I may get blasted here, and deservedly so…. as my long leash for White makes this post somewhat indefensible. But I’ll post it anyway…. I wasn’t thrilled about the Golden hire from the beginning, but didn’t want to appear as sour grapes. But I did quickly recognize some much needed attributes…. ones White was lacking. He has an energy that makes him a better “program guy” even if not a better coach. He seemed much more aware of what the program is; and what it needs… and far better equipped to embrace and benefit from NIL. And i think that has largely materialized. From a coaching standpoint, I found it odd we hired someone so green and with a defensive background… especially considering our frustrations with offense. Golden was committed to playing fast… and has done so, but the half court offense has been poor; especially in recognition of a talent upgrade. I have said I think Golden has a higher ceiling than his predecessor- due to the fore mentioned attributes. But right now… he has a lower floor; and a steeper learning curve. I’ve also argued that Florida IS a place to invest in that type coach/scenario… and to allow a guy like Golden to “learn on the job”. I still feel that way, but the dynamics of college sports have changed so much. The portal and NIL payments have created a “win now” mentality… and opportunity to do so … more than ever before. I do not know how this season will unfold and it is still early. But I am concerned Golden - at the moment- is on over his head, and just doesn’t know how to maximize this roster. The conundrum this presents … a program desperately needs enthusiasm and momentum to gain the support… $$$ …. to land players and compete. That is the sad state of college athletics, imo. And so, there is a real danger of a sentiment “if he can’t do it with this roster…” taking hold. This is a really hard environment to be an up-and-coming coach at a big program… And a very risky spot to hire one. Florida is going to need real patience and a commitment to its plan.Or a very quick pull the plug. The former becomes more difficult when Dusty May is in your backyard, and eventually … someone will hire him. Anyway- I hope this isn’t taken the wrong way. There is a lot I like about TG, and his roster reflects my optimism. The results and the current environment reflect my concerns. I’d be interested in the thoughts of others, and hope this doesn’t get ugly.
If he and Napier get fired eventually, I'm over the hire the up and comer. Pull out the check book and go grab a known name for both sports. I wasn't as down on you when hiring TG. With that said, I was ready to get rid of White. We'll see how it turns out.
What I liked about Golden is that he is trying build a traditional front-court with tall centers and a PF. It may take some time for these players to finally jell. He still has to get more 3-point shooters and get better ball movement on offense and on those in-bound plays. Florida (11-6, 1-3, 11th place) might be an up & down team this year in terms of winning in the SEC. At this rate, UF may not even reach the post-season. I still think that Golden has to recruit more of the top players out of High School (Top 25/50 ish) and let them develop over 2-4 years. Golden has landed some good transfer portal guys but they are having an adjustment period against the opposition. Defensively, Florida is only playing man-to man defense. I wish that we would go to a zone defense, perhaps zone-press at times. Trapping a hot player here and there.
I have stayed quiet the last few weeks. But the same problems show up every game with no fix, even Arkansas. Our talent is much much better than our performance. I have been a big TG guy, but things have to get better. Assuming he gets a year 3, he needs a truly experienced guy next to him on the bench who he is willing to listen to. Short of that, he needs a hard look in the mirror on what his deficiencies are and a willingness to work on them.
One game away is not the perfect data point. But still, I get what you are saying. For whatever reason, the Brain Trust has decided that "young and dynamic" is better than "mature, known, and expensive". Not sure whether this is Foley in the background or the BT just taking it from here. IMO, if we win enough games to get into the tourney then Golden is safe for a year or two. But if the team falters down the stretch as we did last season, especially with the major re-build TG made, then he will be given as much time as it takes for the new AD. Starting 2023, I thought Napier was safe but Golden and a frantic dance to oblivion would end Stricklin's career at UF. Now I think that Stricklin can and should end his career with either brain fart. If it is on Golden's watch then it would help evaluating Napier next year. In any scenario, Stricklin is the story. And it ain't good.
