Todd Golden’s Gators enter SEC play poised for Yr 3 run

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GAINESVILLE — UF coach Todd Golden nonetheless wasn’t positive how good the Gators may very well be every week previous to Thanksgiving when faculty basketball operates within the shadows.

However his confidence was rising after their fourth 20-point win in six video games, this time a 93-68 thumping of Southern Illinois on Nov. 22.

Few in Gator Nation might need seen on the eve of Florida soccer’s upset of Ole Miss within the Swamp, however the items had been rapidly falling into place over on the O’Dome.

Florida head coach Todd Golden, left, signed guard Will Richard as a part of the Gators’ first crop of transfers in 2022. (AP Picture/Alan Youngblood, File)

Six weeks later, the red-hot Gators (13-0) are off to their quickest begin because the program’s historic peak and seizing middle stage in Gainesville as faculty basketball’s largest shock.

“For the primary time since we’ve been right here, we really feel like we’re in place to make a very good run,” Golden instructed the Orlando Sentinel as a current observe concluded on the O’Connell Heart.

No. 6 Florida opens convention play Saturday at No. 10 Kentucky (10-2) unbeaten for the primary time because the 2005-06 squad began 17-0 en path to the primary of two consecutive nationwide championships beneath Billy Donovan.

A once-in-a-generation recruiting class, the so-called ‘04s, led the best way. 

4 starters — three NBA lottery picks (Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer) plus the son (Taurean Inexperienced) of a 10-year NBA veteran — had been roommates who put aside private targets and stay lifelong mates.

The dynamic was nearly unprecedented on the time. The successful method could be not possible to duplicate now.

Constructing a roster lately is an ever-changing puzzle, the place a tried-and-true blueprint now not applies. The switch portal permits gamers to depart for one more college and play instantly;  NIL alternatives permit them to signal with the very best bidder.

To maintain up, and in the end push forward, the 39-year-old Golden has modified with the instances throughout six seasons as a head coach.

“It’s modified a ton — a ton,” he stated. “I believe that’s why you see a few of these older coaches both getting out or not having quite a lot of success — or as a lot success as they had been used to — as a result of it’s a totally completely different course of. 

“Cussed will get you beat now.”

Florida head coach Todd Golden stands between forward Thomas Haugh, left, and center Rueben Chinyelu (9) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Florida head coach Todd Golden stands between ahead Thomas Haugh, left, and middle Rueben Chinyelu in the course of the Gators’ 90-84 in opposition to North Carolina Dec. 17, 2024 in Charlotte. (AP Picture/Nell Redmond)

Beating Golden’s Gators poses its personal challenges.

Golden and his workers have assembled a set of transfers, highschool signees and worldwide gamers with the expertise and perspective to overwhelm opponents.

UF wins by a median of 23.9 factors, tied with Tennessee for second nationally behind Maryland (26.1), and assaults from all angles.

4 Gators have scored at the very least 25 factors in a sport: Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin, Will Richard and Alex Condon; 4 gamers have grabbed at the very least 10 rebounds (Martin, Condon, Ruben Chinyelu and Sam Alexis); and 4 gamers have tallied at the very least 5 assists (Clayton, Martin, Richard and Condon).

“It’s scary; we’ve such a deep group,” Richard stated Thursday. “Any evening may very well be someone’s evening. It’s enjoyable to play on a group like that.”

Golden constructed his group in his personal picture and based mostly on private experiences.

A 6-foot-3 former walk-on at Saint Mary’s School, Golden carved out a beginning position for an NCAA event group as a harmful 3-point shooter and dependable ballhandler with a team-first mentality beneath coach Randy Bennett.

“He was targeted on successful gamers versus rankings and issues of that nature,” Golden recalled. “I didn’t really feel prefer it mattered that I used to be a walk-on so long as I helped the group. He had a capability to search out these guys — guys that appreciated that, versus working from it — guys that like that aggressive surroundings.”

Gators 6-foot-9 sophomore Thomas Haugh matches the Golden profile, solely with significantly extra dimension and upside. 

A 3-star recruit out of the Perkiomen College in Pennsburg, Penn., rated the nation’s No. 42 energy ahead by 247Sports, Haugh was recruited to the College of Richmond by Kevin Hovde earlier than he joined Golden’s workers at UF.

When Hovde invited him to Gainesville, Haugh pounced on a scholarship supply after his go to. Seems he’s a lifelong Tim Tebow fan with a sister at UF.

“This child loves Florida,” Golden stated.

Head coach Todd Golden of the Florida Gators celebrates a three point basket against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half in the Holiday Hoopsgiving Atlanta at State Farm Arena on Dec. 14, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Florida head coach Todd Golden celebrates a 3-point basket in the course of the Gators’ 83-66 win in opposition to Arizona State in the course of the Vacation Hoopsgiving Dec. 14, 2024 in Atlanta’s State Farm Area. (Picture by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Photographs)

At Saint Mary’s, Golden additionally noticed the significance of going anyplace for expertise.

