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
balance conference country given league leagues opponents outside quality teams time top
I've been in this league a long time and I never feel like the SEC is given its due. If you look around the country right now, there are leagues out there that are very top heavy, but there are not many out there that have the balance that our conference has. If you look at what some of our teams have done to quality opponents outside the league, it's pretty impressive.
anybody basketball beat coaches college entered final george given goes good mason maybe players stage totally
We have entered a stage right now in college basketball where 15 years ago, it would have been maybe totally no way George Mason could go to the Final Four. It just goes to show how many good coaches there are out there, how many good players there are out there. On any given night, anybody can beat anybody.
deserve evident given prove
We've got to go out and prove ourselves. I think it's very evident we're not a top-five or top-10 or top-15 team. We were given that. But we didn't necessarily deserve it.
anybody beat certainly coaches george given goes good last mason ncaa night players proven tournament
It just goes to show you how many good coaches there are out there, how many good players there are out there. On any given night anybody can beat anybody. George Mason certainly has proven that in this NCAA Tournament over the last two weeks.
based both coaches drama fired given goes gotten great ncaa players provided recognized suffering tournament
It's all based on drama. Drama sells. Coaches have made money, coaches have gotten fired and players have been recognized for their achievements. I was part of Cinderella, but as much as the NCAA Tournament has propelled me and given me a lot of great moments, it's also provided a lot of hurt, pain, and suffering for me. It goes both ways.
add certainly compliment dimension given players types
They have given us low-post presence, they have given us shot-blocking, and they certainly add a different dimension to our team. They are different types of players and they compliment each other pretty well.
given happen hard league neutral open past site tournament wide
I think the tournament is wide open. Is it any more wide open than in years past? It's hard to say, but I just think on a neutral site with the way this league is anything can happen on any given night.
given happy kids season
I'm happy for the kids. All season they have given me everything they had.
felt gave half offensive outside rebounds score second tried
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.
assistance function fund kids notice players recently short student suit
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.
attack mix
We just wanted to continually attack and mix up our defenses.
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.
built deep good run
We weren't good enough. We weren't built to make a deep run in the tournament.
felt fortunate locker playing room tied
We were playing for survival. I felt fortunate just going into the locker room being tied at halftime.