Despite Florida’s early-season criticism, Gators arrive in San Antonio validated as Final Four nears

Florida celebrates West Regional championship before arriving at Final Four, validating Todd Golden’s belief that Gators once again belong on biggest stage in basketball. (Photo by the Gainesville Sun)

SAN ANTONIO — The beginning of the journey for Todd Golden started three years ago, when the then-San Francisco head coach was tapped by Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin to replace Mike White as the leader of a Gator program searching for a way back to the national elite after winning back-to-back national championships with Billy Donovan in the mid-2000s.

The turning point in the process came on January 4, when an undefeated Florida team went into Rupp Arena against a Top 10 Kentucky outfit. Although the Gators fell six points short that night in Lexington, the end result exceeded the margin on the scoreboard.

“I honestly was as excited as you can be after that game, after a loss,” Golden recalled Thursday. “In a way, it gave us confidence moving forward. Three days later, we beat Tennessee at home, No. 1 in the country, by 30. I think that week with those two contests explained to us, and built a lot of belief within our program, that we belonged at the top of the SEC.”

Florida’s road back has been paved to build to the moment that meets the Gators on Saturday, when they face an Auburn team it defeated on the Tigers’ own home floor in February. From a 16-17 first season that ended in the NIT, to a shootout loss against Colorado in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year, to the present day, the analytics behind Golden’s personnel decisions may command attention, but the groundwork started with the men he and his staff brought to the Sunshine State.

“The process of building this roster started three years ago, when we got down to Gainesville,” he said. “I point to Will Richard as being the starting point for us. He was the first young man that committed to our program when we got the job. I can’t say enough about what Will has done for us as a program since he’s been here.”

“After the first year, we were very active in the transfer portal. We were fortunate enough to get Walter Clayton, Zyon Pullin, Tyrese Samuel, Micah Handlogten, and had some unknown freshmen at the time that we got that I don’t think a lot of people outside our building appreciated. I point to Tommy (Haugh) and (Alex Condon) specifically, and Denzel (Aberdeen) kind of growing up.”

This season, Richard and Walter Clayton, Jr. have led the way in the backcourt, but there was still something missing to turn Florida back into a national power. Golden saw an opportunity to get stronger, found the necessary pieces, and constructed a new masterpiece headlined by Alijah Martin, who reached a Final Four two years ago at Florida Atlantic.

“We felt like we needed additional layers of toughness, physicality and experience to bridge that gap for this nucleus we had returning,” Golden admitted. “The addition of Alijah, Rueben (Chinyelu) and Sam (Alexis) just really finished this team. It goes back to the players. They’ve been incredibly unselfish, allowed us to coach them, they’re very consistent. Three years in the works, I’m really happy with the success we’ve had.”

Since a 64-44 loss to Tennessee on February 1, Florida has won 16 of 17 games going into the Final Four. After each of their four losses, the Gators have responded with a double-digit victory each time, albeit in the confines of their own home each time. This atmosphere is different, but Golden was unfazed by the challenge and remains confident in his players’ ability to carry their momentum into a crowd of approximately 70,000.

“You look at the way we’ve played all year, we’ve been a very consistent team,” he said. “We’ve always been able to bounce back from losses the right way, make sure we get back to who we are and playing well. Our guys are not going to be satisfied going home Saturday night. It will be a great season regardless, but if we lose on Saturday, we’ll have a bad taste in our mouths. I point to the collective unity of this group as the main reason why we deserve to (be here), and we’ll do what we need on Saturday night to stay here.”