Longtime Friend of Kyle Smith Wins NCAA Tournament

Apr 7, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden cuts down the net after defeating the Houston Cougars in the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

On Monday night, the Florida Gators won the NCAA Basketball National Championship.

The Gators wrapped up an incredible campaign, where they finished 36-4. Throughout the season, they won the SEC, took down the AP No. 1 team three times, and went on a run to win their first national championship in 18 years. Their incredible run was all led by a phenomenal coaching job by Todd Golden.

His relationship with Stanford Head Coach Kyle Smith is also ‘golden.’

Golden was first hired by Smith at Columbia, where he spent two seasons under Smith’s helm. Despite a poor first season finishing 12-16, year two was great, finishing 21-13.

After those two seasons, Golden accepted a job to assist Auburn, but reunited a few years later in the Bay Area.

Smith hired Golden once again, this time as a part of the San Francisco Dons, where they spent three seasons together. In those three years, the Dons won at least 20 games in all three seasons. After the success, Smith accepted the position at Washington State while Golden took over the Dons.

Golden did well with San Francisco, winning 20 games in two of his three seasons. His best season was his final one, where they went 24-10 and got the Dons first NCAA tournament berth in 24 years.

The two transformed the Dons’ program. Combined, they went 120-76 and had five 20-win seasons including a tournament appearance.

Now, both coaches are doing well. Smith is the head coach at Stanford University, where he led the Cardinal to their first 20-win season in years, and exceeded expectations in the programs’ first season in the ACC. Golden is the head coach at the University of Florida, where he just took the Gators to a national championship.

Hopefully, Smith can have similar success, and bring a national championship to Palo Alto. Although there are certainly massive shoes to fill, we have learned better than to doubt Kyle Smith.