Donovan Addresses Media As No. 13 Vandy Visits The O'Dome Tuesday; Tickets Remain Available
Monday, March 1, 2010 | Men's Basketball
It's Senior Day for Dan Werner as No. 13 Vanderbilt comes to the O'Connell Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m. UF has won 38 of its last 46 home SEC games at the O'Dome, and is trying to reach 10 SEC wins for the ninth time in 12 years. Take a first look at the Gators and Commodores with the pregame notes (.pdf).
BUY TICKETS ($5 General Admission seats available!)
University of Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan
Press Conference Quotes
March 1, 2010
Opening statement:
“Clearly we're playing one of the best teams in the league tomorrow. I think Vanderbilt has had a terrific year. They play very, very well at home and very well on the road. The one strength of their team is they have incredible depth really at ever position. They have one of the better guards in our league and maybe even in the country in (Jermaine) Beal and obviously (Brad) Tinsley and (John) Jenkins have played very well for them. They have a great low-post player in (A.J.) Ogilvy and they're a very physical team, so there's a lot to get ready and prepare for. The last time we saw them was our first conference game of the year. I think both teams have probably evolved quite drastically from that game back in January.”
On Dan Werner and his mindset after having a last-chance shot against Georgia:
“Clearly, Dan had an opportunity to shoot the ball. He's a senior and a guy that has a lot of experience under his belt. If he could have read through the play, he probably would have shot the ball, but he thought he could get it to Vernon (Macklin) for a lay-up. In those situations when the clock is running down, you want to get a good look and Dan had a pretty decent look. If he could re-do the play, he would probably wish he would have shot it. But you know what, if he did pass it and we got the shot, we would be talking about what great vision Dan has and what a great player he is. Dan was in the game on the very last play because of his contributions throughout the game. No one talks about the fact that (Trey) Thompkins had 14 points in the first half against us. Two of his six points in the second half were an out-of-bounds play with a shot-clock situation. Dan was on him the entire second half and Alex (Tyus) helped out as well. Maybe he should have taken the shot, but he didn't, and I'm not making as big a deal out of it as everyone else is. The guy did a great job on Thompkins, he's a senior, he's a great passer and we need to give him credit for that.”
On the team rebounding after a hard loss and getting off to a quick start against Vanderbilt:
“There are always challenges after any kind of game. When you have a great game or a loss, it's how you come back and respond the next game. This team has played hard all year and they've responded well. I anticipate that they'll respond and play as hard as they can. Our guys understand we have to play well to put ourselves in a good position tomorrow night. You always want to get off to a great start in any game, but it is a 40 minute game and in any game there are the ups and downs and peaks that you have to deal with.”
On Dan Werner's final home game as a Gator versus Vanderbilt:
“The guy has played his heart out and he's given me, as a coach, everything I could want. He has been a guy that maybe hasn't been the most athletic or talented guy, but he's one of the smarter guys I've coached. As fans and coaches, you always feel good about a player or team as long as they give their very best and Dan has always given his best. For that, I'm very, very proud and I'm hoping the people that support us would also be very proud. Sometimes Dan is a guy who is very hard on himself. People can look onto the court and see his body language and get the wrong impression of him – I've had that with other players before too. The judgment is that he has a bad attitude and a lot of the time it's that he's down on himself. Dan wants to do so well and sometimes he just feels defeated, the air comes out of his balloon. It doesn't have anything to do with our team, fans or anything else. I think it has much, much more to do with Dan wanting to be a pleasing kid and do well. It's a great learning experience for him down the road because your body language shows that. Dan fights, but he does get down on himself.”
On Chandler Parsons' game versus Georgia being one of his most complete so far:
“I've always felt like Chandler has had the potential and ability. I've been around a lot of players who have had potential and ability, but haven't necessarily realized their potential. Chandler is now starting to play up to his talent level and he's starting to understand how to do better out there on the floor for us to be better as a team. He happened to be 3-of-5 in threes and he had some very good drives against Georgia. What I enjoy most about Chandler now is that he went from a guy, that a year ago wasn't so sure of himself, to a guy that has been pretty aggressive the last few games and hopefully that will continue.”
On Vanderbilt's A.J. Ogilvy and defending the perimeter:
“He is a really good physical player. Because they have a tremendous amount of depth on their front line, they can rest him at any point in time and give him a break. They have a lot of guys at the 3, 4 and 5 that they can throw at you. They can go smaller, they can go big and utilize some of their depth while resting Ogilvy. He had 14 points in 14 minutes against Arkansas. He's really playing well because he has a terrific surrounding cast.”
