Florida basketball HC Todd Golden among top 5 for Coach of Year award

Credit for the recent renaissance of the Florida basketball program lies mostly on the shoulders of its current head coach, Todd Golden, who came to Gainesville three seasons ago to turn around a team that was mired in mediocrity.

While Golden’s predecessor Mike White had done a decent job keeping the Gators competitive during his tenure, the fanbase yearned for a return to the glory days of the Billy Donovan era. Unfortunately for White — but fortunately for the Orange and Blue — Florida decided to seek greener pastures.

And greener pastures they have found with Golden, who helped rebuild a depleted roster through the transfer portal while orchestrating a second-half surge last season that saw the Gators reach the Southeastern Conference Championship Game. That success has carried over to the current campaign, as demonstrated by the team’s 13-game winning streak heading into 2025.

Since then, Golden’s gang has dropped a pair of matchups against fellow SEC schools but has remained one of the top-ranked teams in the nation and among the highest seeds in the bracket watches. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and
Myron Medcalf recently released their rankings for the men’s basketball Coach of the Year award, with UF’s skipper logging in at No. 4.

“On the court, Golden and the Gators are a national championship contender. They opened the season with 13 straight wins, then pummeled a then-undefeated and top-ranked Tennessee by 30 points in early January,” they begin. “They were ranked No. 21 in the preseason AP poll, but Golden supplemented five key returnees with Florida Atlantic transfer Alijah Martin.”

Unfortunately, there remains a dark cloud that hovers over Gainesville despite the success.

“We would be remiss to not acknowledge that, off the court, Golden is the subject of a Title IX investigation spurred by multiple allegations of sexual harassment and stalking that became public in early November,” the authors note. “He has acknowledged the inquiry, saying he has been participating, while also consulting with an attorney about bringing on defamation claims. But there’s no timetable for the investigation to be resolved.”

ESPN’s Coach of the Year rankings top 5

Joining Golden in the top five of Borzello and Medcalf’s rankings include his mentor Bruce Pearl — who has led his Auburn Tigers to yet another impressive regular-season run so far — in first place.

Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer, who has also been with his current school for a trio of seasons much like Golden, logs in at No. 2 followed by West Virginia Mountaineers skipper Darian DeVries at No. 3.

The top five is finished off by the Missouri Tigers’ Dennis Gates, who helped coach his team to a one-point victory inside the O’Connell Center against the Gators this season.

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