Jay Bilas talks GameDay, Gators, Billy D in my Q&A with the ESPN college hoops expert
Friday, February 6, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Women's Swimming & Diving, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The ESPN College GameDay trucks began rolling into town Thursday and Saturday morning the popular barnstorming basketball show will be parked on the O'Connell Center floor to commence hype of the day's biggest games, capped by the 9 p.m. showdown between Florida and No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Kentucky.
Last Feb. 15, GameDay was at Rupp Arena to pump up a showdown between the No. 3 Gators and No. 14 Wildcats, a classic in which UF overcame a seven-point deficit late in the second half and stormed from behind for a 69-59 win that marked just the ninth road victory in 57 tries for UF in a series that dates to 1927.
It also was one of the flagship wins in a perfect 21-0 rampage through the Southeastern Conference, as Florida captured the league's regular-season title (for the second straight year) and postseason tournament, along the way, becoming the first program in 35 years to defeat Kentucky three times in a season.
So, here come the Wildcats, 22-0 and armed with plenty of motivational ammo -- not to mention nine McDonald's All-Americans and a roster with probably a half-dozen future first-round draft picks. Given the struggles of the 12-10 Gators, there would seem like sexier circumstances for GameDay to profile, right.
That and other topics relative to the Gators came up in a conversation I had with ESPN college basketball analyst and GameDay guy Jay Bilas, one of the sharpest and smartest in the business. Check out below what the former Duke standout, successful attorney and author of The New York Times best-seller Toughness had to say.
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>>> What was the attraction for GameDay coming here in what is looking like a transition, rebuilding year for a Florida team that now must face the No. 1-ranked team in the country?
“We don't go to a place for the scenario. Plus, what Florida considers struggling, other programs consider a pretty darn good year. The thing wasn't set up based on what their record is right now. We've had so many great GameDays at Florida and so many around the Florida-Kentucky game, our people felt that was a no-brainer. It always delivers. It's still Florida-Kentucky, no matter if they've lost a couple games.”
>>> What do you think of the O'Connell Center and the UF basketball environment?
“I think it's fabulous. It's a different kind of place than your normal college basketball arena. It's got a niche to it. It's right next to the football stadium. You can walk in some parts and still smell the chlorine in the swimming pool. When you walk into the basketball arena, people are literally right on top of you. The press row opposite against the benches is pressed right up against the back of the student section. It's crazy. I love it. I think it's great.”
>>> When I saw you at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, you watched Florida and thought the team would be OK. It's not OK. Billy would say they're worlds from OK. What do you see going on with this team right now?
“They're not a complete team. They've got some areas they need to get better. In years past, they've had a post presence and an ability to throw it into the post and get the defense to react to it, whether they score or get fouled. And they're having to do some creative things with their ability to put some pressure around the rim. And they don't have a rim protector. Having Patric Young last year? It wasn't like he was going to score making every post move, but he was certainly a threat to duck in, get low-post position and create some pressure there and get offensive rebounds, set screens, screen and roll and just put some pressure around the rim. They're more of a pick-and-pop team this year, than screens. They don't have a guy in the middle of the lane to clog things up. It's become easier to attack the rim when Florida is protecting its basket. Those things add up to more teams having a chance to beat them than last year -- or years past. There are less victories you can count on. There were certain games where Florida didn't have to play their best to win and they would still win. There's just not as much margin for error this year.
>>> So much was expected this season of point guard Kasey Hill and center Chris Walker, a couple McDonald's All-Americans who played backup roles on last year's Final Four team.
“It's harder to project and gauge players in this day and age. With so many athletes where people are talking -- whether it's Twitter or talk radio or the Internet or message boards, things like that. You wonder if the amount of discussion about it sometimes is lost on a player? On the other hand, you can become constantly distracted by it. At my age, I look at all that stuff as being like the refrigerator in the corner; it makes noise, but you don't really hear it. I'm not sure players look at it that way. Guys are sensitive to things in the moment and stuff that floats away after five minutes can still sting. But at some point, you have to accept who you are. I'm a believer in what Bill Parcells said: 'You are what your record says you are.' Just because Kasey and Chris were projected to be something at a certain point and just because they haven't met that expectation, it doesn't mean they can't still do it and become really, really good. But where you are right now -- being straight about it -- you have to be straight with yourself, yet understand where you are now doesn't mean that's where you have to remain. Both of those guys have the ability to get a lot better. ... You have to be willing to admit where you are, but also understand and remain positive about where you can be. It's kind of like analytics. I think analytics are great. But if you look at all the analytics on Florida, they'll tell you exactly what they've done, but they won't tell you what they're capable of doing.” 
>>> Kasey Hill still has two-plus years to go. I remember two years ago when Casey Prather had two years ahead of him and no one could have expected what happened with his development. A lot of what they do here is about development and growing in the program.
