Todd Golden (right) went 16-17 in first UF season, but has flipped the roster with nine newcomers this season.
Golden, Gators Set to Tip Year 2 Fall Practice
Monday, September 25, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Todd Golden came to Florida in March 2022 from the University of San Francisco, where he'd just guided that program to its first NCAA Tournament berth in 24 years. Golden did it in his third season with a team make-up fashioned to his liking. The Dons had a scoring point guard running their offense, a couple solid bigs, adequate 3-point shooting and a top-25 defense.
His first UF team, which included five players inherited from the previous coaching staff, did not check those boxes, though defensively it was in sniffing distance (31st). The 2022-23 Gators, who lost 6-foot-11 and three-time All-Southeastern Conference forward Colin Castleton to a broken wrist in February, went 16-17 and were beaten soundly at home in the first round of the NIT.
Some numbers:
UF was 139th in the nation in offensive efficiency, including 235th in effective field-goal percentage.
The Gators were 320th in offensive rebounding (last in the Southeastern Conference) and 285th on the defensive glass (10th in the league).
They shot 31.4 percent from the 3-point line, which was 313th nationally (11th in SEC) and tied for the third-lowest in program history just a year after setting the school mark for all-time worst percentage from the arc.
In March, the makeover commenced.
The '23-24 Gators, who officially begin fall practice Monday, feature nine new scholarship players, with six coming via the transfer portal and the other three true freshmen. The entire squad consists of personnel acquired or signed since Golden arrived and more closely resembles his preferred basketball blueprint. The team is much, much bigger, more athletic, has options on the ball and, through a summer of workouts, has hinted it could be a much improved shooting team.
"I just feel more confident with this group because I know all 13 guys on scholarship," Golden said. "Last year, I didn't really know what we were dealing with and that led to our inconsistency at times. We lost Colin, and that obviously killed us, but we're more talented two-through-13 this season, I believe that."
[For an in depth look at the roster, read senior writer Chris Harry's 'Preseason Primer' here] Riley Kugel
The Gators used the offseason to build around sophomore guard Riley Kugel, who had a month-long coming-out party to close out his Freshman All-SEC season, and 6-5 wing Will Richard, who after playing a bunch (too much, actually) as an undersized "4" will be able to float between his natural positions at the "2" and "3."
A rotation of front-court players will feature three transfers in 6-foot-10 Tyrese Samuel (formerly of Seton Hall), 7-1 Micah Handlogten (Marshall) and 6-8 E.J. Jarvis (Yale), plus 6-11 freshman Australian import and summer surprise Alex Condon, who figures to get a ton of minutes in the post.
Two more tried, true and all-league guards at their former stops, Walter Clayton Jr. (Iona) and Zyon Pullin (California-Riverside), will work alongside Kugel and Richard in various combinations on the perimeter. Both players (like Handlogten and Jarvis) won at their previous stops and were brought in for their skills and their winning backgrounds.
Florida is coming off its first losing season since 2014-15 and a second straight season without reaching the NCAA Tournament. That had not happened for in 25 years.
"Nobody here wants to lose," Clayton said. "Nobody here wants to settle for that."
The season starts in 42 days, but the next phase in the team-prepping process starts Monday.
