Florida's Todd Golden Previews Matchup vs. Kentucky: 'I’d Put Our Backcourt Up Against Anybody in America'

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Todd Golden has led the Florida Gators to a perfect 13-0 start with SEC play looming. The Gators’ first test will be against Kentucky in Rupp Arena on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET.

Ahead of the matchup, Golden sat down with KSR+ for an interview to preview Saturday’s SEC opener between Kentucky and Florida. He called his team “well-balanced and really deep.”

“We have a good group that’s bought in and playing for each other,” Golden said. “I’d put our backcourt up against anybody in America. Those three seniors are really, really good players and good leaders. I love our young frontcourt and the depth they provide as well. I think this is going to be a great game and a great way to kick off SEC play.”

A Veteran-Heavy Team

Florida, like Kentucky, is a very experienced group. The Gators’ top three scorers — guards Walter Clayton, Alijah Martin, and Will Richard — are each in their senior season.

“We have really good, veteran guard play, which is our spark and what leads us,” Golden said. “I also feel like have a really good, deep frontcourt that’s a little younger, but plays really hard and provides us with great physicality and depth across 40 minutes. The combination of that veteran depth, playmaking in the backcourt, and athleticism and strength in the frontcourt.”

While Kentucky had to put together an entirely new roster ahead of the 2024-25 season, Florida has returned a core nucleus from last year’s team. Most notably, rotational players Walter Clayton, Will Richard, Alex Condon, Tommy Haugh, and Denzel Aberdeen are all back from a season ago.

“I think there’s great value in continuity right now,” Golden said. “After getting our program back to the tournament last year, we felt like we had five guys who were really impactful with eligibility left. We made it an emphasis to make sure we got those guys back.”

Golden said each of the five players mentioned are “really good dudes, really unselfish, and passionate about being Gators.” He said that continuity was a focus for the staff this offseason.

“We thought that if we were able to build a good level of continuity, it would allow us to get better quickly,” Golden said. “That continuity piece, as I mentioned, and being able to build, helps you at this level, especially if you’re able to keep guys together for an extended period of time.”

Florida Was ‘More Targeted’ in the Transfer Portal

With that core group returning, Florida was able to be more targeted in the portal. The first big need was filling the hole left by Micah Handlogten, who is missing the 2024-25 season after suffering a broken leg in last year’s SEC Tournament.

“We had that nucleus to build around and knew, with Micah being out, that we were going to have to get a couple more frontcourt players,” Golden said. “It allowed us to really narrow our search and focus on guys that, first of all, had proven success before, but also had a level of toughness and physicality that we thought we were missing last year.”

Florida’s three portal additions have been significant contributors this season. The Gators added Alijah Martin (FAU), Rueben Chinyelu (Washington State), and Sam Alexis (Chattanooga) this offseason.

“Alijah and Rueben are great examples of that [toughness]. First of all, they had good individual success. Alijah had great tournament success and Rueben made it to the tournament as a freshman. They’re also both good defensive players with their offensive packages,” Golden said. “Sam is just a very good talent. He played at a lower level but has been able to give us some really good games. As the year goes on, he’s going to get really comfortable playing in the SEC.”

Todd Golden Has Been Impressed With Kentucky’s Early Success

While Kentucky and Florida are both ranked in the top 10, they have had very different routes to get there. Florida returned a lot of players, while Kentucky returned no one.

“I’ve been really impressed. It’s hard to get a group of so many new guys on the same page so quickly,” Golden said. “I’ve known Mark [Pope] for a long time. We used to compete against each other in the West Coast Conference. He’s a really, really, really good coach.”

Golden said that Pope and his staff did “a really good job of navigating the portal in a short period of time.” He’s also been impressed with how quickly the team has gelled.

“For them to be the No. 10 team in the country right now speaks volumes about what he’s been able to do,” he said.

Many consider the SEC to be the best conference in college basketball. Golden took that a step further.

“It’s definitely the best conference that college basketball has seen in a decade,” he said. “The thing that is incredibly impressive to me is the depth.”

Golden pointed out how the SEC had teams at the bottom of the league last season falling out of the top 100 in KenPom. That’s not the case this year.

“This year, the worst team in the league is somewhere between 80 and 85 on KenPom right now,” he said. “The top-to-bottom depth is what I think is the most impressive thing. It’s going to be a constant battle and you’re going to have to be mentally tough to make it through your schedule without going through some ruts.”