Donovan and Seniors Discuss Senior Day, Alabama and Anthony Grant at Weekly Press Conference
Monday, February 28, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Coach Billy Donovan Press Conference Transcript
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thoughts on Alabama:
“Well obviously, with a personal relationship with (head coach) Anthony (Grant), I am very, very happy for him and the job he has done with his team; he really has done a terrific job. They were a team that probably in November and December tried to figure things out and just continually got better throughout the course of the season, and they are a really good team; one of the best teams in the league. I think their record proves that; their wins prove that. I think one guy that adds a different dimension to their team that they maybe didn't have a year ago was (Mikhail) Torrance. I think (Trevor) Releford has added a great dimension to their team. He is really, not one of the better young point guards in our league, but he is one of the best overall point guards in our league and he has played exceptionally well for them. JaMychal Green, being an upperclassman right now, is clearly one of the best low-post players in the conference. A guy that is extremely versatile and can play all over the floor, (Tony) Mitchell, has played well and when you add in (Chris) Hines and Charvez (Davis), they have a very good team. They are terrific on defense. I think there is a lot of talk about them shooting the basketball, but I think you look at their field-goal percentage, they shoot a relatively high percentage, so this a good overall team on both ends of the floor.”
On how Alabama looks on film:
“They are a physical team for one. They do a great job defensively, creating many steals. I think they are number one in steals. They do a great job with their hands and our ability to be strong with the ball is going to be important in the game. They really don't give up a lot of easy baskets so to speak; they force you to run something and make good plays, be strong with the ball and be able to go inside out. They do a lot of different things defensively, they have good speed, good quickness and athleticism, and then they have size across the front line with (Tony) Mitchell at 6'7- 6'8, JaMychal Green and then (Chris) Hines, so they rebound the ball really well. So really, I think they are just very, very active defensively and they are very athletic.”
On watching the seniors grow as players:
“It has been really for me as a coach, very, very rewarding and fulfilling just to see them get to this point. Sometimes two or three years ago, you don't even know if you will get to that point in time. They have worked hard; they have figured some things out and they still know there is a lot of this season left to be played. A team that, probably their freshman and sophomore year thought they were going to just walk into the NCAA Tournament, got really humbled and last year fought their way in. Now this year, they've gotten to a point where they really have improved. I think the one thing that I look at with these guys; we had such a hard time physically beating really good teams; teams that had size and strength. We had a tough time rebounding the ball; that wasn't our strength. We played hard and tried hard, but a lot of times just couldn't get over the hump against really good teams. I think the last two years, they've learned what goes into at least putting yourself in the position to win some of those games. I think what they have been able to do on the road for the length of this season has been very impressive when you look at some of the places they have gone in to win, and certainly some of our home wins. Certainly, with the exception of Vernon (Macklin) because he has been here for three years and was sitting out the one year we went to NIT, those three guys deserve a lot of credit in terms of trying to get better and trying to improve, and at the same point dealing with the adversity and the growing pains of trying to be successful.”
On potentially winning the SEC:
“I think we have different points in time of the season where your non-conference schedule, you want a lot of issues to flower so as a coach you can address them before you go into league play. I think we had some issues flower in November and December with our team that we had to confront; we had to deal with them and get it fixed. Those guys worked hard to try and fix those things. Then you talk about, and I'm no different from any other coach, trying to win the SEC East and then the overall (league title) and we put us in the position to compete for that - that's very important. After Saturday now, you are in a one-and-done situation the rest of the year, whether it be the SEC tournament or the NCAA tournament. I think each step along the way is significant; they all are a little bit different. In order to win an SEC tournament championship you have to go undefeated. In order to really go deep within the NCAA tournament like those guys did in '06 and '07, you have to win them all. So you're at that point where you are not in the position to lose any more games. They all are a little more different so can you move from Saturday to this part of the season is over with and now move into the SEC then move into the NCAA. Now our total focus is on Alabama.”
