Gators HC Todd Golden On ESPN: Florida is 'One of the Best Jobs in America'
On Friday, the Florida Gators announced the hire of the program's 20th all-time head coach, plucking 36-year-old Todd Golden from San Francisco.
As the Gators battled from behind against the Xavier Musketeers in the first half of Sunday's second round NIT matchup, Golden joined the ESPN broadcast via Zoom to discuss his move to Gainesville.
"I'm just incredibly fortunate and thrilled that Scott Stricklin and his staff felt comfortable with me, and I'm just pleased to be the guy," he said before quickly elaborating and recalling the program's history of winning.
"I think it's a place where you perennially play and compete for national championships," Golden said. "It's the best school in Florida, and it's a place where there's a ton of great players, ton of great tradition and history, as you mentioned before we got together, coaches like Lon Kruger and Billy Donovan, coaches I have a lot of respect for.
As a result, when the job came calling Golden -- interviewing just a day before he led the Don's into their first NCAA Tournament matchup since 1998 -- he had no choice but to take advantage of the opportunity to assume "one of the best jobs in America."
To return the Gators to the level of prominence, which he believes they can be at, Golden expressed the importance of getting the right people on board. He will look to create a successful program the same way he did at a USF program that had lacked significant success for a considerable portion of the 21st century.
To do so, he will rely on the new wave of acquiring transfer portal players to complete the roster.
"I think the game of college basketball has changed more in the past two years than it had in the previous 20, and the transfer portal, whether people like it or not, is just a really important part of our profession now and our business, and as you mentioned, building rosters," Golden said.
"So I'm going to do my best to keep the guys within the program on board and get them to continue building stronger and moving forward, but there are going to be some additions through the portal, and there are going to be some guys who are really excited to come play at Florida. I'm excited to get my feet on the ground there and get going."
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