GAINESVILLE, Fla. —
Todd Golden said
after his team's season-ending loss to Central Florida in the National Invitational Tournament last week that he and the Florida coaching staff would need 48 hours or so to evaluate and decompress before turning their attention to his second season leading the Gators.
More than a week later, the UF staff is all in on 2023-24; not to mention a full year into what was an altogether different situation when Golden arrived from the University of San Francisco and inherited team coming off a NIT appearance, along with an uneven roster in transition. The Gators went on to finish 16-17, losing three-time All-Southeastern Conference forward
Colin Castleton to a career-ending broken hand in February, and eventually settled for the program's first sub-.500 record in eight years.
"Transparently, coming in a year ago, a lot of unknowns," Golden said Thursday, exactly a year ago to the day he was introduced as the 20th UF coach at a news conference in the atrium concourse of Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. "We didn't know the players on the team. We really didn't have any institutional knowledge of how this place operates and what works and what doesn't, and getting our families out and assembling this staff took a little bit of time. Now, going into Year 2, we have a great understanding of what was in this program and what we need to bring it to be better and how we can grow. I feel like we're in a much better place that way."
All that is accurate. And while the comfort and knowledge level with their surroundings is much better, it's becoming clearer with each day the coaching staff won't know much about the '23-24 players until they go and get some.
Which is not unlike what a lot of places in this current landscape of college basketball are dealing with, right now.
On Thursday, junior guard
Trey Bonham became the fifth UF player to enter the transfer portal, joining senior center
Jason Jitoboh, who went in Monday, as well as guards
Kowacie Reeves and
Niels Lane, along with forward
CJ Felder, who put their names in last week. None of those defections were a surprise (or crippling to the program, frankly), but they did add to a list of three out-going fifth-year seniors — Castleon, point guard
Kyle Lofton and shooting guard
Myreon Jones — which left just five returning scholarship players to go with one early signee and one commitment, both of whom will be freshmen front-court guys in the fall.
Golden wouldn't rule out further defections.
"We'll see," he said.
In his season-wrapping chat with media, Golden discussed his first season, the portal, the outlook for top returnees
Riley Kugel and
Will Richard, the need to get bigger and stronger, how he'd like the Gators to play and a bevy of other topics.
See below.
