Todd Golden's Fast Tempo a Perfect Fit For Florida's Personnel

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

Todd Golden - Photo by Chris Spears

In some respects, it’s like playing defense with your offense. Todd Golden’s push it up the court and play fast philosophy has the two-fold effect of getting good shots for the Gators while wearing opponents out.

How fast is it?

“They play as fast as we play if not faster,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said after his 6th-ranked Wildcats eked out an 87-85 white knuckler at the O-Dome last Saturday.

What makes it possible for Florida to play at a breakneck tempo that has the Gators (10-4, 0-1 SEC) averaging 86.2 points per game is the size to dominate the backboards. The Gators average 45.2 rebounds per game, which leads the nation. The Gators also average 15.79 offensive rebounds per game. Extra possessions lead to more scoring opportunities.

It's all part of a philosophy that Golden came up with to adapt to his personnel. It certainly wasn’t like this last year when the Gators were vertically challenged, especially after Colin Castleton went down with a season-ending injury. This year, Golden has loaded up on size, starting 6-10 Tyrese Samuel and 7-1 Micah Handlogten, then coming off the bench with 6-11 Alex Condon and 6-9 Thomas Haugh, plus there’s 6-10 Aleks Szymczyk now available after missing the first 13 games recovering from a broken foot. With five bigs who can handle the ball and run, Golden has chosen a tempo game that goes a bit contrary to the style of his mentors Bruce Pearl (Auburn), Randy Smith (Saint Mary’s) and Kyle Smith (San Francisco).   

“It was more of just our personnel,” Golden said Tuesday before the Gators departed for Oxford where they face Ole Miss (13-2, 0-1 SEC) tonight (9 p.m., SEC Network). “We thought we had a really good backcourt this year. We thought we had multiple bigs that could run, really liked the athleticism in our front court and wanted to try to find a way to play a little bigger and get some easier baskets early on in the clock. I think schematically it's working, our early games are really good for us.

“We've done a really good job getting on the glass. We just need to shoot the ball a little better. I think we're capable. I think we're getting some good looks. If we do that, I think then we take the jump from being a top 25-top 30 offense to a top 10-15 offense. If we can do that, over the next couple weeks, then we'll have a really good conference season."

The combination of size, tempo and rebounding has plenty to do with Florida’s ability to go toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the country. Among Florida’s four losses are a 3-pointer to Virginia, a 4-pointer to Baylor and the 2-point loss to Kentucky a few days ago. Virginia, Baylor and Kentucky will all be in the NCAA Tournament and it’s a better than average chance all three will make it to the second weekend.

Florida could get there. The Gators have the personnel and a style that not only works well for them, but is very difficult for opponents to simulate. One secret for sustained success moving ahead is for the Gators to play fast, but not too fast.  

“It’s a fine line of playing so fast that you’re not under control, right, and I think we’ve done a good job over the last couple of weeks specifically of playing with really good pace but also taking care of the ball,” Golden said. “Although we let it slip in the second half [against Kentucky] and we had some bad turnovers, we only had 11 for the game. I think our turnover rate was 13 percent, which, you know, that’s top-25 in the country. That’s really, really good.

“So if we can continue to play that way and take care of the ball, you know, we’ll continue to do it, but it’s part of what’s made our identity, it’s part of what’s allowed us to get on the glass, because we have depth in the frontcourt, and we’re playing at this pace that’s hard for other teams to keep up. And it’s been beneficial for us, for sure.” 

Anticipated starting lineups

FLORIDA (10-4, 0-1 SEC): 6-10 Tyrese Samuel (13.5 points, 8.7 rebounds); 7-1 Micah Handlogten (6.8 points, 7.5 rebounds); 6-4 Zyon Pullin (14.9 points, 4.8 assists); 6-2 Walter Clayton Jr. (15.7 points, 3.9 rebounds); 6-4 Will Richard (11.1 points, 3.6 rebounds)

