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
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.
I've been here 10 years and its a special place, an opportunity as great as any in college basketball. But tonight is not about me. It's about these young men.
They appear to be playing very well. I've always felt like they have good personnel there, and it will be a great environment. As highly ranked as we are going into Knoxville, I think it's pretty clear the way both programs feel about each other. We know it's going to be a hostile environment.
Our faculty rep said before the game that the greatest thing is to build something from scratch. This is a huge milestone.
On TV, it looks great ... but it's really a scary environment on the floor. The other thing it does is it takes away from what a great win Florida State had. They shouldn't (have to) be addressing their lack of security or whatever. ... They should be talking about how great their kids played and what a great win it was for their program.
That's the one thing that's been great about our basketball teams over the years -- they've earned their way in. Now, we've got to make something happen.
I think hitting his first shot helped him. It was great to see Lee mix up his game. Lee took a step in that he found other ways to help our team win when he wasn't hitting his 3-pointers.
You have to do a great job evaluating those kids maybe in the top 25 to 100. So we could (eventually) have some junior and senior classes.
We played great tonight, we really did. They gave me everything I could possibly want. I am really proud of the way our team responded here. This was the toughest road environment we faced all season.
The 3-point line is a great equalizer in college basketball.
He's a great coach. This was just a matter of time.
I can tell you that these kids have a great deal of love and concern and care for one another.
I don't think our guys are upset or bothered by it. That's something that's beyond their control. People can talk about the George Mason story and rightfully so. It's a great story that I think will inspire many people outside of college basketball.
I didn't want to give Tennessee a chance to set their defense. Lee got a great look. It just didn't go down.