Todd Golden named head coach *Thread rewind*

This is just so good….thanks for finding. Lots of people’s opinions….they like to post as “absolute facts”.

 

You had it nailed.... up until Kowacie.

 

I have found @akaGatorhoops to be a voice more people should listen to before posting.

 

I saw this, and … phew!!! Who knows what this mind might spit out in any given moment!!

 

You must not have been around during the Mike White hire and subsequent seasons!

And in fairness - there was a period during which I was very concerned that Golden’s ability to attract talent and assemble a roster was too far ahead of his ability to coach it. I was worried the “win now” manifestations of the portal/nil would create a very difficult equation for Golden. But alas - I was wrong in that worry. He obviously won, and won BIG quickly. This was an important year, considering the talent acquisition. Golden knew this - and could It have pulled the levers any better.

nonetheless- thanks for the kind words!

 

Yes, I was. And at the time, Mike seemed like a good hire. I was all for it. At times, he would remind us of that. Other times, not so much. That's how it is with people.

 

alright! You stuck with me even thru those times! You are a true and loyal forum friend!

 

this one aged like milk left out on the counter...for 2+ years

 

"Don't ascribe to malice what can best be ascribed to ignorance." I am woefully ignorant of the Xs & Os of most sports until someone slows it way down and uses short words and pictures. Many others here can and do passionately argue the coaching weaknesses and debate them and it's as if I was listening to a discussion between nuclear physicists: I know the language they are using but there's no comprehension on my part. White seemed to be a high-character guy who repped the UF brand well. My BB-wise son detested his style, and wanted him gone in the worst way.

 

Regardless of what we all thought before, nobody in their right mind thought we would win a title in year 3. The growth these guys head from last year to this year is insane.

Thats an unbelievable accomplishment and then add in Golden's youth. Young coaches just flat out don't win national titles. Its probably mostly because young coaches aren't at schools that are in a position to win titles.

What Golden has done is beyond remarkable -- assembled an incredible staff and lets be honest, a near perfect basketball team.
depth, strong front and backcourts, size and a true PGs, team liked to run, but still played tough D, and essentially every player on the court can shoot a three besides Micah and Chinyelu.

this team is/was near perfectly designed. Like the 04s, damn near perfection.

What Golden accomplished in year 3 is legendary.

 

I think this looks pretty good, all things considered.

 

This is a "words" platform and words matter.

Explicit in your post above is the use of "caliber of the player" equating to the "talent level", and I assume this is based upon the subjective ratings of others who, I would note, do not have as strong a vested interest in our team's success as the head coach and staff. If you were not equating those two things, I apologize for interpreting it thusly.

We shooters know that there are many, many different calibers. Crucial to the weapon not misfiring (at best) or destroying the platform (at worst), the key is to match the right caliber with the correct platform that fires it. "Get better caliber" implies better quality. It could also mean "better caliber" is getting people best fitted to the platform. We measure effectiveness by projectile strike proximity to the center of the target. It is as clear cut a standard as possible. The target don't lie.

Clearly, by any objective measure, Coach Golden and his staff failed woefully at attracting players rated by others as "higher caliber", i.e numbers of 'stars', etc.. They chose, rather to get the best caliber players for the platform / weapon system they run. Like good shooters, they know their weapon system very, very well. Many good shooters go so far as to make each round by hand, individually measuring the grains of propellant to ensure consistency of output. I say this to say the target is the objective measure of excellence of output.

Coach Golden just proved, objectively, that their platform, with the PROPER caliber of player, is capable of a dead center hit. Until proven otherwise, I will defer to their expertise and knowledge of their platform.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. :-D

 

This may be the best prediction here guys. This is exactly what happened in the TT comeback.

Not including two carpetbaggers ( @gozags and @AUTigerGrad ) who totally nailed it.

 

In addition to the team attributes you mention, they were SO fun to watch. I can't imagine saying the same about Houston or the VA team that won the 'chip a few years back. Consider also the way Golden reversed the script, not only during games, but this season with the team's excellent defense.

 

I love this one for the implications.

CBN is responsible for winning a championship in the offseason!

 

Well, it certainly HAS been fun to watch. I really love this team and hope we can hang on to CTFG for a long time.

 

I have no idea what I was doing from March 18, 2022 - March 24, 2022, but I know it didn't involve commenting on this thread as this is my first post here.

I'd like to think I was wise enough to avoid it realizing the potential for future embarrassment, but realistically, I was probably drinking on a chair lift.

Anyway, I'm sure that 2022 me would have said with certainty that, "we'll have a Natty by '25. Book it."

 

I hate to throw stones at people (who am I kidding I love to throw stones at people) but one thing you will see with good coaching is when a team is down the script changes after halftime and they win...they also win close games. Golden is a master at this...we were a second half team much of the year and at crunch time we took control and closed the door with few mistakes and great execution. Football on the other hand we all know halftime seemed to never produce any meaningful adjustments and we just kept doing the same things and 3rd quarters were very unproductive. Kudos to Golden...you are one hell of a coach in my eyes and a pleasure to watch your teams (minus the heart attacks they cause).

 

Was Florida contact Bruce Pearl to get his opinion of Todd Golden before we hired him. If they did indeed we owe Pearl and huge thank you! I cant believe how our defense improved so much in 1 year. Who was responsible for that? was there an assistant that Golden leaned on?

 

Haha. I also didn't comment here (which surprises even me), probably because I was still doing research on the guy. I follow hoops relatively closely, but know little about teams in the west coast or more obscure mid-majors. I was sold pretty quickly, but never in a million years imagined what Golden would do. Heck, heading into the conference season, I was still thinking in terms of a #3 seed that could maybe make a run to the Elite 8 or Final 4. What has made this all the more enjoyable is precisely how unpredictable and unexpected it was--very similar to 2006.