Todd Golden previews Florida-Ole Miss, recaps loss to Kentucky

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida travels to Ole Miss on Wednesday for its first SEC road game of the season. Todd Golden and the Gators (10-4) will be looking for the first win in conference play after dropping the conference opener against No. 6 Kentucky.

Here is everything Golden had to say about his team’s loss to UK and the matchup with the Rebels. Tip is at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

Todd Golden Q&A

On late game issues:

Golden: “It’s a tricky thing to evaluate because the first step is having to be there in a late-game situation, right? We’ve played very competitively all year. Lose to Virginia by three, Baylor by four, Wake got away from us a little bit at the end. When you play in a lot of those tight game late, there are going to be moments where you don’t push through and I think on Saturday it’s a game you go back and watch a couple times and, honestly, there aren’t a lot of things I would have done differently over the course of those 40 minutes. I thought we had 20 empty possessions in the final four minutes that hurt us a little bit but keep in mind, this is an 82 possession game so in the big scheme of things, a bad turnover here and a shot-clock violation on a blocked shot. Those two offensive possessions, I wish would have been a little cleaner. But part of why we’re a top 30 offensive team is because guys play with a lot of freedom. They push and we like to play fast in transition and allow our guys to make decisions. I think we’ll tighten it up a little bit in terms of what we run offensively and what we try to execute down the stretch but the way I think about it, when we evaluate that game there weren’t a lot of things over the course of 40 minutes that we could have done a lot better. We needed to make more shots. I thought we got really good looks, we just didn’t shoot it well. If we would have made a couple more of those, it would have been a different conversation. Obviously, yeah we’re trying to evaluate and find ways to make incremental gains in different areas but I thought overall, in terms of our play and what we tried to execute, I thought we did a good job on Saturday.”

On Micah Handlogten’s play in his first SEC game:

Golden: “I thought he did some really good things. Obviously, he was the only guy who had a lot of success on the offensive glass. He had six offensive rebounds, which was huge for us. I thought he had some good moments defensively and then in the second half was just a little loose with the ball. It was a little fluky. Three or four turnovers in the second half one off an offensive rebound and trying to save it. Sheppard tips it, they get the steal. Gets a defensive rebound taken from him and then just that high-low to Tyrese that just got taken away and he’s generally a really good ball-control guy so I think over the course of the season that’ll even itself out but he did a nice job and he’ll continue to play well.”

On balancing minutes for bigs:

Golden: “Generally, all these guys are good players and for guys that watch us practice, it’s very competitive and very close on a daily basis in terms of who’s playing well and who deserves the minutes. Obviously, Tyrese and Micah. Condo is really coming on and a high usage big, a guy that’s going to bring great energy and Tommy does a great job bringing everybody together. Obviously Tyrese didn’t have a great game on Saturday so that led to a little more Condo. Down the stretch, you want to have guys that can put the ball in the basket a little bit so Condo got that opportunity but we need Rese to play a little bit better in that game for us to beat Kentucky and Tommy’s been really, really good. He’ll continue to be a big role player for us.”

On if they’re playing at the tempo they’d like to play at:

Golden: “I think we’re at a pretty good tempo right now. Yeah, I mean, there’s, because 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. Although we let it slip in the second half and we had some bad turnovers, we only had 11 for the game. I think our turnover rate was 13%, 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.” 

On if UF can gain some confidence going toe to toe with Kentucky:

Golden: “Yeah, I mean, I think it’s more frustrating, you know, than anything else. I think our guys knew going into the game that we can play with Kentucky. I don’t think it was something that, oh, you know, now we just realized we’re there. And I said this after the game, you know, for me, and I’m not not trying to sound arrogant, but I went into that game expecting to win the game, you know. I thought our team had taken a big enough leap, you know, from where we were last year, where we were at the beginning of the year, and obviously Kentucky is playing really well, so it’s not a slight on them. I think they’re a real top-10 team in America, but just in our gym and with a little momentum, you know, I thought that’d be a game with the way we’re playing that we could win, and going back and watching the film, it’s hard for me to find how we lost the game, you know, we just didn’t shoot it very well. Some guys that generally shoot it really, really well from the perimeter, didn’t, like Walt and Will combined to take 18 threes. Anytime that happens, I’m going to be very excited, you know, because they’re elite shooters. They only made 3. ‘Rese didn’t score it very well. Obviously we’re 19-for-28 from the line or whatever it was, so left some on the board that way, but, you know, there was more of like ‘how did we not win that game’ than being excited that we can play in that game.” 

