Todd Golden Is Leaning On Former Gators Players, Coaches for Guidance

There's a new coach in town with Todd Golden taking over the storied Florida Gators basketball program.

There's no question that the history of the Florida Gators basketball team is complex.

Though it has not always dominated the scene, Florida will always be thought of as one of perhaps the best college basketball programs of all time. That, of course, is thanks in large part to their unicorn run in the early-to-mid 2000s under head coach Billy Donovan.

Donovan's teams would do something unprecedented, winning two national titles in a row during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. Couple that with a run in another program within the university - football - and it made Florida perhaps the top-dog athletic school in the country.

For that reason, its storied history and expectations require some context, and it's what every coach that has come following Donovan's era will have to at the very least come close to achieving. The expectations are unfair, sure, but that's where the program is and will continue to be even after the unexpected coaching change from Mike White to now, Todd Golden over the past few weeks.

Golden understands those expectations, of course, and prior to building the program, he has opted to try to gain a deeper understanding of the program's history, speaking to both former players and coaches alike, including the immortal Billy Donovan.

During his introductory press conference earlier this week, Golden mentioned that he made a concerted effort during his first few days as the team's head coach to reach out to those past coaches and players. They've all shared the same message, he said.

"This amazing place has allowed them different life experiences that would not be possible without the time that they've spent on this campus. There's a level of pride that these individuals have and that this university has that's unique and inspiring. It's a powerful reminder of just how special this university is and that the city is."

Golden, who watched Donovan's special two-championship run as a player at St. Mary's from afar, was able to speak with the former Florida head coach for about 30 minutes last Saturday. That interaction gave him "goosebumps," because of how resourceful Donovan said he would be to him moving forward.

"He said he was willing to help as much or as little as possible. Talked about how passionate him and his family were about Gainesville and how big of a part that this place played in his life, his family's life, the maturation of his kids."

The fact is, Donovan still considers UF as his home, even while he leads the Chicago Bulls to a stellar season in his second season with the franchise. Florida remains a very important place to Donovan.

"I said, Coach, 'I'm going to be calling you a lot. Don't worry.' I want to pick his brain," said Golden. "I want him to be a big resource for me. He is a guy I look up to both from a coaching standpoint and also as a man. Everything I hear from others is how great of a person he is."

Again, those expectations that Donovan has set for the program aren't exactly fair, but that's where it's at and Golden understands that. Being able to lean on someone that respected in the arena will come in handy.

"I got a chance to meet him a couple of years ago when they practiced at our gym in San Francisco, and I'm going to strive to have the same amount of success and to lead in a similar way that Coach Donovan did."

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