Ole Miss (13-2, 0-1 SEC): 7-5 Jamarion Sharp (3.9 points, 4.4 rebounds); 6-8 Jaemyn Brakefield (11.6 points, 5.7 rebounds); 5-11 Jaylin Murray (14.4 points, 2.5 rebounds); 6-6 Allen Flanigan (16.2 points, 7.3 rebounds); 6-4 Matthew Murrell (16.4 points, 3.8 rebounds)

SEC basketball

Tuesday’s scores: No. 6 Kentucky (12-2, 2-0 SEC) 90, Missouri (8-7, 0-2 SEC) 77; No. 16 Auburn (13-2, 2-0 SEC) 66, Texas A&M (9-6, 0-2 SEC) 55; Alabama (10-5, 2-0 SEC) 74, South Carolina (13-2, 1-1 SEC) 47; LSU (10-5, 2-0 SEC) 77, Vanderbilt (5-10, 0-2 SEC) 69

Today’s games: FLORIDA (10-4, 0-1 SEC) at No. 22 Ole Miss (13-1, 0-1 SEC); No. 5 Tennessee (11-3, 1-0 SEC) at Mississippi State (11-3, 0-1 SEC); Arkansas (9-5, 0-1 SEC) at Georgia (11-3, 1-0 SEC)

SEC lands six in final AP, Coaches polls; eight if you count Texas, Oklahoma

Associated Press final 2023 top 25: 1. Michigan 15-0; 2. Washington 14-1; 3. Texas 12-2; 4. Georgia 13-1; 5. Alabama 12-2; 6. (Tie) Florida State 13-1 and Oregon 12-2; 8. Missouri 11-2; 9. Ole Miss 11-2; 10. Ohio State 11-2; 11. Arizona 10-3; 12. LSU 10-3; 13. Penn State 10-3; 14. Notre Dame 10-3; 15. Oklahoma 10-3; 16. Oklahoma State 10-4; 17. Tennessee 9-4; 18. Kansas State 9-4; 19. Louisville 10-4; 20. Clemson 9-4; 21. North Carolina State 9-4; 22. SMU 11-3; 23. Kansas 9-4; 24. Iowa 10-4; 25. Liberty 13-1

Coaches final 2023 top 25: 1. Michigan 15-0; 2. Washington 14-1; 3. Georgia 13-1; 4. Texas 12-2; 5. Alabama 12-2; 6. Florida State 13-1; 7. Oregon 12-2; 8. Missouri 11-2; 9. Ole Miss 11-2; 10. Ohio State 11-2; 11. Arizona 10-3; 12. LSU 10-3; 13. Penn State 10-3; 14. Notre Dame 10-3; 15. Oklahoma 10-3; 16. Oklahoma State 10-4; 17. Tennessee 9-4; 18. Louisville 10-4; 19. Kansas State 9-4; 20. Clemson 9-4; 21. North Carolina State 9-4; 22. Iowa 10-4; 23. Kansas 9-4; 24. SMU 11-3; 25. West Virginia 9-4

ESPN too early top 25 for 2024: 1. Georgia; 2. Texas; 3. Oregon; 4. Alabama; 5. Ohio State; 6. Michigan; 7. Ole Miss; 8. Missouri; 9. Arizona; 10. Notre Dame; 11. Washington; 12. Penn State; 13. Utah; 14. LSU; 15. Oklahoma; 16. Florida State; 17. Tennessee; 18. Oklahoma State; 19. Clemson; 20. North Carolina State; 21. Kansas State; 22. Louisville; 23. Kansas; 24. SMU; 25. Iowa

CBS too early top 25 for 2024: 1. Georgia; 2. Alabama; 3. Michigan; 4. Oregon; 5. Ole Miss; 6. Ohio State; 7. Texas; 8. Missouri; 9. Notre Dame; 10. Arizona; 11. Oklahoma; 12. LSU; 13. Utah; 14. Tennessee; 15. Washington; 16. Penn State; 17. Kansas State; 18. SMU; 19. Florida State; 20. Kansas; 21. Clemson; 22. North Carolina State; 23. Oklahoma State; 24. Texas A&M; 25. Louisville

