Sights and Sounds from the Florida Gators Open Tournament Practice

Ahead of its Round of 64 matchup against No. 16 Norfolk State, No. 1 Florida on Thursday held an open practice. Media were allocated to share two minutes of clips.

Kyle Lander | Mar 21, 2025

The 2024-25 Florida Gators men's basketball team. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrate

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RALEIGH, NC. -- Ahead of its Round of 64 matchup against No. 16 Norfolk State, the top-seeded Florida Gators on Thursday held an open practice in front of fans and the media. Media were allowed to share up to two minutes of clips and take pictures of the session.

Find clips and pics below, via Gator Illustrated's Kyle Lander. Tipoff on Friday between the Gators and Spartans is at 6:50 p.m. with television coverage on TNT.

Sights and Sounds: Florida Gators Round of 64 Open Practice

G Will Richard

Senior guard Will Richard practices on Thursday ahead of the Florida Gators' Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State. "Definitely means a lot, the season that we had leading up to this moment. Definitely appreciate the journey that it's taken to get here. I'm ready to play," he said. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

F Thomas Haugh

Thomas Haugh dunks the ball during a practice on Thursday ahead of the Florida Gators' Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State. "Tommy, definitely an additional starter-level player, one of the best sixth man in the league, has played an all-league level for a majority of the season," head coach Todd Golden said of Haugh. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

G Alijah Martin

Guard Alijah Martin shoots the ball during a practice on Thursday ahead of the Florida Gators' Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State. "Definitely blessed to be here for the third time. I want to just remind the guys to stay hungry, stay humble, and don't take nobody lightly. Just have elite focus, and we'll be fine," he said. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

G Walter Clayton Jr.

Guard Walter Clayton Jr. gears up for a shot during a practice on Thursday ahead of the Florida Gators' Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State. "It means a lot. We haven't been looking past anything. It just means a lot to finally get here, get an opportunity to come out and win some games in a row," he said. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

HC Todd Golden

Head coach Todd Golden watches on during a practice on Thursday ahead of the Florida Gators' Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State. "Obviously really, really fortunate and happy to be here. Really proud of the season that our players have had to this point. 30 wins, winning the SEC Championship last week in the tournament, and earning the 1 seed is something we're really proud of, and we're hoping we're just getting started," he said. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

G Urban Klavzar

Guard Urban Klavar practices on Thursday ahead of the Florida Gators' Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State. "Urby has come on and played very well," Golden said. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

C Olivier Rioux

Olivier Rioux shoots a shot near the basket during Thursday's practice ahead of the Florida Gators' Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State. At 7-foot-9, the freshman holds the record for World's Tallest Teenager. "I mean, you get asked questions every day. You don't have a single three seconds to yourself when you're outside, which I was fine with because my brother and my dad are tall," Rioux said of the attention that comes with his height. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

G Isaiah Brown

Isaiah Brown dunks the ball during a practice on Thursday ahead of the Florida Gators' Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State. "We're at the point in our program where my goal will be to continue to grow from the young guys in our program, like Isaiah Brown is a great example of that right now, a guy that doesn't play a lot for us, but I think can be a great player in the SEC in due time," Golden said. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

Associate head coach Carlin Hartman works with the bigs during a practice on Thursday ahead of the Florida Gators' Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State. "I really can't say enough about Carlin Hartman, his willingness to move his family from UNLV to join us in year one... Humility, leadership. He's an incredible mentor. Our guys look up and respect him at an incredibly high level," Golden said. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

Todd Golden speaks to the media after a practice on Thursday ahead of the Florida Gators' Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State. "Obviously incredibly important because, if we don't, we're going home. This is kind of just the next step. Norfolk State honestly is a very good team. They're a very good team. I think they're incredibly well coached. They run good stuff offensively. They're unique defensively. They'll throw different defenses at you," Golden said of his opponent. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated