Billy Donovan Year Quotations

I have never had a player go from a 10-minute-a-game guy one year to being a team leader on the floor. It's pretty unusual, but so is he.

I would say that our basketball team is totally different. Every guy on our team is playing a completely different role than they did a year ago.

Hopefully, the success we have had this year and in the past is something that kids can look at and say, Florida is very competitive nationally and inside their league.

My personal feeling is right now our team will be back next year outside of Adrian Moss.

Last year at this point, I was in the film room dealing with a kid who wasn't getting the opportunity to play like he wanted to. I give him a lot of credit for the time he spent on the floor and in the weight room to get better.

It hasn't been just this game. It's been all year long. These guys stay focused. It's been a unique and special group.

I thought last year's team that we played, they were by far the most physical team we played against. They're even more physical than they were a year ago.

I think a year makes a difference in a player.

Our basketball team this year has played with energy; they've played with passion and enthusiasm. And this time of year, those things will keep you around and keep you in the game, but they're not good enough to win the game.

I still feel like the kids in our program could get a whole lot better and could improve. And I think another year in college for those guys, or two, would prove to be valuable to them, rather than someone taking a chance or an opportunity, and those guys sitting on the bench and not having a chance to develop.

I thought the key to the game was the three-point line. They were shooting 32 percent for the year but shot 42 percent in the tournament. We knew the three-point line would be critical.

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

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.

Did I think I would be here for 10 years? You never know. You almost have to go one year at a time and try to do the very best job you can. . . . It's very hard to stay at a place a very, very long period of time.

This year people have made a bigger deal of our chemistry or unselfishness because we're a little more balanced.

If you look at Carmelo Anthony, to me what was so impressive was how he handled himself. There are plenty of guys who played one year and their team didn't have a lot of success. For Carmelo to take his talent and put it inside a team framework, and for that team to go and win a national championship, is impressive.

Everybody's role on the team is a lot different than a year ago. For us, right now, it's really a one-game tournament. We've got to play to the best of our ability on Friday and hopefully advance and be able to play on Saturday.

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 don't know if I would necessarily say we're just tougher. But we have the ability to play more physical and tougher than maybe we did a year ago.

Georgia is a basketball team that's much improved from the 3-point line. There's no question that offensively they are a lot more explosive than they were a year ago.

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.

In my opinion, they are a better team this year than they were a year ago watching them on film. I would say that our basketball team is totally different.

For 50 or 60 years, Kentucky has dominated this league. You can't expect every year for them to do what they have done.

It was the first summer he had to get better. It's been a progression for him. There were times his freshman and sophomore year when he got the ball in the post and he was just looking to pass it back out.

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.

They're going to have bad shooting nights. This was one of our worst shooting performances of the year and we found a way to win.