Anne Donovan Quotes

Not all players want to play defense. You get in foul trouble, you're going to be on the bench.

If a guy is shooting a shot in the corner 70 percent of the missed shots usually come off that other side and 30 percent hits off the front rim so just playing the percentages and kind of studying your teammates' shots throughout the course of the game.

In every game, there's three teams out there. There's the two basketball teams and the team of officials. If the two teams are evenly matched, it can come down to number of possessions. If one out-of-bounds call goes the wrong way, that can be the difference.

I always thought the objective of basketball was to get the maximum amount of movement to get the easiest shot, closest to the basket. With the three-point rule, the whole strategy changes, and you make a move and then throw it 30 feet out, where somebody takes a standing jump shot.

Street basketball is all about shakes and fakes, crossing your defender up. The NBA is more strategic.

Think about the deflections. The offense can't score every play. They're just trying to get a good shot. If I can deflect a pass, even if it doesn't cause a turnover, it will throw their timing off half-a-second. That half-a-second might mess up their shot.

You know, pass now to pinch post, cut, shoot the shot. Do things to facilitate the offense. That's what I did in Alabama.

Depending on the point in the game and what's necessary, if you can deliver the play, whatever that is - heck, if it's a screen - and you get a guy open, and he scores a big basket for you, that gives me as much of a charge as anything.

What I really lick my chops for is when you get the offensive rebounds at the end of the third quarter, fourth quarter. That really just sucks the life out of the opponent. You can see it in their face, especially when you're on the road, it just takes the whole energy out of the arena. That's what I live for.

If you drive right, and your big is standing to the right, dish and keep going to their big - you grab an arm, maybe pull - so that they can't contest. You only get called for it once in a while.

Until that moment comes when the ball comes to me every time, I have to find a way to be effective with offensive rebounds, play hard defense, blocking shots.

You're going to play me different if I have the ball, even if I'm at 75, 80 percent, just for the simple fact that you do not want me to make that three. That's helping my team out.

Why is Scottie Pippen taking a charge? Taking a charge is for people with no game!

It starts the fast-break a lot easier when I get the ball. I don't have to wait for big men to give me it. Just get it and go.

Defense, in the game, is something that I just really enjoy. Some people enjoy assisting the ball. Some people like to score, score, score, but to me the first thing that comes up is defense.

We need to play tough defense and have a sound offense. But mostly, we have to outrebound the other team.

I think, for me, I'm making the right plays and finding my teammates if I'm not open and finishing strong around the rim.

You can't just sit back and think you're gonna pack the paint in and win games. You've gotta guard that three-point line.

That's AAU ball. That's what you do: 'I want to get out there first and score.' You see it in games during the summer. There are not a lot of great blockouts going on.

At Golden State, it was basically a guard-oriented offense and it wasn't either around me or in my direction.

I'm not the strongest, I'm not the fastest, I can't jump the highest, so for me, it's doing it in other ways: changing paces, using your body to get open, knowing your defender. A lot goes into it. You have to study the game.

The triangle offense is more for slashers and people who like to take the ball to the basket.

I want to make sure the other point guard can't start his offense until 12 or 13 seconds. Then I've put my team in position to defend just one pick-and-roll and one pass.

I'm starting to figure it out - figure out my spots, where I should be on the court, where I'm most effective, and how I handle double teams - and it's paying off.

When I'm in the pick-and-roll, I'm looking to be a playmaker first and to score second. When I'm playing off the ball and I catch the ball, I'm looking to be a scorer first and a playmaker second.