We have to ask ourselves. Do we only want to rinse and repeat year after year, or do we want to be head and shoulders above the rest. I agree Golden is in over his head, just watch his lack of sideline banter with the refs. You have to be consistent and constant in this league. So far the Golden years here at UF have only been fools gold.
I have slowly come to realize that I honestly don’t know if any coach will do different. With NIL you can pay for the big players or you can’t. X’s and O’s matter, but only if you have some Jimmys and Joes. We for some reason cannot afford players that others can. Sure, you could bring Dusty May here. But a top 10 player is still going to Kentucky if they pay him 1M and we pay 100k.
Our basketball program has been well funded since NIL, and we have done quite well. We had one of the top rated portal classes in the country. I do not have concerns about talent… wether it be the talent we have now, or projections about talent we can attract.
I think he made a mistake by not forcing this team to play defense early on, and now it’s too late. SEC is just too physical and tough to think you can just win with offense and finesse. This isn’t the NBA where you don’t have to play defense. We also easily get away from our inside out game. Granted the start of our SEC schedule has been brutal and gets easier, I’m starting to worry about making the tourney.
Golden's Florida teams are also playing SEC teams with PROVEN veteran coaches. He has a much higher learning curve than the previous UF Coach, Mike White: SEC Basketball Coaches List | Coaches Database School Current Coach Years Alabama Crimson Tide Nate Oats 2019- Arkansas Razorbacks Eric Musselman 2019- Auburn Tigers Bruce Pearl 2014- Florida Gators Todd Golden 2022- Georgia Bulldogs Mike White 2022- Kentucky Wildcats John Calipari 2009- LSU Tigers Matt McMahon 2022- Mississippi State Bulldogs Chris Jans 2022- Missouri Tigers Dennis Gates 2022- Ole Miss Rebels Chris Beard 2023- South Carolina Gamecocks Lamont Paris 2022- Tennessee Volunteers Rick Barnes 2015- Texas A&M Aggies Buzz Williams 2019- Vanderbilt Commodores Jerry Stackhouse 2019- Where would Golden rank now? Probably # 9-14 right now. My Ranking of SEC Coaches: 1. Rick Barnes - Tennessee 2. Nate Oates - Alabama 3. Bruce Pearl - Auburn 4. John Calapari - Kentucky 5. Buzz Williams - Texas AM 6. Chris Beard - Ole Miss 7. Eric Musselman - Arkansas 8. Mike White - Georgia 9. Lamont Parris - South Carolina 10. Chris Jans - Mississippi St 11. Todd Golden - Florida 12. Matt Mchahon - LSU 13. Dennis Gates - Missouri 14. Jerry Stackhouse - Vanderbilt Current SEC Standings: Men's College Basketball Standings - 2023-24 Southeastern Conference Standings - ESPN
Yes, but it’s been all good talent, not elite. We need an elite guy and I don’t see us affording one.
It seems simple...Coach is very good at recruiting and evaluating talent but seems to be lacking in game day coaching skills. At San Fran he was able to win because he had better talent than the other teams so he could have a simple coaching plan, but you can't get away with that against SEC teams with equal or greater talent. He could use a Larry Shyatt type mentor on the bench, and I believe he will get better but for now it appears he is stubborn to make any offensive or defensive changes. He has some young Billy D in him which could lead to greatness, but will he develop like Billy...we can only hope.
UT was clearly a better team with better players (esp at their place). So not going to overreact to a game I pretty much expected to see a loss. But yeah, the fundamentals on offense and defenere definitely need some work. X’s and O’s. The two losses are disappointing in HOW we lost. Just totally outclassed. Analytics don’t mean much if you’re playing sloppy half court ball, not staying in front of your man, and generally bad at team defense. Basically not overreacting to this game, but 1-3 is definitely not the start we were hoping for. I keep thinking back to that UK game, closing that out and we are 2-2 and not in awful shape. But 1-3 is a hole to climb out of.
