Building a successful Florida roster: How Todd Golden did it

Will Richard was Todd Golden's first recruit (Photo by Chris Spears)

Two games down, four to go. Win four and the Florida Gators are the national champions. Lose and it’s go home with one of the greatest Florida basketball seasons to celebrate.

The Gators are 32-4 heading into Thursday night’s 7:39 p.m. Sweet 16 matchup with the Maryland Terrapins (27-9) at the Chase Center in San Francisco. How the Gators got here, just four wins away from the third national championship in Florida basketball history is a story in roster construction. Todd Golden may be only 39 years old, but he has proven in three years at the Florida helm that he has mastered the art of putting a winning team together.

This is a team carefully constructed with style of play, depth and team chemistry in mind. He places great emphasis on team culture. There are few teams in the country with the closeness and cameraderie of the Gators. He likes big teams that can run and he's got one. When it comes to depth, there isn't a team remaining in the NCAA Tournament that can match the Gators. It has been a 3-year process to get the team to this level.

Only two players remain on the Florida roster that were part of the first Golden team in 2022-23, a team that finished the season with a loss to UCF in the NIT. Denzel Aberdeen was already a Florida recruit when Golden took the job following the sudden departure of Mike White in March of 2022. Golden had to re-recruit Aberdeen, who was thought by many experts to be a throw-in along with Dr. Phillips 4-star recruit Riley Kugel. Will Richard spent his freshman year at Belmont, where he averaged 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds. He made one visit to Florida and committed immediately.

Seven players on that first roster transferred out, five in 2023, two in 2024. Two grad students exhausted their eligibility. Alex Fudge left a year early for the NBA and Colin Castleton graduated and went on to the NBA. Richard started and averaged double figures. Aberdeen played sparingly.

Tommy Haugh was a freshman recruit in 2023-24 (Photo by Chris Spears)

Year two saw the additions of Walter Clayton Jr., Micah Handlogten, Zyon Pullin, Tyrese Samuel and Julian Rishwain from the transfer portal, plus freshmen Alex Condon, Tommy Haugh and Kajus Kublickas. Pullin and Samuel used up their eligibility, both moving on to the NBA. Rishwain transferred to UNLV. Riley Kugel transferred to Mississippi State and Aleks Szymczyk transferred to Charlotte. Clayton established himself as a star, leading the team in scoring, and Handlogten was a starter at center all season before fracturing his leg in the championship game of the SEC Tournament in Nashville. Richard was a second-year starter who averaged in double figures. Aberdeen came on strong at the end of the season. Condon and Haugh were the backups to Handlogten and Samuel.

Alijah Martin was added from the transfer portal from Florida Atlantic (Photo by Chris Spears)

Golden put the final touches on the roster in the spring and summer of 2024. Clayton and Richard both went to the NBA camp, then decided to come back. Alijah Martin was brought in from Florida Atlantic, where he helped lead the team to a Final Four appearance in 2023. Coming in from Washington State was Rueben Chinyelu, who Florida recruited heavily in 2023. The third transfer was All-Southern Conference big man Sam Alexis, who arrived from Chattanooga. Golden signed freshmen Isaiah Brown, Viktor Mikic and Urban Klavzar, plus brought in 7-9, 305-pound Olivier Rioux as a preferred walk-on.

Clayton made first team All-American and was the MVP of the SEC Tournament. In two NCAA Tournaments games so far, he has scored 45 points. For the season he’s averaging 17.9 to go with 3.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Richard averages 13.5 per game, his third straight double figures season. He’s averaging 4.5 rebounds. Martin is scoring 14.6 and bringing in 4.5 rebounds. Condon has been a starter all season except the games he was injured. He averages 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He made third team All-SEC. Chinyelu averages 6.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Florida has five extremely good starters, but what makes the Gators so dangerous moving forward is the strength on the bench. Haugh is averaging 9.4 points and 5.4 rebounds while Aberdeen is averaging 7.9 per game. Handlogten was going to redshirt but when injuries gave the Gators a short bench, he elected to burn the redshirt. He's been invaluable as a defender and rebounder off the bench. Alexis was averaging 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds before suffering a high ankle sprain. He should be back for the Sweet 16 and onward. Klavzar, who was a late signee out of Slovenia, has carved a niche for himself as a shooter, but his defense has improved dramatically.

