Todd Golden named head coach

That doesn't matter. Basketball recruiting is more national than regional. Just look at the people that Billy D brought in.

 

I agree. Would not have gotten a very good reaction if Napier were hired before his name was leaked and we had a chance to "investigate" him. Sure hope this works out

 

I suppose it may be better to have a lot of shoulder shrugging about a young hungry guy, rather than the split opposition Grant has seen on here in recent days.

 

As a Todd, just not psyched about bring in another coach named Todd that has TG as their initials.

 

Idk man Shaka has done nothing in a decade, and they were obliterated yesterday. Never won a tourney game at Texas.

 

I think he is from Pearl’s coaching tree so there is that.

 

Sources say Florida was planning to move on from White at the conclusion of the season, perhaps after the NIT, with UF believing other programs would have interest in White’s services and a separation could come without needing a buy out from his contract. As such, it was believed that Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin long had a top target in mind and planned to move quickly as he did when he replaced head football coach Dan Mullen with Louisiana head coach Billy Napier just a couple months ago. In hiring Golden, “Stricklin wasn’t concerned with bringing in a big name from a power conference; he was focused on hiring the best fit”. In fact, hiring Golden was a battle won for Florida as there were a number of power conference programs vying for his services. sources told OnlyGators.com.

 

Yes ... and from Kyle Smith's (Washington State).

You guys have gotten yourself a good one ... who has a very good chance to be a great one. Nicely done ....

 

Looks like he's about 16

 

Prior to taking his first head coaching job, Golden served in off- and on-court roles at Columbia (2012-14) and Auburn (2014-16) before heading to San Francisco as an assistant (2017-19). He was promoted to the top job ahead of the 2019-20 season when former coach Kyle Smith left for Washington State.
Florida currently employs executive associate AD Jay Jacobs, who was the Auburn AD when Golden worked for head coach Bruce Pearl during his time with the Tigers.

 

Sounds familiar. Stricklin's MO for Mullen/Napier.

 

San Francisco ranked 37th in scoring offense. 131st in scoring defense.
Florida was 170th in scoring offense. 33rd in scoring defense.

So we should see some improvement in offense.

 

And a couple of years at Auburn so not unfamiliar with the SEC. More offense, more analytics, a little bit of Pearl…I could be convinced.

 

Just reading some advanced metrics. Roughly top 50 nationally in adjusted offense defense and ppg this year.
Their first tournament since 1998.
He took over an 18 win team and they had 24 this year.
3 years head coaching, which to me is the biggest question mark. It’s a huge step from three years in the WCC to coaching against the coaches and talent we have in this league every night - though the WCC did get four teams ok this year.
Watching the game last night his team plays with confidence, hit some big shots late to almost pull it out.
I like young in today’s climate. He does have 3 years at Auburn so he should understand the league.

overall more positives than negatives, my concern with Stricklin is that he tends to lock in on someone and shuts everyone else out. Hope that wasn’t the case here and this is truly the guy he thinks can get it done.

 

Would take him over most names I've seen on here.
He's young got into dance with not great talent.
Just hope he can keep Reeves, lane and the class that was signed.
No one has any idea how he will do so will get behind him and hope it works out.Go GATORS.​

 

He also worked at South Carolina some as well as Auburn for those concerned with his connections to the SE area.

 

Another interview

 

Tweet from Florida Basketball Hour said he was one of Auburn's lead recruiters under Pearl, so he has that SEC assistant experience at least.

 

I think we will see a more exciting brand of ball, doesn't always translate to more wins, but better scoring. Hopefully that will attract better scorers and it does translate to winning games. I'm optimistic, why wouldn't you be honestly?

It was obvious MW needed a change, we as fans needed a change, mutual parting of ways.

I'm more excited about this than I was when white got the job. I believe he had only made the NIT prior to being hired at UF.

 

While only 36 years old, Golden has emerged as a trendy candidate to fill high-major coaching vacancies because he just accomplished something that hasn't been done at San Francisco since before he was born. The Dons' NCAA Tournament appearance this season marked the first for the school since 1998. It's the first time San Francisco has earned an at-large berth since 1982.

Golden is a longtime disciple of Washington State coach Kyle Smith, who he replaced as head coach at San Francisco. Golden and Smith first connected during Golden's playing days at St. Mary's from 2004-2008. Smith was an assistant coach during Golden's years there. As a player, Smith helped lead St. Mary's to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

Following two years of professional basketball in Israel, Golden reunited with Smith, then the head coach at Columbia. Golden served as an assistant coach for the Lions for two seasons. In 2014, he got his first taste of high-major basketball when he was named the director of basketball operations at Auburn. After one year in that role, Bruce Pearl promoted Golden to full-time assistant.

When San Francisco hired Smith as its head coach in 2016, Golden left Auburn to reunite with him. According to his bio on the San Francisco website, Golden led the Dons' recruiting efforts and headed the team's defense as an assistant. San Francisco ranked No. 291 nationally in defensive efficiency prior to the arrival of Smith and Golden but jumped to 59th in their first season. The Dons have ranked among the top 100 teams nationally in defensive efficiency in each of Goldens' three seasons as head coach, peaking at 21st this year.
San Francisco won 20-plus games in each of Smith's three seasons at the helm but could never break into the NCAA Tournament. Once Smith left for Washington State, San Francisco wasted little time promoting Golden to the head chair. The Dons went 22-12 in his first season as head coach, then fell back to 11-14 a year ago.

During the offseason, Golden added three key transfers to the roster and San Francisco jumped out to a 10-0 start to the season. It won non-conference games against Arizona State, Davidson and UAB. The strong start, combined with impressive efficiency metrics, helped the Dons sneak into the NCAA Tournament field.

In addition to his team's defense, Golden has developed a reputation for his use of analytics. He has an assistant coach, Jonathan Safir, who oversees all analytics and strategy for the team. Golden has used analytics to make a few non-traditional in-game decisions that have paid off. For instance, in his first season, San Francisco led BYU by two points with 22 seconds to play and Golden instructed his team to foul BYU's Yoeli Childs rather than simply try to get a defensive stop. Childs missed the front end of the one-and-one and San Francisco held on to win. That same year, Golden's team fouled Pacific's Pierre Crockrell, a 36 percent free throw shooter, with 11 seconds left in the first half in order to get another offensive possession. Crockrell made one of two free throws and the Dons hit a three-pointer on the other end of the floor.

PowerMizzou - Candidate Profile: Todd Golden