Everything Todd Golden said about MSU game, SEC Tournament

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Todd Golden and the Gators enter the SEC Tournament matchup vs. Mississippi State on a two-game winning streak, wrapping the regular season with victories over Georgia and LSU.

Their back-to-back wins were highlighted by the continued emergence of freshman Riley Kugel, who earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors and a place on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Will Richard also posted a big week for the Gators (16-15/9-9 SEC), dropping a career-high 24 points at UGA, including 5-for-8 from the 3-point line, and adding an 18-point performance vs. LSU.

Here is everything said Florida coach Todd Golden Tuesday on the matchup with the Bulldogs (20-11/8-10 SEC), his team’s momentum heading into the Nashville and the recent play of Kugel.

On reinventing the team and how players responded:

Todd Golden: “Coachable enough to win two in a row to finish, which was huge, I thought, for us. We knew it was going to take a little bit of time without Colin for other guys to get comfortable. And as we talked about, it’s one thing to change some guys roles, but when you lose Colin, who was the focal point really on both ends of the floor, now 2 through 13, everybody’s job changes because everybody has to step up and take on more responsibility. It took us a little bit to get comfortable with that. We didn’t guard well at all for the first three games without Colin. And I feel like the last couple of games we’ve kind of figured out a little bit better how to survive without him. We’ve driven that effective field goal percentage defense back down to where we want it to be. And you know hopefully those wins give us continued confidence going into Nashville on Thursday.” 

On whether the diamond and one defense will be a staple from here on out:

Golden: “I think we’ll continue to press a little bit, dependent upon the situation. I don’t think it’s going to be something that we go to solely, where that’s the only thing we’re doing. But changing things up I think will be something that we take pride in starting on Thursday and however far we’re able to go down the stretch.” 

On acing Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith without Colin Castleton:

Golden: “We’re going to have to do similar to what we did with KJ on Saturday: show him different bodies, some double teams, be very mindful about preventing him from getting deep catches. He’s just a monster on the glass and a really, really good, physical athlete. We’re going to have to run different people at him for sure and do the best we can to limit him. But he’s a very good player and one that’s probably the main reason why Mississippi State’s in the position they’re in to play in the (NCAA) Tournament, especially if they can find a way to beat us on Thursday.” 

On using hustle stats:

Golden: “We’re just always grading winning and losing plays. It’s been a good piece to be able to continue coaching and teaching guys throughout the course of the season in showing them different areas where they can improve that will help not only themselves play more but the team win more – and conversely the opposite. So it always be a little bit of a tool for us, especially in this moment as we’re changing who we are down the stretch, and we need different guys to step up in different areas. But, yeah, along with everything we do, just trying to use it as a tool to help guys improve.”

On how much more can the defense improve:

Golden: “I think a decent amount simply from a confidence standpoint, you know, it’s like alright, now we feel good about what we’ve done because it’s resulted in wins and, you know, as much as we want to always be a process-oriented program, the results help, you know, cement and help build that confidence in those different areas. So you know, winning those games definitely helps and I think we’ll, you know, as we know we beat Mississippi State earlier in the year, obviously, we were a different team then. But we have a little bit of confidence from that knowing that they’ve obviously improved as well. But, you know, getting those wins again, builds that foundational belief that you can go out and compete with anybody and I think going into Thursday, we needed that. So I think we’re in a better spot than if we weren’t able to get those done, for sure.”

On how Kugel’s defense can improve from a technical standpoint:

Golden: “I mean, he along with everybody on our team can definitely get a lot better and a lot of areas. You know, I think his biggest battles will be with you know, taking on these extended minutes that he’s getting. Obviously within extended usage you know, having to take on more offensive responsibility with Colin being out he’s done an incredible job with it, you know, getting incredibly efficient, really effective. But that’s the battle is just staying consistent, you know, with those added expectations and requirements for us to win and that’s a big reason why we won last week. He was able to do it, you know, for 32 minutes every night, while being efficient offensively and being a plus defender on the court. So we’re asking a lot out of him, and he’s done a really good job of kind of answering those requests that we had.”

On handling depth in a tournament format to make a run:

Golden: “Yeah, I mean, we’re honestly my whole deal is do everything we can to win on Thursday and then figure it out, you know. So, we’re not going to plan on making sure guys are fresh for when we win out, we got to win on Thursday. So whatever it takes in the past, playing Kyle (Lofton) 38-40 minutes to win the game, he’s gonna play 38 to 40. We’ll throw him in the ice bath and then run him back out there the next day. Bu, you know, the great thing is these guys are young, they’re in great shape and they want to do everything they can to win. So again, we got to put ourselves in position where we have to worry about you know, being fresh and the only way we can do that as if we win on Thursday.”