Golden has 10 players at his immediate disposal when the Gators take the court against Maryland, five on the perimeter and five in the paint. This is the deepest and most complete roster in the tournament.

The Gators will lose Clayton, Richard and Martin to graduation and pro basketball. Condon has drawn plenty of NBA interest, but he is most likely to return to add muscle and weight. Golden has two stud 4-star recruits coming in – 6-4 shooter Alex Lloyd from Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy and 6-7 CJ Ingram from Hawthorne by way of Montverde. With the SEC probably moving to 15 basketball scholarships because of the new NCAA guidelines, Rioux is likely to move from walk-on to scholarship. You can’t teach tall.

There could be attrition beyond Clayton, Richard and Martin, but Golden has been outstanding in finding talent that best fits his system in the transfer portal, plus he’s been active in recruiting international players (Condon, Chinyelu, Klavzar, Mikic). If the SEC limits scholarships to 13 and there is no attrition, the Gators are at their limit for next season. If there is attrition and the scholarship limit increases to 15, then Golden is likely to go for two for sure, possibly three to five more.

Looking ahead to a potential 2025-26 scholarship roster if there are no transfers:

Big guys (7): Micah Handlogten (7-1, 255, SR); Alex Condon (6-11, 230, JR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, JR); Sam Alexis (6-9, 240, JR); Viktor Mikic (6-11, 250, RFR); Olivier Rioux (7-9, 305, RFR)

Perimeter (6): Denzel Aberdeen (6-5, 190, SR); Kajus Kublickas (6-2, 180, JR); Urban Klavzar (6-1, 195, FR); Isaiah Brown (6-5, 195, SO); Alex Lloyd (6-4, 175, FR); CJ Ingram (6-6, 200, FR)

THE PORTAL IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Here are a few notable names that will be calling a new place home next season:

Barrington Hargress, UC-Riverside: He’s from the same school that gave the Gators Zyon Pullin. He averaged 20.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Below average 3-point shooter, but gets to the foul line a lot. Two years of eligibility remaining.

Christoph Tilly, Santa Clara: Florida is already in the mix for this 7-0, 230-pound big man who averaged 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. One year of eligibility remaining. He’s from Germany, so watch Gonzaga on this one since Mark Few needs a big and has a history of solid recruiting with international big guys.

Dedan Thomas, UNLV: The Gators lost out for his services a couple of years ago. Apparently the Gators are very much in the mix now after Thomas (6-1, 170) put up 15.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists for UNLV. Two years of eligibility remaining. Kentucky and Houston are in the mix as well.

Donovan Dent, New Mexico: He is maybe the hottest name in the portal so far. He averaged 20.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists playing for Little Ricky Pitino. He’s 6-2, 170 and a 40.9 3-point shooter. Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina are already making a pitch.

Elliot Cadeau, North Carolina: He is a pure point guard who averaged 9.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. Concerning is 113 turnovers and below average from 3-point range. He played at Bergen Catholic and might find his home with Rick Pitino at St. John’s.

Bryce Hopkins, Providence: Talent is not the issue, but injuries are. Only 14 games in 2024, just three in 2025. He’s 6-7, 220 who can score inside and has 3-point range. If he gets a medical hardship he might get two years of eligibility. Ed Cooley at Georgetown is hot after him.

Malik Reneau, Indiana: He’s a Miami kid who prepped at Montverde. It came down to UF and Indiana. He averaged 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds at IU in 2025. Doesn’t shoot the 3-ball well but he is an outstanding scorer in the paint. Florida, Miami and FSU will be in the mix.

Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State: This 6-11, 255-pound Australian was a teammate of Rueben Chinyelu at Washington State in 2024. In 2025 averaged 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. This is one to keep an eye on since he played for Kyle Smith at Wazzoo, one of Todd Golden’s mentors.

Treysen Eaglestaff, North Dakota: He is a 6-6, 190 shooter who averaged 18.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He has made 221 3-pointers in three seasons.

Marvel Allen, Dayton: This is an unknown quantity after two seasons in which he never played a game for Anthony Grant due to injuries. A 6-4, 200-pound shooting guard from Fort Lauderdale, he wound up at Dayton after LSU and Georgetown fired their coaches in 2023. He was at The Benjamin School and Calvary Christian prior to Montverde.  

COACHING CHANGES

Here are some of the high profile coaching changes. Still open are Villanova, West Virginia, VCU and Xavier.

UNLV: The Running Rebels seemed all set to hire Arkansas coach X, but did a last minute surprise by choosing former Memphis and Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner. As long as Memphis was in Conference USA, Pastner seemed like a good coach. Then came the switch to the American Athletic Conference where he went 61-39. Then came seven seasons at Georgia Tech where he was 109-114 before he was fired. UNLV’s athletic department is running on financial fumes. Pastner works cheap. UNLV would have been smart to keep Kevin Kruger.

IOWA: The new coach is Ben McCollum, 426-95 as a head coach at Northwest Missouri State and Drake. He won four Division II national championships at NWSU then went 31-4 in his only year at Drake where he beat Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He grew up in Iowa City within spitting distance of the Iowa campus. Great hire. Maybe the best hire by any Division I team.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE: The new coach of the Wolfpack is Will Wade, who was dismissed at LSU for bending the rules to the point the NCAA stepped in and forced his firing. He resurrected his career at McNeese where he went 50-9 in two years. At Chattanooga, VCU, LSU and McNeese he is 244-105. Some call Wade a cheater for what happened at LSU. Don’t think of it that way. Think of him as an NIL pioneer since everything he did is legal now. Excellent hire. Give him two years and he will be competing head-to-head with the Dookies and Tar Heels.

MINNESOTA: The Golden Gophers hired Niko Medved, whose Colorado State Rams lost a chance to make the Sweet 16 when the zebras blew a traveling call on Maryland’s Derik Queen. Depending on which angle you watch Queen took either four or five steps before banking in the winning shot. Travesty. Medved is a Minnesota grad so he’s familiar with the territory. At Colorado State Medved went 143-85 in six seasons. This is not an easy place to win.

TEXAS: The Longhorns were set to make a Godfather offer to Billy Donovan, but the not interested signal came back so immediately after firing Rodney Terry they hired Sean Miller from Xavier. Miller is like Wade, an NIL pioneer. The national scandal that led to Wade’s firing at LSU led the Arizona dismissing him. In two coaching stints at Xavier he was 185-87. At Arizona he was 302-109. At Texas he has access to more money than he ever had at his previous stops. The Longhorns will win, but enough to satisfy the boosters?

VIRGINIA: Tony Bennett left the Cavaliers high and dry when he became disgusted with NIL and the transfer portal, the same reason Roy Williams and Coach K decided to hang up their whistles. The new coach is Ryan Odom, formerly of VCU where he went 52-21 in two years. He’s had several stops on his coaching journey, none more famous than UMBC, where he engineered the first 16-seed win over a No. 1 seed, ironically over Tony Bennett at Virginia in 2018. The son of former Wake Forest and South Carolina head coach Dave Odom, he’s 222-127 in his career. Excellent hire.

INDIANA: Darian DeVries was the head coach at Drake prior to Ben McCollum. He went 150-55 in six seasons, parlaying that success to a year at West Virginia where he went 19-13. This has been a place where very good coaches take their careers to die. Just ask Tom Crean. DeVries has never recruited at a place as demanding as Indiana. Wait and see hire.