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
disrupt flow low practice single teams trying whether
We try to take teams out of what they practice every single day, whether through pressing, trapping, three-quarter-court pressing, through trapping pick-and-rolls, trapping the low post. We're trying to do things to disrupt the flow of the game.
again entity final four ncaa regular teams tomorrow totally tournament
I've said that if you started this tournament again tomorrow you would get four different teams in the Final Four. The NCAA Tournament is a totally different entity from the regular season. It's got nothing to do with the regular season. Once you get in, anything can happen.
against balanced fortunate teams
These were two teams that were very well balanced going against each other. We were fortunate to come out and top.
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.
advance built deep far flat good honest maybe past run several teams totally tournament
Flat out, the past several years -- to be totally honest -- we weren't good enough to advance. They didn't advance far enough in the tournament because maybe some of the past teams weren't built to make a deep run in the tournament.
basketball earned great teams
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.
against backs best either guys next playing position seven stretch teams themselves
With the teams we're playing and the stretch we have the next seven days, these guys need to get to a crossroad. Their backs are against the wall. They're either really going to try to do those things, or they're going to put themselves in a position where we can't play to the best of our ability.
anybody balance beating coach league parity surprise teams
I don't think anybody beating anybody is going to be a surprise to any coach in this league because of the balance and the parity between the 12 teams in the league.
dealing depth fatigue favorite foul impressive issues move playing row teams three
I don't know there's a clear-cut favorite right now. If you're going to look at what's happened, LSU has been the most impressive in our league. You're dealing with depth issues for everybody, you're going to be dealing with fatigue issues, you're going to have to deal with foul trouble, you're going to have to deal with playing three teams in a row and you have to deal and move from one day to the next.
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.
confident creeps crowd gets home looser maybe pressure reason teams wish
Maybe the crowd has something to do with it. I don't know what the reason would be. There are some teams, they feel more pressure at home and they play looser on the road. There are some teams that feel a lot more confident at home and they aren't as confident on the road. What gets into it, creeps into the mindset, I'm not really sure. I wish I had the answer.
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.
components couple far last team teams
This team has got balance. There's a lot of components to this team. And you know what, the last couple years our teams have been one-dimensional, and you can't go far being one-dimensional.
george great hope mason people seeing teams
It's teams like George Mason that give so many people hope in their lives, just seeing what great things can be accomplished.