{"id":74214,"date":"2024-11-01T08:25:54","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T13:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/everything-todd-golden-said-before-floridas-season-opener-vs-usf\/"},"modified":"2024-11-01T08:25:54","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T13:25:54","slug":"everything-todd-golden-said-before-floridas-season-opener-vs-usf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/everything-todd-golden-said-before-floridas-season-opener-vs-usf\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Todd Golden said before Florida\u2019s season opener vs. USF"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Florida Gators head coach\u00a0Todd Golden<\/a><\/strong> spoke with the media for the final time this week before the 2024-25 season starts on Monday night. He recaps preseason camp and the final scrimmage vs. Charleston, previews the team\u2019s opener against USF in Jacksonville and more.<\/p>\n

Below is everything Golden said and video from his press conference.<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Todd Golden Q&A<\/h2>\n

On the team\u2019s outlook after preseason camp:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cWe feel good about where we\u2019re at. I think we\u2019ve had a good training camp. Feel like the guys have done a really good job of working collectively towards being ready to go for the beginning of the year. I thought we weren\u2019t necessarily great in our first scrimmage, some positive things, but some things we need to do better. I thought we were better this past Saturday, just more complete, a little more physical, better on the glass \u2013 looked more like the group that we want to be over the course of the year. So I think we\u2019re tracking, but until we play the real games, TBD.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Florida\u2019s rebounding in the final preseason scrimmage:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cMarked improvement. We were much better. We looked a lot like we did last year at times. I think obviously having Alex back in the mix was important, and just having an extra body in the frontcourt. But it wasn\u2019t just our bigs, the guards did a much better job. It was something that we emphasized going in the first scrimmage and we didn\u2019t do a good enough job. I think our guys got the message in between and executed way better that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the team\u2019s health:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cWe\u2019re in pretty good shape. I think as of today, we\u2019ll have everybody lined up and ready to go for next week. Obviously, it\u2019s end of training camp. Guys have bumps and bruises, some soreness here and there. But overall, big picture we\u2019re in good shape heading into the opener.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the passing of USF\u00a0head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cHonestly, first of all, we want to make sure our guys. A lot of them new coach Amir from either being recruited or just the fact that he spent a lot of time in the Southeast, being from Atlanta. It was an emotional time for our guys, as well, and a lot of our staff members. They have been recruiting\u00a0Joseph Hartman, Coach Hartman\u2019s son, so he had a relationship with them as well. There was a lot of connections with them. As a staff we\u2019re trying to decide something meaningful that we can do for the program and to honor Amir before the game on Monday. But it\u2019s obviously a tragic situation for everyone involved. We feel an incredible amount of sympathy to the players and the people in the program, and also Amir\u2019s family and everything they\u2019re going through. It\u2019s obviously a really tough situation. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

On whether\u00a0Alex Condon\u00a0played against Charleston:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cYeah, he did. He looked good. He\u2019s healthy. He was flying around out there. And obviously it was impactful. Like I said, the addition with him and his depth that he provides, and then you have Rueben, Sam, Tommy, that group was really good. He looks good, and he looks like you should be ready to help us on Monday night.\u201d<\/p>\n

On what Florida has emphasized on defense: <\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cI think, really, just everything we\u2019re doing on the defensive side. That\u2019s not the fun side in practice. But we have spent a lot more time on it. Coach Andrzejek\u2019s done a really good job just preparing us and making sure we\u2019re hitting the right things. Defense, obviously in game, it\u2019s all about your energy and just your effort. Getting better in practice has a lot to do with just getting through the monotony of guarding a lot of the similar actions over and over and over again until we get to the point where it\u2019s a lot easier. So just spending 20 to 30 minutes every day on defense has definitely, I think, prepared us better to be better on that side of the ball this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Florida\u2019s defense in the final scrimmage:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cYeah, again, I thought we did a good job. And I would say that was kind of the one bright spot of the\u00a0FIU\u00a0scrimmage for us. I thought we did a good job defensively. And the Charleston scrimmage, I thought for the first half we did a really good job. Second half, we weren\u2019t as tight as tight as we probably need to be. But big-picture-wise, I was pleased with our effort against a really good offensive team. So, yeah, we\u2019ve improved, but I\u2019m anxious to get to Monday and see how we do once we have a regular-season game.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Florida\u2019s rim protection:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cI\u2019m happy with the way we\u2019re protecting the paint and the rim right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Alijah Martin\u2019s performance against\u00a0Charleston:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cHe played fantastic, obviously, was very efficient. I thought was impactful, not just scoring the ball, though, in all areas, did a great job defending and getting on the glass. And that\u2019s kind of the benefit of having that perimeter with Walt, Will, Alijah, Denzel. These guys are all potent. They can all get you 20 on any given night. Just having the ability to take advantage of a matchup where maybe a weaker defender is guarding one of those guys is going to benefit us all year. They\u2019ve continued to be unselfish and play together. Saturday was Alijah\u2019s turn. Monday, it could be Will\u2019s or Walt\u2019s or Denzel\u2019s. We\u2019ll see what it looks like. But I really think that\u2019s going to be kind of the most important part of our success this season is that those guys continue to be unselfish. If they do that, we should be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

