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
It's not about me, how young I am. I don't know all the stats. It's about the people you coach all the time. I get pleasure seeing the players celebrate.
I laugh when people say they are better off without him. He is one of the most dominant frontline players in the SEC.
I hope the people at Arizona State realize what just happened. When you talk about the complete and total package of a coach, he's it.
I've got to give back to so many people who gave to me, first and foremost starting with my dad. I would want to give him a piece of the net. He would love that. I gave him a piece at the regional final. That would be great for him. I know he's excited to be in this environment.
We all deal with issues and challenges. This is a game where we needed different people to step up.
This year people have made a bigger deal of our chemistry or unselfishness because we're a little more balanced.
These are the situations our guys need to be in for us to reach our full potential as a basketball team. I think a lot of people will focus on the last play, but you know what, with the way these guys battled, it's a shame to lose that way.
This has been a remarkable run to this point. There was just so much uncertainty surrounding our season with people leaving early and guys having to step up.
Coming out of high school, he was one of the few guys that could dominate a game without scoring, ... He was special. The way he played against us was the way people thought he'd be. If he played like that every game, he wouldn't have been at Villanova very long.
Sometimes when you win, people think it's all easy. Our guys have had to grind out games. Our guys have had to find ways to make plays in games.
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.
I wouldn't classify our team with the way we play defense as a shot-blocking team. I think one of the things you always leave yourself vulnerable to, any time you have big people leaving the floor, is offensive rebounding and foul trouble.
It's a hard play. He had two people with him and he was able to get in the lane and see the basket. He probably thought he had a good shot at it.
It's teams like George Mason that give so many people hope in their lives, just seeing what great things can be accomplished.