UF Officially Announces Safir, Klatsky as Assistant Coaches

Jonathan Safir was long expected to be promoted to the staff, while Dave Klatsky was previously reported to join the staff after a successful stint at NYU.

Nov 11, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators director of basketball strategy and analytics Jonathan Safir talks with Florida Gators guard Denzel Aberdeen (11) during a timeout against the Grambling State Tigers during the second half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Two weeks after securing its third national championship in program history, the Florida Gators men's basketball program has officially announced the hiring of two new assistants, both of which have been previously expected.

Jonathan Safir and Dave Klatsky will be part of the Gators coaching staff for the 2025-26 season, taking the place of outgoing assistants John Andrzejek and Kevin Hovde, who were named head coaches at Campbell and Columbia, respectively.

Safir is no stranger to the program after being Florida’s director of basketball strategy and analytics since 2022. His history with head coach Todd Golden even precedes his time in Gainesville. Safir has spent the past eight years working with the Golden, serving as his director of basketball operations at San Francisco and Columbia.

According to Golden, who first announced his intentions to promote Safir prior to the team's run in the NCAA Tournament, Safir played a key role in helping the Gators win a title earlier this month.

“I am excited to announce the promotion of Jonathan Safir to the position of assistant coach,” Golden said in the announcement. “Jonathan deserves a lot of credit for his work in many different areas of our program that ultimately led to our national championship victory a few weeks ago. He will continue helping me with the various roster management responsibilities he has had and will take on a bigger role on-court moving forward.”

Klatsky is the lone newcomer to the staff.

Before heading to Gainesville, Klatsky spent three seasons (68-16) as the head coach at NYU, most recently leading them to the Division III national championship game. Prior to his time at NYU, Klatsky spent 11 years as an assistant coach at Colgate, and played college basketball at Penn.

While they have never coached together, Golden explained that he is quite familiar with Klatsky, who is brothers-in-law with Hovde and a distant cousin of former UF walk-on Alex Klatsky, and expects him to fit in well with Florida’s current staff.

“I am thrilled to add Dave to our staff as an assistant coach here in Gainesville,” Golden said. “I have known Dave for many years and am confident he will fit in with the rest of our staff seamlessly.  Dave is a high achiever and a proven winner.  Dave has won big everywhere he’s been.  He has a great analytical sense for the game, and is a great teacher on the floor.”