Daniel Kickert, a 6-foot-10 middle from Australia, was the main scorer and rebounder when Golden was a freshman. Patty Mills was a freshman star level guard throughout Golden’s senior season.

“Patty was comparatively unknown exterior of Australia,” Golden stated of the 16-year NBA veteran. “However all of us had been dedicated to this system and taking part in arduous. It’s one thing which you could consider in the course of the recruiting course of.”

Take into account UF’s huge males.

The 6-foot-11, 230-pound Condon was a 3-star prospect however the son of an Australian Guidelines footballer with elite athletic skill, a various talent set and a aggressive edge. The 6-foot-10, 255-pound Chinyelu took up basketball as a 14-year-old in Nigeria however has the dimensions, talent set and work ethic to develop into a pressure.

“We take the method that we’re going to scour the globe to search out the most effective gamers,” Golden stated. 

In the meantime, the Gators’ stellar three-man beginning backcourt options gamers who adopted circuitous paths to UF. 

Richard is a Georgia native who got here from Belmont College, a non-public Christian college in Nashville, to affix Golden’s first UF group; Clayton hails from central Florida and transferred in 2023 after two seasons at Iona College, a Catholic college exterior New York Metropolis; and Martin was a former two-sport highschool star in Mississippi who transferred final spring from South Florida a season after he helped FAU attain the 2023 Ultimate 4.

Every is an elite scorer with an alpha-dog mentality but targeted on the higher good.

“We’ve all been on the identical web page,” Richard stated. “There was no ‘That is my present,’ or something like that. We’ve all needed to sacrifice for one another, we’re good at taking part in unselfish and all of us need to see one another win and do good on the market.

“It’s been enjoyable taking part in basketball.”

Florida guards Alijan Martin and Walter Clayton Jr. celebrate a basket against Arizona State during the Holiday Hoopsgiving Atlanta Dec. 14 at State Farm Arena. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Florida guards Alijan Martin and Walter Clayton Jr. have a good time a basket in opposition to Arizona State in the course of the Vacation Hoopsgiving Atlanta Dec. 14 at State Farm Area. (Picture by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Photographs)

For Golden’s program to achieve this level has required trial and error and the flexibility to climate ups and downs.

Golden’s first switch class featured extra misses (Trey Bonham, Alex Fudge and Kyle Lofton) than hits (Richard).

“We didn’t have the luxurious of with the ability to actually choose and select,” Golden stated. “We had been simply making an attempt to build up.”

After going 16-17 in Yr 1, coaches had a full offseason to overtake the roster and landed 4 winners out of the portal — Clayton, Zyon Pullin, Micah Handlogten and Tyrese Samuel — together with true freshmen Condon and Haugh.

This previous offseason, Golden and Co. got down to enhance Florida’s toughness and physicality with Martin, Chinyelu and energy ahead Sam Alexis, a 6–foot-8 Apopka native who performed his first two seasons at Tennessee-Chattanooga.

“This yr was simpler as a result of we had extra of a nucleus to construct round,” Golden stated.

Combo guard Denzel Aberdeen rounds out the Gators’ rock-solid eight-man rotation. The previous standout and state champion at Dr. Phillips is Golden’s solely participant right here all three seasons who arrived from highschool.

Composing and training a lineup representing 4 U.S. states and two overseas nations requires an individual to have a world view.

Alex Condon #21 of the Florida Gators celebrates after dunking the ball against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the first half in the Holiday Hoopsgiving Atlanta at State Farm Arena on Dec. 14, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Florida energy ahead Alex Condon is a 6-foot-11 sophomore from Australia who leads the Gators in rebounding and blocked photographs. (Picture by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Photographs)

Raised in Phoenix by a father from New York and mom from New Jersey, Golden — who’s Jewish —  attended a Catholic faculty within the San Francisco Bay space and performed two seasons professionally in Israel earlier than starting his teaching profession at Columbia College, an Ivy league college in Harlem.

After two seasons in SEC nation at Auburn and 6 on the College San Francisco, the ultimate three (2019-22) as head coach, Golden landed in Gainesville. 

“I’ve quite a lot of life experiences,” he stated. “I haven’t simply been sitting in California for 40 years. My appreciation for a whole image — from an analysis standpoint — has undoubtedly been helped by the completely different locations I’ve been.”

Golden now goals to take Florida to the place it hasn’t been since 2014 — the Ultimate 4. Three years within the making, he might need put collectively the group to get there.

With seven groups ranked within the prime 15, together with the nation’s ultimate three unbeatens (UF, Tennessee and Oklahoma), the SEC will give the Gators an opportunity to show themselves.

“I’d like to go 31-0 within the common season,” Golden joked Thursday. “However they’re simply elevating the stakes.”

Edgar Thompson will be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

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