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The Florida Gators men’s basketball team has officially hired Todd Golden as their next head coach. After previous reports suggesting that the Gators were going to hire him, they name Golden as the team’s 20th coach in school history.
Previous Time With San Francisco
Golden, 36, guided the San Francisco Dons to 24 wins and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998. As the Dons head coach over the last three seasons, Golden has led them to a 57-36 record with 20-win seasons during the 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 seasons.
Prior to getting the head coaching nod, Golden was with San Francisco for three years as an associate head coach Kyle Smith. Throughout his tenure with the Dons, they have posted a 20-win season every season except the COVID-shortened season.
I'm grateful for the opportunity to lead one of the nation's premier men's basketball programs. My family and I can't wait to get to Gainesville!! #GoGators https://t.co/ibhvN8Miwd
— Todd Golden (@CoachToddGolden) March 18, 2022
What Todd Golden Brings to the Table?
Todd Golden is considered to be one of the young, bright minds in college basketball. He has led a USF program in a highly-competitive West Coast Conference which is considered to be one of the nation’s top mid-major conferences.
During his tenure with San Francisco, he served as USF’s recruiting and defensive coordinator under Smith. They finished within KenPom’s top 100 defensively five times while Golden was there.
As head coach of the Dons, six different players received eight total all-conference accolades. In addition, the Dons complemented their defensive effort with top-50 offenses in 2018-2019 and 2021-2022.
https://twitter.com/Efawcett7/status/1504872327271514115
Prior to San Francisco
Before he joined Kyle Smith in San Francisco, Todd Golden spent two seasons at Auburn under Bruce Pearl. He served as the director of basketball operations in the 2014-2015 season before being elevated to an assistant coach for the 2015-2016 season.
He also spent time with Columbia for two seasons implementing strategic offensive and defensive gameplays. Finally, Golden played college basketball at Saint Mary’s College helping the Gaels to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. As a senior point guard, he ranked second in the country with a 3.68 assist-to-turnover ratio while leading the WCC with a 57.4% 3-point percentage.
Next for the Gators
After defeating Iona in the first round of the NIT, the Gators get set to play Xavier. Golden will look to get to work right away as the head man in Gainesville.
