Billy Donovan has seen his team accomplish a lot this season.
The top-seeded Gators have won 30 straight games, became the first team to finish 18-0 in regular-season Southeastern Conference play and clinched their first Final Four berth since 2007 Saturday after defeating No. 11 seed Dayton 62-52 in Memphis, Tenn.
But now that the celebration and excitement of getting over the Elite Eight hump has calmed, Donovan is preparing his team for the next obstacle — one that supersedes the court.
While the team has been playing with a win-or-go-home mentality for the past three weekends, Donovan needs his team to be ready for the external obligations that are bound to arise.
“What I try to do this time, right now this early part of the week is these guys have got to get their personal stuff out of the way,” he said. “I think when you go to a Final Four, there is a lot of stuff coming at them. I can’t even imagine the amount of people that want tickets from them and people want this or that. There are a lot of things. I need to give them time to handle their personal stuff.”
With each player receiving only six tickets for family, sophomore Michael Frazier II said his family has been understanding of the situation he is in.
“They know that I’m a very focused person,” Frazier said. “So, they know when it comes to things like this not to really bother me. I’ll handle it and I do a pretty good job of handling it well before the game starts so I don’t have to worry about it.”
Donovan said it’s tough to teach his team what they will be experiencing when they head to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but the 18th-year coach is working on getting them in the right mindset.
“I’ve got to try to help them understand what they’re walking into,” Donovan said. “In doing that, they’ve got to really, really pay attention to just them doing their job of moving to the next thing and not getting distracted by all this event brings to it.”
Because none of the players have experience with the outside pressures that encompass the Final Four, they will be looking to Donovan for support.
“He knows what goes into trying to win this thing,” Frazier said.
“He knows what’s going to happen, from the distractions all the way up until game time. He knows. He’s been through it. So I think the biggest thing for us is taking his advice on things and listening to him.”
Added senior Scottie Wilbekin: “I hope it helps. But what he was describing of the Final Four was just a lot of distractions, and we’re going to try our best to not get distracted by all of the hoopla and the excitement of the Final Four.”
For Frazier, the Gators just need to continue what they have been doing all season long.
“I think everybody has really bought into what he’s put on the table,” the sophomore shooting guard said.
“It’s just staying locked into the process every single day and not worrying about the future, not worrying about the past. Just staying locked into the moment. And we’ve all bought into that, and that’s why you hear it a lot from us.
“We all believe it’s going to work, and it’s been working. I think we’re going to continue to do that. It just shows that when you have a team that’s bought in, it can really take you far.”
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Billy Donovan looks on during Florida’s 79-68 win against UCLA on Thursday in FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. Donovan will coach in his fourth Final Four when Florida faces UConn on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas.