On Senior Day:
“It's always a hard thing. I think it's emotional for anybody. I don't know if there is any right way, because we went through this when I was an assistant at Kentucky, and obviously, it's a huge deal; Senior Day and everything else. It felt like when the game started, those guys looked like they had been through an entire season in about 15 minutes. It is an emotional thing; I think when guys step into the arena knowing that it's their last game that's significant - they are never going to play there again. I think when they are young they act like it's never going to end, and now I think they realize that, 'Wow, this is coming to an end.' The people that are involved in that situation on Senior Day, none of those people are really going to be able to play. How do they try to keep themselves focused on what they have to do and enjoy that moment but at the same point get themselves prepared and ready to play?”
On the Senior Class handling adversity:
“I just don't think you can really be successful unless your heart gets really broken and something is competitive. I'm not so sure that, when those guys were freshmen and sophomores, that their hearts were broken, I thought their hearts got broken after their sophomore year; Alex (Tyus) and Chandler (Parsons) in particular. What I mean by that is, I obviously got criticized after those guys' freshmen year when the comment was made, 'Well you have to be looking forward to those guys becoming sophomores.' I never felt like those guys being sophomores had anything to do with us being successful. It was their approach to, 'What do you learn from what happened and how you apply it try to correct it to get better?' I think I made a comment the other day, 'If you go to an open heart surgery and the doctor tells you that you need to go on a diet and you say to the doctor, 'No I don't need to change my diet, I need to drink more water', then you're probably going to have open heart surgery again.' You can go through these issues in life but part of the thing of learning difficulties is identifying what the issue is. I don't think we ever identified after that first year what the issue was, they thought it was something else. Then after their sophomore year, it kind of hit them, 'ok I need to look in the mirror here and see what the issue is'. I think they really got their heart broken here, when they came in here after those two national championships there was no doubt in their mind that they were cruising to the same thing in 2008 and it was very, very immature. It wasn't their fault though there was no one there to show them, and I am pleased that they have carved out somewhat of a path for Patric Young, Will Yeguete, or Mike Rosario and (Kenny) Boynton and (Erving) Walker have been through it. But they walked into the most difficult situation for a young group and if anybody it was my fault, I say it was my fault because I didn't have enough depth or enough people around those guys, that when those other guys left, there was enough left for those guys. So they came in as freshman and really were put into a very, very difficult situation and I give them credit because they were resilient and they did battle and they did fight and they did try to figure things out. They could have felt sorry for themselves or left and went somewhere else but they kept battling and their battling and hard work has really proved. Where they are today and where they were as freshmen are two totally different ends of the spectrum.”
“I think one of the things that happened at the time was we were 18-3, and I think they probably thought it was easier at the time. Then as I have always said for us, in this league your last half of the season, those last eight games become very, very hard and I think we got humbled against a lot of the better teams in the league. The goals were the same as they were with the other guys and I remember at that time, I didn't even have those guys in the locker room we were in the swimming locker room after selection Sunday. However, to their credit going forward to the NIT, because of what happened, this is what I mean by they are resilient, those guys made it all the way to Madison Square Garden. Although it was not the NCAA tournament, they could have said the 'I don't want to play in the NIT, this is no good', they were resilient, they came back, and they competed, won three games, and got to Madison Square Garden. I think it's always hard when your part of something that you've seen start at the ground floor and go all the way to the top to the pinnacle and then have to accept that your starting all over again. I am not so sure that always in life, you go to the top and just stay there and I even think, beyond the adage of staying to the top once you get to the top, I think they both are really hard and I think no one stays on top forever. When you look at the coaching, for me, what I enjoy as a coach is looking at the process, as painful as it was for two years, the process of these four years up to today have been very, very rewarding for me as a coach. Regardless of what happens tomorrow or in the SEC I think they have changed and when those three guys leave and they further their career, they are going to walk into a competitive environment playing somewhere I think they are prepared for that.”
