Q+A: Billy Donovan

Saturday, Nov. 25, 2006 | 7:03 a.m.

In 10 seasons at the University of Florida, Billy Donovan has transformed the Gators' basketball program into a powerhouse. It thrashed UCLA last spring for its first national championship, and it has played in the past eight NCAA tournaments.

The defending champs return all five starters, something a champion hasn't been able to boast since 1997, when Arizona won it all and each of its starters came back. The top-ranked Gators, who are favored to become the first repeat champion since Duke in 1992, started off by beating their first five opponents by an average of 42 points.

Donovan, 41, brought his team to Las Vegas this weekend to play 10th-ranked Kansas tonight at the Las Vegas Invitational at the Orleans Arena. Before boarding a plane in Gainesville, Fla., Donovan spoke with the Sun.

Q: How about coming to Las Vegas to play Kansas?

We get to play Western Kentucky and Kansas, two quality teams. Playing at a neutral site is always a good thing. We're excited about the opportunity to play at a very good venue. It'll be good experience for our guys, since it'll be our first time playing away from home this season.

Your best Las Vegas moment?

I guess it's traveling from 8 a.m. until midnight, from gym to gym to gym, all over the city, during the summer (prep) tournaments. I know it very well by now. There are so many gyms, from Foothill to Cimarron. All those different high schools. I remember walking out there and putting my hands on the steering wheel and singeing my hands in the 115-degree weather.

Sticking with the Las Vegas theme, what's been the biggest gamble of your life?

Good question. Probably leaving Wall Street to get into college coaching. That was probably the best gamble of my life.

When and where did it sink in that you actually won a national championship?

I don't know if it has. It's been a whirlwind. I think it sinks in when I'm by myself.

Florida will repeat because ...

I've never used "repeat" with our guys. I've never talked of winning another national championship. Never, ever talk of winning it again. I talk of getting better and improving. I know the odds are against our team doing it again, just by past history. We could be a better team this season and not go as far. It's the way the NCAA tournament and college basketball are.

When Rick Pitino showed up at Providence, you dropped 30 pounds and were renowned for taking all of his heat without blinking. An assistant coach called you the least-sensitive, really good player he's ever seen. How did that develop and how did that drive you?

My dad (Bill Sr.) and high school coach were truthful and honest with me, and hard on me. So many times, in this day and age, people want to cast blame. But it's up to you. I had to work to get on the floor in high school. Same at Providence. I was always eager to get better and improve. People who demanded the most were the hardest on me. They always had a great line: If I'm not getting on you, then I stop caring about you. I wasn't coddled or babied. I was challenged every day.

At Florida, you've dealt with heaps of allegations. Did winning the title serve as any vindication?

The biggest thing you have to be able to do is look yourself in the mirror. Because somebody says something doesn't mean it's true. I didn't like things that people accused me of that just weren't true. They were looked into (and not proven). You have to be able to feel good for yourself and internally, that what you're doing is right. In any competitive field, there will always be a level of negativity surrounding it.