“And that's exactly the way to look at it. Fans can do and say whatever they want. I have zero problem with that. That's the business -- and it IS a business, too. We can sit and pretend, 'They're just kids going to school.' They're not. They're pros. They get treated like pros in every way, except the way the NCAA punishes them. They're going to be criticized like pros, take the same crap pros have to take. But pros get better too. These guys have a chance to get better. Your Prather example is perfect. Kasey is a good player, but he's just not as good early as a lot of people thought he would. Chris is not ready. It doesn't mean he can't be really good.”
>>> Billy Donovan said after the loss to Vanderbilt Tuesday night in Nashville that this year's team should really give people an appreciation for what last year's team did in winning 30 in a row with no NBA players. In retrospect, what do you recall about that 2013-14 Florida team that was so good, probably the best team in the country most of the year, but could not finish the job at the Final Four against Connecticut? 
“They lost to a hot team with great guards who were playing great. This is no news flash, but every other team lost to them in the tournament too. Kentucky and Michigan State, too. Last year was a perfect example of having an older team that had been knocked around and been through it. These guys haven't been through it yet. Kasey Hill hasn't been through a season where he's the lead guard and now he and his team have had it handed to them a few times and now he they have to pick themselves off the deck and do something about it and go after it. Win or lose, you've got to play the next game. And those guys last year always got up and were prepared for the next game. Every time, really. This team hasn't figured that out yet. Now, there may be a couple things where they're not as skilled or technically proficient as some of those guys last year and last year's team, but what made last year's team so good wasn't necessarily their level of skill, it was how tough they were collectively. They were a really tough defensive team. They moved the ball. They were difficult to guard. They took the right shots. This year's team, the ball sticks [stops moving]. Oftentimes, they're not making instinctive movements, they're a little slower on the uptake on things and they're easier to guard. When you don't see the ball go through the net, it affects your defense sometimes. Billy is right. It's like the old line from “The Godfather,” you know, “This is the business we've chosen.” Billy has done so well there and people think he just always will do well there, so when there's some problems he'll just wave a magic wand and figure out; everything will be fine. Sometimes you've got to let the guys take their lumps and they come back stronger because of it. It's hard in the moment to have that perspective. Billy has it 24-7. Fans? It's funny. Fans move on from wins really quickly, but they don't move on from losses at all.”
>>> I heard you make a comment during last year that Billy may be the best coach in the country, adding that few look at him as the best coach in the country because he's not out there promoting himself like some other coaches.
“I remember the first time I did one of his games he was head coach at Marshall. I did a game between Delaware and Marshall. It was Mike Brey versus Billy Donovan and the game started at midnight. How 'bout that? Huntington, West Virginia with two young, really good coaches at midnight. I was not worried about their careers, I was worried about mine. But he's one of the best coaches not in basketball, but in any sport. Period. If you were to ask his peers, I think most of them -- if not the overwhelming majority -- would say that Billy is the best offensive coach out there. I think he is absolutely brilliant on the offensive end, and that's not to say he's not excellent on the defensive end. But offensively, there are very guys who you would even bring into the conversation with him. He is a Hall-of-Famer. If you put his credentials up against anyone who is in the Hall and anybody who will be going into the Hall, he is at the head of the class. He's gone to multiple Final Fours over multiple years. His first was 2000, his last was last year and he had back-to-back national championships in the middle. It's really an extraordinary record that very few coaches in the history of the game can match. As a person, well, you know him. You know him a lot better than I do. But he's not a self-promoter. He has the ego of a winner, but the humility of a guy who's a .500 coach. He knows he's good. He knows that he knows how to do this at the highest level. He also has a regular-guy quality to him off the floor that is endearing, really. He doesn't take himself too seriously. He's very kind to people in situations where not everybody in his position would bother with that. He's very thoughtful. He thinks about things, but he's also considerate of other people's feelings -- and that's not the norm, in my judgment. When I said that, I meant it. He's not a self-promoter. There are nice blurbs about him in the press guide and press notes, but he's not out there hocking books and speaking engagements. He's the real deal. I think he's very much a what-you-see-is-what-you-get guy. He's not looking for accolades. He wants to do his job and enjoy his family and do right by his players. I'm just very impressed and respectful of that.”
>>> What does Florida have to do to be in the game against Kentucky? Give UF fans some hope.
“I am coming to the thought that Kentucky is not as invincible as we expected them to be at the beginning. They're really good defensively. I don't think the problem is how does Florida slow down Kentucky. The problem is how is Florida going to score? I think the team that beats Kentucky in the regular season -- and I still think it's going to happen -- it's going to be a team they don't expect to beat them. They're going to shoot the lights out, have a great game and Kentucky is not going to play well. I think Kentucky is going to come prepared for Florida because they've taken so many lumps from the Gators over the years. From the times we've had game day with Kentucky and Florida, I don't think Kentucky has ever beaten them. Anywhere. The problem is none of the Kentucky players remember that. They've only been there two years. I think Kentucky will be prepared to play. It's not a game that's going to be 95-90. I think Kentucky can be slowed down. they're not as good offensively as I expected them to be, but they have a lot of time to figure it out. I think they have to be better offensively to be expected to win the rest of them, but also to win the whole thing, which is what they really want.”
