10 notable quotes from Florida Gators basketball

It’s opening night for Florida basketball as the new-look Gators face Loyola Maryland 8 p.m. Monday at Exactech Arena. After a 16–17 opening campaign, second-year coach Todd Golden rebuilt his roster, largely through a transfer portal class that many have called one of college basketball’s best. Will there be a payoff from that work this season? We’re about to find out.

To help prepare you for the 2023-24 season, here are 10 notable quotes from inside the program.

*On the off-season rebuild of the program and the challenges of roster-building …

“I thought we had a very successful offseason.  … I think it’s something that’s going to change every year but, obviously, for us, the goal in this next upcoming offseason is to not have to bring in nine new guys. Hopefully it’ll be a lower number than that. But with the transfer rules the way they are and the flexibility for guys to be able to move at different times leaves the door open to situations like that. But I do think we have a lot of good, young, talented kids within our program who will be here for quite a while and I think we’ll have better continuity after this year but, yeah, you see it all over. A lot of rosters are turning over this way.” — Golden

How has the team’s chemistry been in the preseason?

*On the team’s chemistry considering the Florida Gators have so many new faces on the roster …

“I think it’s coming along and it’s only going to get better the more we play and kind of go through situations. But so far, it’s been great.” —  UC Riverside transfer guard Zyon Pullin

*On the role of returning guard Will Richard this season …

“I feel like last year I was out of position, I played the four a lot, so that was a little difficult, but I feel like this year I’m in a more natural position. I’m involved a lot more, I’m more of a leader, so I’ve been taking on a new role, but I’ve embraced it. I’m enjoying it right now.” — Junior guard Will Richard

Depth could be a plus this season

*On the team’s depth this season …

“I think most of the guys on our team can really play and so I think it’s just figuring out which guys support each other better and which lineups we think mesh well together. But we definitely have more flexibility with the people we have in the program. We have the ability to play big, we can play small, there are a lot of different things we can do with this group.” — Golden

*On how the Florida Gators landed Iona star guard Walter Clayton Jr., the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year, over his former coach — Rick Pitino …

“Really just looking for somewhere I felt comfortable, and that was obviously between St. John’s and here. Going really throughout my process, they were consistent. I felt like it was consistent and just, you know, giving me all the answers to the questions that I had. So, you know, really just comfortability and being able to come in and play my game, that was it.” — Clayton

Riley Kugel should be a better player — and leader — for the Florida Gators

*On the growth of returning guard Riley Kugel and how he has emerged as a leader …

“He’s definitely evolved. He’s been working hard. He knows that we’re going to be relying on him a lot this year, so he’s definitely matured and he’s ready. He’s going to have a good season.” — Richard

*On Kugel‘s on-copurt development for the Florida Gators….

“I think he’s had a fantastic offseason, and it started with a disciplined approach after the year. He was very detailed and had a plan in terms of coming back and getting back in the weight room, working on his individual game and being around the guys a lot. He’s made a concerted effort to really take that in coming back. I think that limited distraction for him allowed him to really focus on his game.

His body is the best it’s ever been. I think the way he’s playing is the best in terms of transitioning into an NBA player when that time comes. I think he’s a guy who really enjoys playing with better players, so he’s enjoyed having Tyrese (Sumel) and Micah (Handlogten) and some of those younger guys out there. To his credit, he’s got a lot of noise out there talking about the draft and talking about the NBA, and he just wants to enjoy the season, enjoy his teammates and continues to put his team first. I’m grateful with how he’s approached that.” — Golden

Will the Gators be improved this season? The players certainly think so

*On if this team will be improved from the previous season …

“For me I could tell we were going to be better from the first few weeks of this summer. Just seeing how well everybody gel and how quickly everybody has come together. Just seeing the talent that we have and how it has come together, I could tell we were gonna be a lot better. … “I feel like just us going out there and having fun. I feel like we have a fun team. We all can do a lot of different things, so we’re very talented. So, we’re going to go out there, we’re going to play hard and we’re going to have fun and get ready to put on a show.” — Richard

Kugel wants to leave UF as a big winner

*On how wanting to win at Florida played a factor in Kugel returning this season …

“A lot. I didn’t want to leave college, I won’t say as a loser. I didn’t want to leave college with a negative record; I don’t want to leave college with a 16-17 record and going, ‘OK, I was on a team that barely won. He did that, that’s cool.’ I want to be on a winning team, show people I can play on a winning team and I just want to make it as far as we can – hopefully play for a national championship.” — Kugel

*On how Pitino, one of the game’s legendary coaches, reacted when Clayton told him he was signing with Florida …

“It was a very short conversation, he kind of just wished me good luck, you know. That was the first time and then a couple days later he called me back — you know, we had a conversation and we talked, and then when I was leaving New York, you know, talked to each other, told him I loved him. You know, he loved me, obviously we built a relationship. So it was, that’s kind of how it went.” — Clayton