Donovan Addresses The Media As Red-Hot Gators Travel To South Carolina
Monday, February 8, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Florida head coach Billy Donovan
Press Conference Quotes
February 8, 2010
Opening Statement:
“We've had some challenging games for both us and South Carolina in this series the last few years, it will come down to the wire. I'm not quite sure what the future will hold for us on Wednesday, but just looking at past games, I think you can say both teams have played each other very well. We're going on the road and we're coming off an emotional win. South Carolina is coming off a loss against Tennessee and we can fully expect that we'll get their best performance on Wednesday. Certainly (Devan) Downey is a huge dilemma – what he's doing provides an unbelievable challenge. Their team has a lot of pieces, and although he gets most of the credit and publicity, I still think they're a great shot-blocking team. I think they have a low-post scorer in (Sam) Muldrow. (Brandis) Raley-Ross is a guy that's an unsung hero for their team and in a lot of ways, a lot of the things he does get overshadowed by the electricity of Downey. Then they've got (Evaldas) Baniulis who comes off the bench and shoots the ball very, very well. They're a team that shoots the ball very well at home. It'll be an unbelievable challenge on Wednesday.”
On UF's rebounding improvements and ranking fourth in the SEC in rebound margin:
“I think we've gotten better. Our team physically has gotten better. Alex (Tyus) is a year older and another year better, he's in more of his natural position and can do better going up against certain people and blocking out. Vernon (Macklin) can rebound the ball better than he has been, but at least he's a bigger presence and he's got a physical body to keep his man off the backboard. Chandler's (Parsons) always been a very, very good rebounder, so we're good with him and Dan (Werner) blocks out well. I think part of the reason our rebound margin is so well is our offensive rebounding, our guys put a strong, concerted effort to get to the glass on the offensive end and we're doing a good job of that. Being older, being a little tougher than a year ago and a commitment on the guys' part to make an effort and put an emphasis on one of the areas we needed to get better at is the result.”
On having Chandler Parsons playing the point for the last couple of games:
“I think it's a lot for (Erving) Walker and (Kenny) Boynton to handle the sole responsibility of handling the ball against pressure, then you're asking them to score and make shots and then we also ask them to play defense against good offensive players. The physical demands on those two guys (Walker and Boynton) with a lack of depth in our backcourt is causing us to find a way to relieve those two from being on the ball all the time. I think Chandler (Parsons) is a great resource for us because he does have some size and he does have passing ability and skills and he's also a very good driver. It gives Erving a chance to get down the floor and then we're able to use Dan (Werner) and Chandler to help so Erving can be on the receiving end. I think we need to continually do that. I think we need to mix it up. If you go to Chandler the entire time, a team's going to pick up on that. Mixing Chandler in at different points in the game is helpful based on how Erving is feeling or how much pressure he's under.”
On Kenny Boynton hitting the 'freshman wall':
“I don't think so. I tell our guys this all the time: the more games you play, the more film there is out on you for guys to get a book on a player. I think this is part of his maturation and growing process as a player – Understanding how to be an effective offensive player when opponents try to take away certain things. Kenny really defends, he's really alert and he pays attention. I think when people talk about the 'freshman wall', a lot of times that's when a player looks like nobody's home, like they're overwhelmed. He is not at that point. He is clearly one of the better defenders on our team, he's into the game. He takes great responsibility because he wants to play well to help our team. He's as good of a guy as I've been around in terms of him wanting to contribute to our team. I'm sure he and (Erving) Walker are tired. How can they not be? It is what it is. We have to do the best we can with the depth that we have.”
On having played Devan Downey already this season and on the game plan against him going into Wednesday:
“I've said this before – He's taking 23 shots. I don't think that you can just eliminate his shots. There were things that we tried to do, like trapping him at the end of the game, that were very, very ineffective. He went right around the trap. Sometimes that's bad to do because when he goes around two people, you have two people out of the play, they're playing five against three and that's a hard thing too. Our guys have to pay attention to the shot clock and where he is when it gets late, when it's early, where he is in transition, where he is on certain areas of the floor because he has the whole package. He has deep three-point range, he can stop on a dime and shoot runners, he goes to the free-throw line 8-10 times a game and to me, when he gets in the lane, he's one of the few guys I've seen at his size that plays like a monster in the paint. You don't see a lot of guys his size go against 6'10”-6'11” guys and finish at the rim or off the glass like he does. He gets 30 for a reason against everybody because he's prominent. The only guy that I would compare him to at that size is Chris Jackson (formerly of LSU) – I watched Chris Jackson get 44 in Rupp Arena, and we tried to do everything we could against him. Downey is that type of player to me. He's got the whole package and he's seen double teams, all sorts of defenses. The thing I respect the most and admire about him is when it comes down to the clutch, he wants it. Not to say he makes every shot in clutch situations, but he's made his fair share. He wants the ball and he's got that competitive fire in him that I really admire.”
