Q: What was your reaction when you heard the news? A: I was excited. When you don't have a coach, it's a lot of uncertainty in the building. But coming into the practice facility today, I felt like it was the next step for us. It was an exciting feeling for everybody that was there at the gym today to learn that we got Billy as our coach. We're exciting and we're looking forward to it.

What's your relationship with Billy like now? Do you have a relationship with him? Do you know him at all?

I met him one time out in Vegas. He was there for USA Basketball. And I've heard good things about him. I'm sure we'll click pretty quickly. But I don't have a relationship with him. I don't know him. He didn't recruit me at Florida, so I don't really know him too well. I'm just going off of what guys that played for him said. And I'm looking forward to meeting him and getting a feel for him myself.

He's obviously accomplished a ton and he's not even 50 years old. Two national titles, 500 wins. But people are questioning his lack of NBA experience. Do you think that that sort of thing matters, or is a coach just a coach?

I wouldn't say it matters. I think, like you said, if you know how to coach a team that's all that matters. He's been at one of the highest levels of basketball and won a title. That's tough to do. So you can't just downplay what he's done in the college ranks and just automatically say he's not going to be great in the pros. He produced a lot of pros and they all love him. The only thing that will be different, to be honest, is just the schedule and the amount of practice time you may have and the travel. But other than that, I think he'll adapt pretty quickly.

There was a report that you reached out to Florida players in the NBA. Was that true, and what former Florida players did you call and what did you learn?

I reached out to Chandler Parsons and Mike Miller. And they just told me great things. Mike told me that he's real detailed and prepared. Every day is just another day for him to get better. And he's always looking to learn. I was excited when I heard that because that's the type of player I am, and I'm looking forward to learning from somebody else. It should be a good relationship. Like I said, I want to get a feel for him myself and for him to get a feel for me and just work from there.

Billy's known for a lot of different things. His Florida teams have been great defensively. He's a really sharp Xs and Os guy. What kind of expectations, or do you have any expectations when you get into training camp about the areas Billy Donovan can really help you guys evolve?

It's going to take some time. I think just for him over the summer is big for him to get to know more guys. Obviously he's watched us before and knows what our strengths and weaknesses are as players. But I know he's going to do a good job because from what I've heard he works extremely hard, his attention to detail is one of the best and everybody's been telling me he's an NBA coach coaching in college. So I'm excited. I'm very excited to learn from him and get better from him and try my best to do whatever he tells me to do. I can't wait to get started.