On his familiarity with Anthony Grant:
“There is always going to be familiarity, I mean Anthony (Grant) has not really been with me for quite some time, obviously going to VCU and now Alabama, certainly he knows me really, really well and I know him really, really well but ultimately both teams are going to have to go out there and play. They do some similar things, I guess we both do similar things, there is some similarity there no question. But I think you are always coaching to your personnel and the way we played two years ago is different from how we played in '06 and '07; and the way we are playing now is totally different then we played two years ago. I think Anthony is definitely doing some things differently with his team this year, compared to things he did last year so you are always trying to do that. I think there are some core values there that probably we both share that you try and implement inside your team that you feel are important in terms of winning games and being successful.”
On Cutting down the Nets:
“No, I don't think so. I thought one of the things going into the 06'- '07 season that I thought was going to be a problem was that our team was going to be so under the microscope that I felt that we could have the joy and happiness of our winning taken out of our team if we allowed that to happen. I really made a huge emphasis on that we were going to celebrate each win, and we celebrate each win now, I think anytime you win it's good. But I just did not want them to allow the expectations of going back to the National Championship game with so much time from taking a trip to Canada all through the year that I tried to go overboard for them to have fun in what they were doing.”
On favorite memory of Chandler Parsons:
“I would say this about Chandler (Parsons), and I think this is the greatest complement you can ever give a player: Chandler Parsons has never, ever had a bad day of practice or game in my opinion. He may not have always shot the ball well, played well, or done everything I asked him to do but he has always given me 1000 percent of himself all the time. I never worried about him, all the way from his freshman year to now, I don't worry about him coming to practice and working hard, I do not worry about him giving a great effort. His approach to the game has changed over the last three years from where it was his freshman. He has given me incredible effort all the time and really plays his heart out.”
Senior Center Vernon Macklin
On the game against Alabama:
"I take every game as important and that's how Coach (Billy) Donovan talks to us about it. We have to go out there and think about us and play our best basketball. Alabama is a great team. I just want to come out and win our last game at home.”
On his best memory at Florida:
“The chance they (Florida) took on me from leaving Georgetown. I'm glad Coach Donovan stepped up and took a chance on me. I'm thankful for that. That's my best memory.”
On being part of the senior class:
“I feel like I'm a part of it. This is my third year. I'm a strong part of this team. They (Alex and Chandler) talked to me a lot. They let me know everything was going to be alright (sitting out a year). I'm very grateful to those guys and I've made great friendships with them.”
Senior Forward Alex Tyus
On the rest of the season:
"It feels like as long as we go out and play our best, everything will work out. We can't worry about what other teams do; we just have to worry about ourselves.”
On his improvement since stepping on campus:
“I've come a long way. I feel like the experience has made me a better player overall. With it coming to an end, I'm just trying to do what I can to help the team win.”
On Senior Day:
“It's a big game and we're excited about it. Earlier in the year, they didn't really get a chance to play all their players, but now they're playing great.”
Watch Interviews with Macklin and Tyus (GatorVision)
Senior Forward Chandler Parsons
On Senior Day:
“It means everything. I've had a lot of ups and downs. I've had a lot of good games at the O'Dome, and a lot of bad games at the O'Dome. Nothing would mean more to me if I could end it with a bang and end it cutting down the nets.”
On how he defines his career:
“I think I've had a good career here. I've played as hard as I could here. I tried to help my team any way I can and win as many games as possible. I tried to be a good teammate and be easy to coach. I've also tried to put myself in a good position to play at the next level.”
On the development since he stepped on campus:
“It's crazy how things can happen. Obviously, Adam's (Allen) injury was unfortunate. Nick (Calathes) had an opportunity to go pro early. Jai (Lucas) thought he had a better future somewhere else. It's just me, Alex (Tyus) and Vernon (Macklin) along with us. Adam still does everything we do, so it's just awesome for all of us to still be together and spend tomorrow night together.”
Watch Interview with Parsons (GatorVision)
Redshirt Junior Adam Allen
On his time at Florida:
“I can't do anything bout it, but I still got my feet wet. I still received a free education out of it and got a chance to be a part of Florida Gator basketball. That says a lot.”
