So why should I feel good about Gators basketball moving forward?

That remains to be seen. I'm going to say I think TG is here for at least 10 years. He is a good coach

 

it was just a collective repeated punch in the gut. I hope that the guys in the portal look at Golden and see a guy they can play for, that they WANT to play for, and that they see they can elevate their play to an NCAA tournament level on an ultra-consistent basis.

I look at the guys we have now...and I question whether or not the fire is there. Hate to call out kids, but sheesh...national TV and to play that flat is just brutal.

 

He's a good coach, but was not prepared for the challenge that was put in front of him. He's going to have to grow and learn at a very fast pace.

The job in front of him is not that different than what Billy faced.

 

I was actually pretty impressed at how he adapted his stuff to the talent in-season. Entirely changed his ball screen strategy when we were struggling to guard threes. Switched up our offensive spacing to make sure we got back better in transition. Inverted the offense to run the offense more through CC out of the high post when our perimeter shots wouldn't go down. Game-wise, I like him a lot

Program-wise, that's a different story. Think he is trying to follow Pearl's model of bringing in smart, savvy, physically developed kids who are ready to play rather than chasing the big fish. How that works in the portal era remains to be see. All of his acquisitions were pretty solid last year in what amounts to 1-2 months on the job. He has to replicate that again to turn over the roster. Obviously he can't follow the path he/Smith have used (heavy dose of international players, veteran transfers, bringing kids from past stops, etc) given the the quality of competition right now in our league. We'll see what he can do to get his guys in place. 2024 class is very promising. But need reinforcements sooner.

 

ahhhhhhh, Mike White I believe had seven years and it kept going down after Billy’s players left. we waited too long.

 

Mike got himself the extra time due to the Elite 8 run. Obviously, a similar result by Golden will get him the extra time too.

The problem with that scenario is that the program is closer to 1997 than 2013.

Short of a miracle, I can't see anything like that happening next season.

 

Why would Napier get an extra year over Golden? Both programs seem to be in similar spots. At least Golden beat FSU.

 

Can’t honestly say if our coach is “good” or not, to small a sample in my opinion. However If I put together a list of the top 50 coaches in college basketball: He probably doesn’t make the list, and nothing on his resume currently suggests he should be.

 

Yes, it was excuse after excuse after excuse made for Mike White.

 

the AAC has UConn, Cincy, Memphis, Houston - just as formidable a basketball conference as the Big12

Kronos is correct, the conferences are not too dissimilar in this measure

 

Just for thought, if Nap and Golden struggle the next two years is the AD in serious trouble of keeping his job?

 

Absolutely.

 

Wanna take another shot at that? I wouldn't argue with the fact that the AAC is a good basketball conference, but it ranks #10 in conference rpi behind Mountain West, ACC (sucky this year), WCC, & Conference USA. The Big 12 ranks #1.

 

How many conferences does UConn play in?

 

Golden might be a good coach but we beat Mizzou who got the the best 32, we beat Tenn. who is in the Sweet 16,
we beat Miss St. who made it to the big dance. Yet we got blown out of our gym by UCF. He has to take some credit for not having them ready. Plus next year, he has to start from the beginning. Keep one player, if he can and find 12 others.

 

i think Stricklin is in trouble no matter what. No objective observer can say that our athletic program is doing well overall. If you take into consideration his failed hires (pre Napier and Golden), it’s obvious that he’s in over his head.