Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden answered questions from reporters at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium’s F Club Thursday.

On the Mend

The team’s new maestro spoke about his expectations for incoming transfers as well as some of his goals for the program. Golden mentioned that centers Jason Jitoboh and Colin Castleton were dealing with injuries. He expects Castleton to return this fall and said Jitoboh is “getting close” to being back after suffering an eye injury that required surgery.

Jitoboh suffered the injury after being hit in the eye when Florida visited the Tennessee Volunteers in January. Then head coach Mike White ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

Get Over Here!

The Gators’ first-year man also spoke about in-state recruiting after the team’s recent struggles in Florida. Golden expressed excitement at being able to add Orlando guard Riley Kugel to the team. The former San Francisco Dons head coach said Kugel was eager to come to the university and lauded the importance of the top-100 prospect’s commitment.

Golden also spoke about LSU transfer Alex Fudge.  The forward has untapped potential which wasn’t realized in Baton Rouge, he said. He called acquiring former St. Bonaventure guard Kyle Lofton “huge” while remaining unfazed by the number of incoming transfers. Last season at San Francisco, Golden added five players through the transfer portal.

 

Family on Three

Golden spent part of the press conference addressing his goals for the team off the court. He mentioned holding team-building activities to build camaraderie in the locker room.

“I think it’s really important in a team game for guys to like each other,” he said. “It sounds simple, but it’s really important. And so we’re gonna be off the court a lot together in the summer…”

Golden said offseason workouts will begin the week of June 6. The Gators will look to improve on a season which saw the team miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.