On points of emphasis to carry into the season:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cJust continuing to build\u00a0off of our offensive success last year and, like we\u2019ve talked about a lot, just making sure we can get in the ballpark defensively of being a really good team. Our goal internally is to be a top-40 defense. I think we were 91 or two or three on KenPom so that\u2019s a big jump. That\u2019s not going to be easy to do. But, I do think\u00a0if we\u2019re able to accomplish that, it will\u00a0give us a good landing spot for where we want to go. Obviously, the defensive side of the ball being much better but without sacrificing any of the growth we\u2019ve made on the offensive side of the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Will Richard\u2019s 3-point shooting:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cIt was a little, for a lack of a better term, bad luck with his shooting percentages last year. Will is an elite shooter and I don\u2019t think anybody would disagree with that. You can watch him and, to your point, he very rarely misses. I think we\u2019ve done a better job of finding him some better looks this year and, again, guys knowing the right places to hit him. We\u2019re trying to get him on the move a little more to find him some more catch-and-shoot opportunities. I think he\u2019s done a better job driving and attacking the rim also, which I think\u00a0will open up some of that perimeter shooting because the bottom line is if I were scouting Will, I would be like, \u2018Hey, don\u2019t give that guy any shots. Don\u2019t give him any shots. We know that that\u2019s what the defense is going to try to do and we still need to find ways to create those opportunities for him. I think the main thing for him, he\u2019s been \u2014 his leadership has been amazing. He does a great job along with Walt and Alijah just kind of getting everybody going the right direction. I think he will have a great year for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

On working on\u00a0special situations in practice:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cIt\u2019s an area that probably doesn\u2019t spend enough time and energy on, but it ends up probably impacting and affecting a lot of games. We have worked on it quite a bit. On Tuesday night we spent 15 minutes at the beginning of practice working on late-game, eight seconds left up one, down one, vice versa. I think we are further along in that way in our preparation, but you just never feel like you get enough time working on it but we\u2019re definitely working on it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

On in-bound passers:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cDifferent guys. It depends on the situation and what we need to do. Obviously he (Clayton) could do it. He\u2019s a great free-throw shooter. When we\u2019re playing with a lead it might not be the best idea to have him throw it in if they\u2019re going to foul right away. That will be a situation-by-situation basis. The good thing now is I think most of those perimeters can handle it and make good decisions so regardless of who it is, we feel pretty comfortable with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

On freshman guard Urban Klavzar\u2019s eligibility:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cNothing yet. We\u2019re working on it on a day-to-day basis and hoping for good news soon but nothing definitive. We can\u2019t play him yet but, again, my hope is that we\u2019ll hear something in the next however-many-days until Monday with some good news. Listen, the guy deserves to play college basketball. That\u2019s just how I feel. Great kid, great student. He\u2019s getting straight As right now here at Florida and I understand a lot of the rules and legislation that\u2019s in place and the reason why it is but this guy deserves to play college athletics. There\u2019s no benefit with him not being able to play for Florida. It\u2019s not a disadvantage to somebody else. He\u2019s done all the academic work to be admitted into a place like Florida and now I think he deserves the right to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

On what\u2019s caushing Klavzar\u2019s eligibility issue:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk too specifically as we work through it. But again, it\u2019s something that I think we should be able to work through.\u201d<\/p>\n

On potentially going from 13 to 15 scholarships:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cI haven\u2019t studied the other sports enough to really understand where they\u2019re at. We have 13 scholarships right now. They\u2019re trying to take us to 15. Yes, it is tough. It\u2019s tough to get 13 to a happy place. So now you have 15. And the issue that we were struggling with is that it was at least as it was discussed a couple weeks ago that would eliminate walk-ons, which is another huge part of college sport. I don\u2019t like it as a walk-on. It doesn\u2019t make any sense. I think enough coaches have brought that up. Being like what, why is this guy affecting us negatively? Why is his opportunity being eliminated? What are we saving? Money? You know, it doesn\u2019t make much sense. So, clearly it\u2019s not a perfect solution yet. I think we\u2019re still trying to navigate and figure out the best way to make everybody happy is what\u2019s being discussed. But yeah, like, that\u2019s my biggest issue. I think going from 13 to 15, OK, but we can\u2019t eliminate the guys that were 14 through 18 before. That doesn\u2019t necessarily make programs better. I think it makes practice harder. You don\u2019t have as many bodies out there. It\u2019s just not necessarily conducive to improving the sport, which I think at the end of the day should be the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

On\u00a0whether he\u2019s feeling good about Florida\u2019s depth:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cYeah, I am. I think our roster\u2019s continued to improve every year. I think depth is something that we have this year, obviously. We gotta stay healthy also. That\u2019s really important. But guys like Kajus now being a second year player. I feel better about his ability to help us in games.\u00a0Isaiah Brown\u00a0is a playable freshman. He\u2019s a guy that\u2019s capable. He\u2019s behind some really talented older guys in front of him, but if we had an injury or if we had an issue, I think Isaiah could be more than serviceable out there and our front court\u2019s deep right now with those four guys. So I feel good about that. But you can never have enough, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the preseason accolades for Walter Clayton:<\/strong><\/p>\n

TODD GOLDEN: \u201cHe\u2019s been great. I think Walt is a guy that has a lot of confidence regardless. I think whether he was named preseason Naismith or not, he was going to be very confident in his abilities in a good way. So I think he takes it in stride. I think he appreciates the recognition, but he understands that at the end of the day, it\u2019s more important to be on that list at the end of the year than it is at the beginning. And it\u2019s gonna be very important that our team has a lot of success for him to continue to be recognized as well as other guys in a program like Will or Elijah. We need to win and we need to win big for them to have those individual accolades.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Everything Todd Golden said before Florida\u2019s season opener vs. USF<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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