<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">To hear Billy Donovan tell it, the basketball team he?ll put on the floor next season might as well be called the Orlando Gators. "I would really try to have us play very similar to the way we played at Florida," Donovan said. Donovan was officially introduced as the Magic?s new coach on Friday, but he is bringing his old orange-and-blue ideas with him that netted UF back-to-back national titles. "I think coming up here, I?m not looking to change who I am or how I coach," he said. "I can?t be somebody I?m not." You probably can?t call it "Billy Ball" anymore. That was the frenetic, fastbreak pressing style Donovan learned at the feet of mentor Rick Pitino and demanded out of his Gators early in his 11-year career at UF. Donovan still encouraged running and defensive pressure with the Gators, but he also routinely dumped the ball inside to big men Al Horford and Joakim Noah the last two seasons. That?s music to Dwight Howard?s fears. Donovan might be a rookie pro coach, but he realizes Howard and (a re-signed) Darko Milicic need the ball. "There are a lot of guys on the team right now that have great upsides," he said. The Magic said that one of the reasons they fired Brian Hill was his lack of offensive imagination. They should have a different look under Donovan ----an uptempo offense, hopefully, that scores more points, moves the ball and doesn?t bog down under the weight of turnovers. The addendum here: Donovan might have to shake up the Magic?s personnel through free agency or trades to build his version of Gator Magic. He said Friday that he agrees with the General Manager Otis Smith that the club?s offseason priority is a wing scorer. "Offensively, you got to try to take advantage of the skill-set that the team has and put them in a position that they do best," Donovan said. "Looking at the team being young, with good athleticism . . . I can see certainly playing at a very similar style that we played at Florida," he said. "I understand over an 82-game schedule you?re probably not going to be able to press. "But extending the floor, getting out in transition, trying to create turnovers, getting out on the break" are some of the staples of Donovan?s philosophy. Donovan said he will bring assistant coach Larry Shyatt from his Gators? staff. Shyatt is his defensive coordinator, credited with helping bring home UF?s two titles.</div> Source
