Billy Donovan said:
Notebook: Donovan calls Ohio State crowd 'classy'
Sun sports writer
12:07 am, December 23, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Florida coach Billy Donovan knew his young team was going to get a test from the crowd in its first road game of the season.
For the most part, though, Donovan said he felt the Ohio State fans conducted themselves with class.
"I thought their crowd was terrific," Donovan said. "Very classy. They were focused on cheering hard for their team and what they were doing."
Florida has had some ugly incidents in past road games in the Southeastern Conference in recent seasons. Joakim Noah and Matt Walsh were favorite targets. Opposing fans at Florida State and Vanderbilt stormed the court following wins against the Gators last season.
The lone target that emerged late in the game was Florida freshman forward Chandler Parsons, who was mocked by the crowd after air-balling a free-throw attempt. After the miss, fans chanted "air ball" each time Parsons touched the ball.
Freshman guard Jai Lucas said he liked the atmosphere, even though fans were cheering against him.
"I wasn't nervous or scared," Lucas said. "That's why you play college basketball, to play in big games like this in big arenas like this."