Billy Donovan Eat Quotations

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.

There's been a lot of hard work and sweat that's gone into it. It's a huge milestone. It's a huge thing for our state, for our fans.

I told I think it would be great if that's what they want to do if they came out public with it so everybody knows. No more questions about it or talk about it. It's over and done with and this is where they're at.

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.

What happened is significant in basketball in the state of Florida, is significant to the University of Florida. To be a part of it, as I am, I'll remember this for the rest of my life. I'll remember these 10 years, in terms of trying to build things and create a level of consistency.

I thought our basketball team, it was a great lesson for them. The great equalizer in college basketball is the three-point shot.

When you win, it creates unbelievable opportunities in life. It's nothing negative against Florida, but they have to look at these opportunities.

I'm not surprised that he's playing small forward, and I'm not surprised that he's playing well, because he's a great kid and he's always been about the team. He's always been an unselfish kid.

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.

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.

No one likes losing, but it's great for our basketball team to go through this. It is great because they need this. I really believe the difference was our experience as a basketball team in relation to their experience.

A lot of our guys don't have shirt, jacket and ties, so we wanted them to be as neat as possible.

He never has a bad day. He is an unbelievable kid. He has a great disposition. He's intelligent. And he's very, very enthusiastic.

I thought there were times (against South Carolina) when guys created off the dribble and didn't find him. I thought he should have gotten up 10 or 11 shots. There was three or four or five times when our guys missed him. Our team has got to do a better job of recognizing when he's open and getting him the basketball.

I thought that they basically beat us in just about every facet of the game. For whatever reason, we didn't have it tonight, and I think as individuals, as a team, as a coaching staff, we have to take a level of responsibility in this performance.

This game was all about the 3-point line and our ability to guard it. They made very, very timely 3-point shots. ... The great equalizer in college basketball is the 3-point line. It's the No. 1 stat I look at.

Our faculty rep said before the game that the greatest thing is to build something from scratch. This is a huge milestone.

He's a problem for anyone because he can rebound, he can score because of their great spacing and he's a very underrated passer out of the post. John (Thompson) has the luxury of playing him and going big or taking him off the floor and going quick. They can go from one extreme to the next because of their balance, so it makes them tough to prepare for.

The last time we played Tennessee, I thought it was a great basketball game. Both teams played well. It was a tie score with 20 seconds to go. Both teams played a pretty balanced game. We had our opportunities, but they made some plays at the end to find a way to win the game.

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.

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.

In the SEC Tournament if you can get a bye, that's always a great thing. It's certainly very hard playing four consecutive games in a row to win an SEC championship.

In scouting George Mason, they had been shooting 33 percent on their 3-pointers all year and as much as 42 percent. We knew we had to control their perimeter shooting. I thought we did a great job of shutting them down and keeping them off-balance.

I get great pleasure seeing our kids enjoy the game. It's not about me or how young I am. But it's about the people you coach all the time, and I get a lot of pleasure seeing our kids celebrate.

I get great pleasure seeing our kids enjoy it, our administration enjoy it, our fans enjoy it. It's not about me.

There is not a big difference between the one or two (seeds) and the five or six (seeds). I don't think anybody would be surprised with anybody beating anybody.

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.

It's great for our kids and for our program. But I'm just a small part of it.

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.

It was a great college basketball game with both teams going back and forth and they were able to take the lead on a play. We got Lee a pretty good shot and if he makes it, we're up by one. It was a little bit short. I thought it had a great chance to go in.

It was a great win against a very good team. From start to finish, LSU has really had an unbelievable season, individually and as a team. They've been the most consistent team all year long.

It was a great, great college basketball game. Both teams had a chance to win. I think Arkansas is as talented as any team in the league. They have more experience, much more size and physicality than we do.

He was a great guy. It was such a tragedy, what happened. He touched a lot of lives. I know with St. Francis, he and (athletic director) Randy Maris had a lot of plans, he wanted to give Bud the chance to build a basketball program and unfortunately it didn't work out. At least his family, his kids, will have something they can hold to and remember him by.

He created and made some things happen. He made some very timely 3point shots when they were trying to make a run.

He created and made some things happen. He made some very timely 3-point shots when they were trying to make a run.

They are a real big rotation team, a real big help team, and we talked about coming into the game offensively and spacing them, and trying to create some middle pick and roll and help situations.

They are a terrific team and for us it's another challenge against a great team. They've proven that with what they did against Connecticut and Michigan State and North Carolina. I'm excited for George Mason and it's great for college basketball.

We're looking forward in playing in what is a great, great event. We don't know who our opponent will be, but we know it will be a very good team and we know that this is a one-and-done situation.

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.

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.

Those are great for our basketball team. You hate to lose them. But our team has to go through this before they can reach their potential.

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.

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.

Obviously as a freshman, without question he was not only one of the best freshmen in the league, but was one of the better players in the league. He's got great size. He can shoot over top of people. He makes every difficult shots.

We missed so many easy baskets around the rim at first. We did a much better job in the second half of getting the ball inside and rebounding. As a coaching staff, we have to keep our guys upbeat and not let them get frustrated.

It wasn't the best shot. You're not going to always get a great look with the clock winding down. We didn't probably do as good a job finishing the play as I would have liked.

I'd say, right now, that he's not going to play. I don't know how well his treatment is going to go, and I don't know how well he's going to respond. He's very sore.

I'd say right now he's not going to play. I don't know how his treatment is going to go and how well he's going to respond. He was very, very sore (Sunday) morning. He came in several times for treatment. ... He's not capable of playing right now.

What they've been able to do this year is great for basketball. Most teams don't get a chance to experience what they've been able to experience. In this tournament, they were able to inspire a lot of people. There was no resentment on our team for feeling like they got all the attention or we got slighted.

