you have won 15 games in a row, it's good to take a loss into the (NCAA) tournament. Other people say that if you lose a game, your confidence level is lower, that you are not going into the tournament playing your best. I always say that just because you lose, you can still play well. You can get beat by a better team.
difference fought game huge proud tennessee tie
I was really so proud of the way they fought their way back to tie the game up. . . . But there is a huge difference between Tennessee and ourselves.
based deserve four games win
Based on what do we deserve to win those games? Based on what? Three, four sophomores and a freshman? That doesn't give us a right.
game key knew line percent shooting shot year
I thought the key to the game was the three-point line. They were shooting 32 percent for the year but shot 42 percent in the tournament. We knew the three-point line would be critical.
allowed bit carolina game happy south starters
I was really happy for Adrian, especially after the game he had at South Carolina (no points, two turnovers in two minutes. It allowed our starters to get a little bit of a breather.