Florida basketball head coach Todd Golden left off Coach of the Year short list
Florida head coach Todd Golden is one of the young coaching stars in college basketball, but leading the Gators to an SEC Tournament title, No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the program's best record in more than a decade wasn't enough to earn him a spot on the Naismith Coach of the Year Award finalists list.
The selection committee announced Auburn's Bruce Pearl, Duke's Jon Scheyer, Houston's Kelvin Sampson and St. John's Rick Pitino as the four finalists on Monday. It's hard to ignore that Florida is the only No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament not to see its coach get the nod, instead adding Pitino after his second year with St. John's.
In the era of name, image and likeness and the transfer portal, Golden has mastered both and assembled one of the deepest rosters in the country. Don't forget that Florida's All-America guard, Walter Clayton Jr., played for Pitino at Iona and nearly followed the legendary head coach to St. John's. Instead, Golden and his staff pushed for the Florida native to return home and won the recruiting battle.
Golden is doing everything a program could ask, and he's not even 40 years old yet. Perhaps the selection committee figures that Golden will be a mainstay in the award race for years to come. It's hard to make sense of the obvious snub any other way.
Of course, Golden won't be complaining any time soon about the decision to leave him off the shortlist. He's too busy trying to win a national championship and get his team set for next year. Florida could lose four of five starters from this year's team, and Golden has already secured the NIL funds to attack the portal and reload the team for another run. Raising the national championship trophy would mean a lot more than winning the Coach of the Year Award to him anyway.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
ESPN breaks down, ranks Florida's College Football Playoff chances
Florida football recently emerged from a nadir in program history with its first winning season in its last four tries, as well as its lone bowl game win since 2019 — thanks in large part to quarterback DJ Lagway, as well as fundamental improvements ushered in by coach Billy Napier. The recent success has the Gator Nation excited once again for its favorite gridiron game and expectations have followed the Orange and Blue up the win column. Now stocked with veteran talent as well as highly-heralded newcomers, Napier and Co. are looking to take this team to the next level in 2025. One of their goals this fall is to crack the 12-team College Football Playoff, which would give the Gators a legitimate chance at a national championship. However, the road to the postseason is a rough one as Florida faces arguably the toughest schedule in the sport this coming fall. Ahead of the opening kickoff just weeks away, ESPN's Heather Dinich ranked the top 32 FBS schools based on their percentage chance of making the playoffs, while also offering a breakdown of the teams' outlooks. The Gators landed at No. 25, in between the No. 24 Arizona Sun Devils and No. 26 Kansas Jayhawks. Florida football's stats and numbers Agree or disagree with ESPN Analytics? "Agree," Dinich states. "Florida might have the best quarterback in the country in DJ Lagway, but it also has the most difficult schedule in the FBS. Again. The Gators are a long shot to win the SEC, and their chances of earning an at-large bid hinge on their ability to beat a lineup comprised mainly of top-25 teams." Florida's toughest test in 2025 "Nov. 1 vs. Georgia," she offers. "The Gators also have to face Texas in October, but the history between the Gators and Bulldogs runs deep. ESPN's FPI gives Georgia a 79.7% chance to win. Florida lost to both Georgia and Texas last year in back-to-back weeks. This year, the Gators have a bye week to prepare for Georgia." What the selection committee will like about Florida "A Sept. 20 road win against Miami. The committee factors in the intangibles of rivalry games, and an in-state win against what should be a ranked Canes team would earn Florida some credit in the room. It could increase in value if Miami wins the ACC and clinches a spot in the playoff as one of the committee's five highest-ranked conference champs," Dinich notes. "Even if Miami doesn't win the ACC, the head-to-head tiebreaker could be a factor in the room if both teams are competing for an at-large spot. This is also the kind of nonconference win that could help separate Florida from the Big 12 runner-up if they're competing for an at-large spot." What the selection committee will not like about Florida "An injury to Lagway," she declares. "His health is critical to the team's success, and the committee considers injuries to key players — which is why undefeated Florida State didn't make the CFP in 2023 as the ACC champ. That's not to say that Florida couldn't make the playoff without Lagway — in 2014 Ohio State won the national title with its third-string quarterback. "But the Gators would have to prove to the committee that they still look like a playoff team with Lagway sidelined. He has already dealt with a shoulder injury, a lower body injury and a hamstring injury during his career." Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
NBC Sports
4 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Damian Lillard takes on role of general manager for his alma mater Weber State basketball
Damian Lillard has followed in the footsteps of Stephen Curry (Davidson), Trae Young (Oklahoma), Patty Mills (Hawaii) and Terance Mann (Florida State). Lillard has become the general manager of his alma mater, the Weber State men's basketball program. A legacy continues in Ogden. Wildcat legend Damian Lillard is officially joining Weber State Men's Basketball as the new General Manager. Dame is stepping into a leadership role that will help shape the future of Wildcat hoops. A new era begins now.#WeberStateGreat #DameTime While these GM roles for NBA players are often more ceremonial — the star can help with recruiting, swing by some practices and stay in touch with players, has valuable experience, but is not the one making decisions on NIL money or anything on the court — Lillard is hoping to do a little more, part of which is boosting the NIL resources for the program. Here's what he said at Weber State's annual basketball alumni game, according to Isaac Fisher of The Ogden Standard-Examiner (hat tip Hoop Rumors). 'It's something that, my relationship with coach [Eric] Duft and this program means a lot to me, and seeing the success of the program means a lot to me. I feel like I can do a lot to help the program be successful, to help the players even individually continue to grow their careers past college, that's something that I'm passionate about... 'All of the resources that I have, I've got an opportunity to be able to create for the program, while they're in the program and even after the program, it's something I'm excited about. I'm looking forward to doing that work, looking forward to continue to lift up the university, lift up the program. It's going to be fun.' Weber State went 12-22 last season, but has had 20+ wins in two of the past four seasons. It's been a decade since the Wildcats advanced out of the Big Sky to the NCAA Tournament. Lillard was surprisingly waived-and-stretched by the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, then signed to return home to the Portland Trail Blazers. He will spend the coming season rehabbing from a torn Achilles suffered during last season's playoffs. Lillard will spend time this season mentoring the Trail Blazers' young stars such as Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara and Yang Hansen. Now, it will have a new group to help mentor in Utah, as well.
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Hugh Freeze discusses the 'flash' of Omar Mabson early in Auburn's fall camp
One freshman running back is turning heads at fall camp. One week into fall camp, and the Auburn running back room is just as much a mystery as it was at the beginning. Earlier this week, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze shared that running backs Jeremiah Cobb and Durell Robinson would be limited due to injury. However, on Saturday, Robinson returned to the practice field while Cobb remained out, and projected starter Damari Alston was held out due to a heel bruise. Limitations for Alston and Cobb left the door open for a true freshman to shine in front of his new coaches. Following Saturday's practice, Freeze shared that he was pleased with the efforts of his running backs that were able to practice, including one in particular. "Man, the other guys are showing up," Freeze said. "Durell (Robinson) had some explosive runs. Alvin (Henderson), there's still a little learning curve for him, for sure. But I tell you the one who is flashing is Omar (Mabson)." Mabson joined the roster a year earlier than anticipated after reclassifying to the 2025 recruiting class and is quickly making strides with his new team. Freeze went on to say that Mabson is hard to tackle due to his 5-9, 213-pound frame and is great at finishing runs. Auburn's running back competition remains wide open with just over four weeks until the Tigers kick off the season at Baylor. With a mix of injuries and inexperience, the running back room will be fun to watch unfold as fall camp continues. Watch Hugh Freeze's press conference from Saturday here. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