The Athletic too early top 25 for 2024: 1. Georgia; 2. Alabama; 3. Oregon; 4. Ohio State; 5. Texas; 6. Michigan; 7. Washington; 8. Ole Miss; 9. Notre Dame; 10. Clemson; 11. Utah; 12. Oklahoma State; 13. Arizona; 14. Tennessee; 15. Oklahoma; 16. Louisville; 17. Kansas; 18. Penn State; 19. Florida State; 20. LSU; 21. Missouri; 22. Iowa; 23. Iowa State; 24. Kansas State; 25. West Virginia

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: With two games remaining on the 2023 football schedule, Texas A&M elected to fire HBC Jimbo Fisher even though the Aggies were 6-4, his career record at A&M was 45-25 and the cost to buy out his contract was a mere $77 million. Prior to Jimbo, the folks in Aggieland fired Kevin Sumlin after six seasons despite a 7-5 record in 2017 and a 51-26 career mark. Sumlin was paid $30 million in buyout money.

Twelve years. No championships but a 96-51 record. $107 million in buyout money. That’s how much they want to win a national championship at Texas A&M. The only national title they’ve ever won in Aggieland was in 1939. The last time they won a conference championship was in 1998 when A&M was a member of the Big 12.

Monday night, Michigan won the national championship in Jim Harbaugh’s ninth season as the head football coach. Harbaugh was hired in 2015 to (a) beat Ohio State and (b) win a national championship. It wasn’t until year seven that Harbaugh finally beat Ohio State, which was the single most important reason Michigan hired him in the first place. Harbaugh has beaten Ohio State three straight years, won three straight Big Ten championships and finally, on his third crack at the College Football Playoff, there is a national championship trophy to collect dust in the case. It’s the first national championship for a Big Ten team since Ohio State did it in 2014, the first year of the College Football Playoff. It is Michigan’s first national title since the split title (with Nebraska) in 1998 and the first non-split title since 1948.

That this is year nine for Harbaugh is important in more ways than one. In the 2020 COVID year, Michigan went 2-4, after which Harbaugh took a massive paycut. Michigan is 40-3 since then. Additionally, there are accusations that Harbaugh lied to the NCAA about recruiting violations. Harbaugh denies he lied. For that, Harbaugh was suspended the first three games of the 2023 season in a self-imposed punishment by Michigan.  Michigan is accused of sign stealing for the past three years. A staffer has been fired. Harbaugh says he knew nothing of what was going on but he was suspended by the Big Ten the final three games of the 2023 regular season.

Some schools would have fired Harbaugh long before the 2023 issues. He was 0-5 against Ohio State (didn’t play in 2020). He was hired to beat the Buckeyes and didn’t do it. But, Michigan stuck with him. The NCAA can’t seem to decide between burning Harbaugh at the stake or staging a public hanging for the alleged recruiting violations and the sign stealing. Michigan, meanwhile is telling the NCAA to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine by offering Harbaugh a contract extension with a Star Wars raise.

Unlike the Aggies and dozens of other schools who have had to go to the boosters to raise ginormous amounts of buyout money, Michigan stuck with its coach and let him get the football program built in a way it can sustain winning big. And, unlike so many schools that are intimidated by an NCAA which demands firing a coach, Michigan is committed to Jim Harbaugh. Now, Harbaugh might choose to go to the NFL rather than face continued harassment by the pointy headed geeks who run the NCAA, but if he elects to stay, Michigan has his back.

There are times when it becomes blatantly obvious that a coach isn’t working out and should be given a pink slip, but there is a time also for patience. Everybody wants to chase that coach (Nick Saban comes to mind) who was an instant winner, but sometimes you have to wait your turn.

I think about this now more than ever before as I hear Gator fans talking about firing another coach. Billy Napier is the sixth coach at Florida since Steve Spurrier retired. Georgia is on its second since the end of the Spurrier era at Florida. Alabama has had the same coach since 2007. I can’t say for sure if Billy Napier is the right coach or not at the University of Florida, but I do know that if he were to be fired today as some Gator fans suggest, it would take millions to buy him out, millions to hire a new coach and then the football program would be starting from scratch. Again.

Something to think about.