On how close Alex Fudge is to getting back to where he was in January:

Golden: “He had a good week, you know, still not shooting the ball up to his capabilities. Made free throws on Saturday which were huge, especially in that moment in the game. But, he’s been very aggressive. You can tell you know. I look at how – how do we know – how hard he wants is when he’s taking charges every chance he gets. He’s giving up his body as a way to protect the rim for us and battling against bigger guys, that he’s done a really good job offensively keeping us in our stuff. Our efficiency offensively has been good with him on the floor these past few games, which is huge. And you know, I just get the sense he’s getting more comfortable, you know, obviously extended minutes helps that but he’s gone out and helped us win these past few games which I’m grateful for from him and happy for him that he’s kind of getting back to where he was prior to the injury.”

On how he would assess the season:

Golden: “I mean I think all things considered to above .500, to have a .500 record in this league, again I think a great way to evaluate it is you are looking at other programs, right, where they are, how long they’ve been there, what their record looks like, how they’ve done, and there’s some really, really good teams in this league that finished under .500, that are NCAA Tournament locks, wearing home jerseys in the first round. Am I disappointed that we’re not a lock for the NCAA Tournament, of course, that was a big goal of ours. Do I think this season was a failure? Absolutely not. I think we’ve done a lot of really good things, had some tough breaks, obviously losing your key player with six games to go is something that’s really tough to overcome, and I think our guys have shown really good resilience in that respect, so, obviously we haven’t hit all of our benchmarks but overall I think we’ve built a really good foundation, keeping this team together down the stretch, getting two more wins, when, you know, things weren’t going or way. I can point to a lot of positives as well.” 

On if it’s fair for Lunardi to have 8 SEC teams going in:

Golden: “Yeah, I think Thursday is going to be important for the eighth team, you know I think Mississippi State from what we’ve seen, is kind of a last four in type team. They are very good and you know, I think they would feel more comfortable with a win against us and unfortunately for that we’re in a role of spoiler where where we’re hopefully going to make it a long couple of days for them. Again, and I’ve said this before, I have a lot of respect for Coach Jans and their program and the way they compete. They’ve done a really good job with their team and getting to the position they are but on Thursday we’re going to try to make them have a long weekend.” 

On what makes Miss State so good defensively:

Golden: “Big, long, athletic, tough and they do a really good job on the boards, and again that physicality and the way they compete to keep guys in front and to finish possessions is something that we respect a lot. I think it’s very similar to the way we were playing when we were healthy with Colin and when we were playing like a top five, top 10 defense in that stretch, So, you know we did a good job against them the first time and then the second half they were kind of slowing us down and we had to find a way to get to the finish line. But again another really good challenge on Thursday to see if we can kind of get off to a good start against them.” 

On MSU’s ability to steal possessions:

Golden: “They turn over teams a lot. Knock on wood, we took care of it well against them the first time. So their length, again, they’re very physical at the point of attack, both on the ball and in ball screen coverages. You have to be both mentally and physically tough to win against them and so, we’ve got to do a good job being prepared for that.”

On emphasizing to players how they can make a run in March:

Golden: “That’s the great thing about going to the tournament is everybody has equal opportunity to go on a run and get there. You know, it’s been done before, so the opportunity’s there. It starts with Thursday, but exactly, you know. It’s kind of a fresh start for everybody going into this one week mini season where if you win a couple of games, you can get yourself a bid to the tournament.”

On how much he sells playing spoiler vs. MSU to his team:

Golden: “Yeah, we’ll mention it, we’ll talk about it. And again, it goes back to that pride piece that we talked about a lot. You know, it would be something that we could take pride in and it just gives us something to really play for you know before we get into a position where we can compete for the NCAA Tournament. So I’m looking forward to it.”

On how Kugel’s recent stretch has boosted his draft stock:

Golden: “You know, he’s definitely put himself in a great spot where I think he has the respect of a lot of people out there evaluating these prospects, you know, coming out from college. I think it’s a little too early to say exactly where he is or where he should be. You know, it’s been eight games and he’s done a heck of a job in that stretch. And you know, I think for him he’s gotta be mindful and kind of evaluate the opportunities that are there.You know, obviously if he gets in the position where he’s a first round pick, he should go. You know, first round, it’s hard to turn that down, right? But if he’s not, he shouldn’t. I think it’s that simple because if he comes back and has a great year here next year, which he would, I think he could go really, really high. And I think that’s kind of the thing that he’s gotta think about. The great thing is he’s happy here. He’s got a great comfort zone. Doing well academically and he’s done what we asked him to do. So we’ll keep working with him and supporting him and I hope he continues to play really well for us down the stretch.”

On how proud he is of Kugel’s development as a freshman:

Golden: “He’s done a great job, you know, if he wasn’t as mentally tough as he’s proven to be, he wouldn’t be in this position. You know, and he has, like all freshmen, gone through some tough stretches of the season. Beginning the league, didn’t play in the game against Auburn. And then you look two months later where he made the commitment to continue to practice really hard, have a great mentality, great mindset, achieve the different things we put in front of him as coaches and now he’s reaping the benefits of that. So, for me it’s like it’s a great example of what you can do in our program if you come in with the right mentality and attitude. So, you know, I’m obviously really excited for him and his personal success. Also, it’s helped our team the past couple games get some wins.”