Ehhh . . . probably best for you not to compare Golden to the last guy. Too hard for you to be objective. Right now is also a predictable time to be down. How did you think we would start against UK, MS, Ark, TN? I know . . . but we were not competitive on the road. That is a legit concern. We need to get the next three before the firestorms at UK & A&M. Then the SEC schedule opens up a bit. We've got good players and need the defensive coaching to turn over a new leaf. I'm not gonna get too down at the moment. Riley flipped a switch for the Ark game. Maybe the team can do so going forward.
When I watch this team, I see a guard-oriented offense which is waiting for a guard to penetrate and create. That won't work against a team like Tennessee which has talent equal to or superior to ours. We have good bigs, but we don't seem to use them. As a result, this team looks really good against lesser talent, but usually loses against teams with SEC level talent. I miss an offense based on moving without the ball and quick, unselfish passing. On the rare occasions when this team has done that, it has looked really good. But too often the guards play hero ball and chuck up threes and forget their teammates. Or try to penetrate against three or four defenders. I guess what I'm trying to write here is that I want 2006, 2007 and Billy Donovan back.
Golden is from the West Coast and played at St Marys. So, I think their style tends to be more of a fast-pace, up & down style where offense is stressed first. In 2024, Florida's offense did improve (rank 3 in SEC 86 ppg) by playing a fast-break, type of offense dependent on forcing defensive stops and then running. However, when your defense cannot stop the other team & your own offense gets stalled, you will have something like a blowout loss like against Tennessee or an Ole Miss. In those losses, Florida's front-court were neutralized/limited by the opponent. The team stopped looking to feed the post players or at least giving them a touch on many offensive possessions. The 2nd half of the Kentucky game comes to mind where UF was initimadated to go inside - at least try to get the inside outside passes going to get a better shot off. Some SEC Coaches will play that deliberate slow-down, mug-ball, defensive type of game. Golden's Florida teams will need a different strategy to handle those types of teams. Currently there are three SEC teams in the top 10 of Kenpom defensive efficiency: #3 Tennessee #6 Auburn #9 Miss St -------------- #44 Georgia #51 LSU #54 Kentucky #58 Alabama --------------- #66 South Carolina ^All of those teams are ahead of Florida in the SEC standings. After today, Florida's defensive efficiency ranks only #84.
Here's a different spin... I looked up the top Sophs in the current 247 Top 50. Out of the top 50 players 8 of them are in Florida, only 2 of those are currently at Montverde. If you want the list here you go. Caleb Gaskins - SF - Montverde Alexander Constanza - SF - Miami Westminster Jaxon Richardson - SF - Miami Columbus Kayden Allen - SG - Montverde Branden Bass - SG - Windermere Prep Sinan Huan - C - Windermere Prep Christopher Washington - SF - The Villages (Gainesville kid) Toni Bryant - PF - North Tampa Christian Point is in a few years we will have many of the best players in the country within 2 hours of Gainesville. Sure these rankings will change greatly but this summer is the time to start lining these players up for their college interests. With little to no success this year or next year, we will once again watch the best players in the state and the nation go elsewhere. I'd be happy with Washington and Bass.
I like Todd Golden but share the concerns of others. It’s always tough to win away from home but UF has to find a way to play better on the road. We only have three road wins in Golden’s first season and a half in Gainesville and we have not even been competitive in many of those away losses. We are not a good defensive team and we struggle offensively against teams with longer and more athletic front courts. Not giving up on this season though. Another road game awaits this weekend against a mediocre Missouri team and it is almost a must win. To make the NCAA Tournament UF needs to get 10-11 SEC wins but a loss Saturday would result in a 1-4 league start and that may be too tough a hole to climb out of.
We are going to lose a lot more this year due to a fast break team that doesn’t buy in to defense and don’t know how to run an offense in half court. this is CMW 2.0. We got beat by a very good team that the refs, due to their coaches guidance, have a field day every night in Knoxville. Only an experienced tough coach knows that you have to work the refs or you are camel dung. That’s the look of CTG wondering why he has to go to Krystal burger for dinner. Why, another coach in diapers. This team follows his permissive style.