What they've been able to do this year is great for basketball.

This is a very, very special place. Being part of this institution means something. We have the greatest student body in the United States of America.

The greatest equalizer in college basketball -- it doesn't make a difference about talent or who's better than who -- is the three-point line.

Kevin does a good job moving him around and creating shots. He's got a very good feel and he's a good, hard cutter.

They're a great help team. They really rotate to each other. One of the big keys in defense is a lot of times guys are afraid to leave their man and give help because they're worried about the next guy rotating to their man.

It's teams like George Mason that give so many people hope in their lives, just seeing what great things can be accomplished.

I have to give Georgetown a lot of credit. They did a good job defensively. I thought we had some looks coming in and around the basket. We were very, very fortunate to win. It could have gone either way. I think the Georgetown kids played a great game.

I really felt like probably the last 32 minutes of the game we were totally outplayed, outperformed, out everything by South Carolina. Their kids played a great game. I don't think the score was indicative of how much they outplayed us in this game.

I really feel bad for Lee, because Lee is a good kid. He is one guy who is so conscientious in the way he lives his life. He eats correctly, he gets to bed early and he is at every tutor and every study hall. He is such a perfect kid in a lot of ways. For him, it bothers me as a coach that he can't be out there.

I felt like this year's team would be great to coach, a fun team to coach. They would be a team that would play unselfishly, play together. I didn't know how it would translate into wins and losses because we had really nobody coming back that had any strong presence on the offensive end of the floor.

I felt like our team learned a lot today. I think our guys understand a little bit more how hard you've got to compete, and I'm talking about physically. Our guys play with great emotion and energy, but there's also a physical side they've got to learn. They are an unfinished product, but they really try. We played aggressively, we got up and down the floor and we played our style.

This has been a great place. It's hard to believe it's been almost 10 years.

I think it's a great comparison. Bobby Jones was a great runner in transition, he was a great athlete on the floor. I believe as David continues to grow, his shooting will get better. He's a very versatile guy.

I think in the SEC tournament if you can get a bye that's always a great thing. It's certainly very hard playing four consecutive games in a row to win an SEC championship.

It was great to see Lee letting it go and shooting it. He's always taken 3s, but the biggest change I saw with him was the confidence.

It was great to see him shoot the basketball and let it go with the confidence he did. The biggest thing I look at with Lee is the confidence level he's shooting the ball with. Tonight, he was just letting it go and shooting it with a great deal of confidence.

I look at who we're playing as a basketball team and don?t get wrapped up in what the perception is about their team. They're a very, very good basketball team that has beaten Connecticut, Michigan State, North Carolina.

I didn't want to give Tennessee a chance to set their defense. Lee got a great look. It just didn't go down.

We didn't do a good enough job of defending them in the first half. They were beating us off the dribble and creating opportunities to knock down the threes. In the second half, we did such a better job of keeping the ball out of the paint (for Kentucky).

He's always been a terrific runner. He has a great threshold to run through fatigue. He plays all the way. One hundred percent. Full throttle.

He's got great ability and great talent. But the best part of his game is he's a great competitor, has great enthusiasm and he plays to exhaustion.

They played great tonight, they really did. I was proud of how hard they played and competed. They gave me everything I could possibly ask.

He's probably never going to get to a point where he feels great the rest of the season. But I think his confidence level is high. It's good to see him take the amount of shots he took. He put up 11 3s on the road. It was great to see him confidently shoot the basketball and it was great to see him move to the next shot, even when he missed a couple in a row.

I don't know if we've played against teams as talented as teams we're playing against now. Playing hard, playing unselfish, doing all the right things, team-wise, is great. ... But it's not good enough to beat good teams.

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 think our guys took great pride in facing a tougher road to get to this point than other teams. I think our team got better. They were a very, very focused group that worked hard. They peaked and probably played well because of some setbacks in February that helped us grow.

The 3-point line is a great equalizer in college basketball.

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.

Stan has done a great job. People don't understand how hard this league is. Arkansas' loss at Ole Miss was not a bad loss. Ole Miss is a very good, well-coached team.

Arkansas' fans do a great job in this building. It's a shame the weather caused a big problem -- this was the smallest crowd I've ever seen here.

Arkansas fans are great fans. It's a shame because you have two really great teams playing against each other and it wasn't a sellout because of the weather in the area.

He has a great passion and vigor for life. He has great respect for people - where they come from, what their heritage is and what their beliefs are.

He has a great, great vigor for life.

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.

This has probably been the greatest collection of guys I have had in one class in terms of understanding what unselfishness, what team is all about. They get that piece of it.

Chris has seen himself improve and get better. And I think that is a tribute to him really making some great strides as a person in terms of his work ethic, in terms of competing, in terms of understanding what we want as coaches.

I think it was a great experience for our players. Obviously, it's hard to prepare for the White House on such short notice, but I think they enjoyed themselves on the trip.

I know a lot of people are so excited for George Mason. It's great for college basketball. Believe me, I'm mesmerized.

The second half was a back-and-forth basketball game. Give Arkansas credit. They made some plays and their kids played hard and I thought it was a great college basketball game that both teams had a chance to win at times.

I can tell you that these kids have a great deal of love and concern and care for one another.

He's a great coach. This was just a matter of time.

We got beat by a better team with more experience.

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.

We thought the three-point line would be critical at both ends. It's the great equalizer in college basketball and we held them without one for (nearly) 35 minutes. And I thought Lee Humphrey shot the ball very well.

Sometimes, in the NCAA Tournament, the best team doesn't always win. Sometimes it's the hottest team or the luck of the bounce or a shot going in or something happens. Why not give every kid an opportunity to create some type of magic for themselves?