GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Todd Golden was an afterthought in coach of the year conversations a month ago.
Now, maybe he should be considered a frontrunner.
Golden became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins, accomplishing the feat in 139 games and smashing the previous record (154) set by Billy Donovan in 2001. Golden joined John Calipari and Tubby Smith as the only Southeastern Conference coaches to do it in four seasons.
Golden hit the century mark with a 108-74 romp over Mississippi State on Tuesday night, giving the fifth-ranked Gators back-to-back 34-point victories after they thumped then-No. 20 Arkansas and Calipari 111-77 three days earlier.
Both lopsided wins came with home-court celebrations. Florida handed out hats and T-shirts and cut down nets after securing at least a share of the SEC title against the Razorbacks. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey presented the team the trophy before facing the Bulldogs. The two hours that followed essentially served as a victory parade and ended with players lifting Golden into the air after No. 100.
“That was incredible. They were messing with my hair a little too much,” the 40-year-old Golden said. “It means a lot to me that they were so excited for that milestone, but it’s really more of a program milestone than anything else. We haven’t finished our fourth year. We’re at 100 wins. We’re on the right track.”
The defending national champions have won 10 in a row — by an average margin of 23 points — and cemented themselves as repeat contenders. Home or away, inside or out, Golden’s guys have pretty much pummeled everyone since a home loss to Auburn in late January.
It’s a testament to how much growth the Gators (24-6, 15-2) have experienced since starting the season 5-4 and dropping out of the AP Top 25.
Already trying to replace arguably the best backcourt in school history (Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard) and two of his top assistants, Golden felt compelled to revamp the team’s approach. No more finesse plays. No more firing from 3-point range.
Golden implored his guys to embrace “ugly basketball.” Be physical. Dominate the paint. Drive, dish, dunk. Take the fight to opponents on both ends of the floor. It’s become the team’s calling card — and yielded impressive results.
“We changed our identity to be very defensive, get stops on defense and get out running,” center Micah Handlogten said. “We figured we could wear teams down through doing that, and I think we just found our identity and are starting to play really well together.”
Point guard Xaivian Lee is a force with the ball, ducking under post screens to consistently get to the rim. Alex Condon is one of the country’s best big men, a point forward equally capable of beating teams in the paint or with a pass. Rueben Chinyelu is a handful down low, notching his 18th double-double against the Bulldogs and tying the school record set by Bob Smyth in 1976. Chinyelu has 10 games with 16 or more boards.
Florida’s post presence and ability to move the ball and stretch defenses have allowed leading scorer Thomas Haugh to thrive as a slasher and sixth man Urban Klavzar to repeatedly get open looks from behind the arc.
“It probably took me a little longer than expected to kind of figure out what the best way for us to play was,” Golden said. “We have a lot of talented guys that are trying to figure each other out, (guys) that have kind of been alphas at other places and trying to find the shot diet: who should be finishing possessions and what guys should be shooting 3s, what guys shouldn’t be shooting 3s.
“It just takes awhile, especially when you have some new pieces and returners playing new roles.”
Throw in playing every game with the constant target of being national champs and getting everyone’s best shot, and Golden probably deserves consideration for conference and national honors.
“His coaching agility, the job he’s done with this team, is absolutely incredible,” ESPN analyst and former coach Seth Greenberg said. “You go from three perimeter players that are in the NBA to three frontcourt players that could be in the NBA, you got to have coaching agility.
“The essence of coaching is putting your players in position to play to their strengths. He’s been brilliant. And his swag, it permeates through his team. He empowers them and gives them confidence and belief. A big part of coaching is eliminating self-doubt and defining who you are and how you win. That’s exactly what he’s been able to do.”
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