Gator Nation News

Commentary:A Golden Era For Gators B-Ball

UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin (left) welcomed Todd Golden to the Gator Nation this spring to rejuvenate the men’s basketball program. Golden is the team’s 20th head coach in program history.

In UF’s quest to return to glory, UF’s new men’s basketball coach is bringing a fresh game plan and attitude to the Gators. Translation: expect hustle and more shots from downtown.

It was spring 1996 and I was having lunch with UF’s new men’s basketball coach at the old Bennigan’s on Archer Road. We talked about his basketball philosophies and expectations.

I leaned over and said these words to Billy Donovan, the just-hired 30-year-old coach (I know I’m quoting myself accurately because he has reminded me multiple times): “Billy, this will never be a basketball school.”

Brilliant.

Now, almost 30 years later, I’m standing in the Hugh Hathcock Practice Facility on campus talking to Todd Golden, who looks younger than Donovan did when he took the job. Golden is 37 and looks 17. Above his head is a giant wall display of Donovan’s mug overseeing what Billy D created.

Golden established himself as an up-and-comer in the college basketball world while coaching at the University of San Francisco. He cashed in with a six-year, $18 million contract to replace Mike White as the Gators coach.

UF basketball has a lot more cache than it did when Donovan came. But it’s up to Golden — who last year led San Francisco to its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998 — to get the Gators back on track. The Gators settled for an NIT berth last season, and has only three wins in the NCAA Tournament since an Elite Eight berth in 2017.

“He brings a smart and analytics-driven approach to the game and a relational approach to leadership that puts student-athletes first,” UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said of Golden.

Golden is armed with data and personality. And that’s what you’ll see when the Gators play this season. He retained standout center/forward Colin Castleton (who last spring seemed to have no intention of coming back for his senior season) and took advantage of the transfer portal to bolster a solid roster.

Now we’ll see what he’s like as a coach. We know what he wants. Whether he gets those things in a brutally difficult SEC remains to be seen. Even with preseason first team All-SEC selection Castleton, the mighty Gators are picked to finish seventh in the conference.

Enter the young coach who lives by hustle stats and wants two things to improve with this year’s team: “We have to be better at shooting threes and better on the defensive boards.”

To his point, the Gators finished 12th in both 3-point shooting and rebounding in the 14-team SEC last season, a sure recipe to the middle of the pack.

“The issue with rebounding? The other team was getting its misses back too much,” Golden said with a grin. “Some of it was a lack of physicality. This is the best offensive rebounding conference in the country. We have to close the gap.”

Then there’s the offense. Don’t get the impression the Gators will be jacking up threes to get the percentages up.

“I want us to take the right shots,” Golden said. “We have to be a good 3-point shooting team. We’re not going to take as many as we took at San Francisco because that was a good shooting team. This team is really good at shooting two-point shots.”

Some of those two-pointers, however, will not be encouraged. Golden scrolls through his phone past pictures of his family to find a graphic that shows a place called “Area 31.” It’s a spot about eight feet from the basket where analytics indicate shots are good 31 percent of the time. In other words, get a better shot.

Also, stop turning the ball over. That was me saying that. Last year’s team was in the bottom half of the league in turnovers with 12.4 per game. It seemed like they all came when the game was on the line.

“[The Gators] had to play without a real point guard last year,” Golden said. “They were trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, personnel wise.”

He believes he found the answer with St. Bonaventure transfer guard Kyle Lofton.

“Colin and Kyle will play off each other,” Golden said.

The Colin and Kyle Show will have plenty of help with sophomore guard Kowacie Reeves, who dazzled late last season, ready to break out.

“He struggled some early, but he’s playing his best basketball,” Golden said. “It’s a fun progression to watch.”

There were 11 players battling for five starting spots going into the season, so that should tell you about the team’s depth. And the coach seems to be getting through to this group of players, who are still getting to know him. Golden wasted little time building relationships.

“You have to have a strong relationship,” he said. “We spend a lot of time with these guys, so when we have to coach them hard they’re more open to it. My hope is that when people come and see us play, they’ll see a connected team that pulls for each other, a team that takes pride in defense and rebounding and taking care of the ball and plays a fast-paced offense.”

Music to the ears of the Gator faithful. Now let’s see it for real.

Sportswriter Pat Dooley (BSJ ’76) covered the Gators for The Gainesville Sun for 33 years until his retirement in 2020. He still shares his love for Gator sports through his podcast, “Another Dooley Noted,” and WRUF radio program, “Dooley’s Back 9.” His Gator Nation News column does not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Florida.

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