Billy Donovan Last Quotations

We're a different team. I don't know if it's better or good or what it is, but it's different with different roles. I don't know how much we'll take from last year's game. It's a new day, new season, new opportunity.

He needed to have a game like this. I was happy for him. The last week or so, I think he's been doing some soul searching, just trying to find a way to come up with some answers to help our team. He helped out big-time tonight.

Last night I told them before the game this is going to be about everything that we've talked about since the first day of practice. Unselfishness. Team work. Team defense. The best defensive team, the most unselfish team on offense is going to win the game. That's ultimately the way it played out for our guys.

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.

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.

We're blocking more shots than we have in the last several years, but I don't think as a coaching staff we're saying this is a point of emphasis for our defense. We don't want to be a team that's just jumping up in the air trying to block shots because there are a lot of things that happen that are not good if you don't block it. So we just have to be selective.

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.

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.

Everybody talks about the end result. You're playing for the national championship. I think the only experience I tried to use from 2000 was, you've got to want this night to last as long as you can. You've got to want them to put more time on the clock. You've got to love playing.

Flat-out, the last several years, being totally honest, we weren't good enough to advance.

I stand up here very, very humbled by what's happened over the last 9, 10 hours.

The way our schedule works out is probably a little more of a disadvantage for our team because we are playing four of the last six games on the road. That is challenging. The only thing I am worried about right now is Vanderbilt. To me, that is the only game we have, and it's the only thing we need to worry about.

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.

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.

It's good to see him do well because he was non-existent at South Carolina. He's having a phenomenal year. I'm hoping he can continue to evolve and move forward. We missed his rebounding last game, but he did a terrific job on both ends of the floor today. It's good to see him learning.

That's something we'll have to look at on film. You look at the last two minutes of the game but sometimes you don't look at how it got to that point. The offensive rebounds Tennessee had in the second half really hurt us.

The biggest thing to with Villanova to me is it's not only quickness, it's the physicality. I thought last year's game that we played them, they were by far the most physical team we played against.

They were really showing signs of becoming a very good team. The last 32 minutes we were outplayed, out-coached and out-everything by South Carolina.

The last 32 minutes of the game, we were totally outplayed, outperformed, out-everything. I don't think the score is indicative of how they outplayed us in this game.

The last three or four days have been an incredible ride, but nothing like this.

If you look at our last four to six games, everybody knew it was going to be the toughest part and stretch of our schedule. Our basketball team, when we had all that early success, I don't know if we've played against teams as talented as we're playing against now.

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.

You could see him getting better and better and better. First guy in the gym, last guy to leave.

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.