On what he sees out of Ole Miss: 

Golden: “Good, they’re good. They’re physical, they are a team that, you know, they played a lot of home games early in the year as they were trying to kind of figure out who they were identity-wise. Big win at home against Memphis about a month and a half ago, and then, you know, good win at UCF on the road, and then obviously they got beat up pretty good the other night in the beginning of SEC play, but that, you know, can happen on the road at Tennessee, top-five, 10th team in the country. So, anxious to see how they are coming out of that, but they’re, you know, they have an identity. They play hard, they’re physical, they set a lot of screens. They’re a very aggro-personality as a team, and we’re gonna have to withstand that, especially early in the game, and kind of set the tone that we can handle that, and if we do, I think we’ll be in good shape.”

On the opportunity for UF on the glass vs. Ole Miss: 

Golden: “It’s a very important part, you know, they’re statistically not a very good rebounding team, especially on the defensive glass, and obviously they’re going to be geared up for us, because that’s a huge strength of ours, and, you know, Coach Beard’s a good coach, so they’re gonna go in, I’m sure they’re practicing their block-outs and they’re working on different ways to keep us off the glass. But it’s definitely, you know, something that we need to get back to. We thought we’d have an advantage against Kentucky that way, and we did out-rebound them, but not by as much as I wanted to. And, you know, this game against Ole Miss, you know, for us to win, we have to get back on the glass and kind of do a good job kind of imposing our will that way.”

On the balance of staying aggressive while playing with foul trouble:

Golden: “Riley [Kugel] played really well in the first half, right? So, he got going and picked up two quick ones and I didn’t want to take him off the floor and kind of take that momentum that he had out of the game, not only for him individually but us as a team. Then he picks up his third with like eight minutes to go and a half. It was funny watching the broadcast (Dan) Schulman, ‘Yeah, they’re definitely gonna sit him the rest of the half.’ Four minutes later, there’s Riley Kugel. He’s back out on the floor, playing the rest of the half. Riley’s a guy that generally doesn’t foul a lot. So it’s an individual case-by-case basis is the best way I’ll say it. If a perimeter player picks up two fouls early, I’m not going to be super, super worried about them playing through foul trouble. Now, if one of our more foul-prone players does, then yeah. We’re probably not gonna play them through two as much. But Saturday, that was a new one for me playing a guy with three in the first half and letting them rip a little bit. And honestly, it didn’t affect him. There were maybe one or two defensive possessions where he didn’t guard the post as physically as I would have wanted him to. But I don’t think it really overall affected us that much, and then he fouled out late with that take foul when we needed to foul. So, it ended up working out okay, in terms of kind of keeping them in the game.”

On Florida’s depth and rotation:

Golden: “We have enough guys right, that are capable. When you say figured out, it’s more just on the offensive end, just getting comfortable getting in the rhythm. It’s the sign of a better team, right? Denzel is playing pretty well, especially on the offensive end. Will didn’t have a great game, but he’s been playing really well over the last month, and then ZP and Walt have been pretty consistent with their output. Yeah, as long as Riley continues to defend — that’s the first and foremost thing. You saw him kind of get back to himself in the first half Saturday, getting on transition, running through the passing lanes, being really aggressive, getting to the rim, getting to the foul line – six free throws, I think he had eight the game before. So those are the things that is him getting back to himself and I think he’s headed that way right now.”

On whether Kugel’s athleticism is underrated:

Golden: “Not by me. But he’s one of the best athletes in college basketball. That’s for certain. He’s just explosive. Super, super fast and when he’s locked in, really physical. That’s one of his best gifts for sure.”

On Will Richard going 0 for 7 from 3 and losing by 2 against Kentucky:

Golden: “Frustrating.”

On whether that outcome can be an outlier:

Golden: “That is the trickiest part of coaching. I’m just being honest. You’re sitting there after the game and again, like I’m going back schematically and I’m like I don’t think we would change a whole lot if defensively or what we were trying to do offensively if we played them again. Part of is you look down and Will goes 0 for 7 from 3, and one of the best shooters in the country. You just got to kind of shake your head a little bit and move on. But yeah, he goes 2 for 7 we’re having a different conversation today. So, you can’t get too high, you can’t get too low. That’s where being process over results is really important. And having the mental toughness and the ability to kind of keep the noise out and understand what we’re doing, at least from my mind is working and is right for this team. If we have a chance to get Will seven more 3s tomorrow night, we’re gonna do that and we’re gonna live with the results because I believe in him and obviously, he’s given us the reason to believe in him, as well.”

On how Kugel has handled coming off the bench:

Golden: “He’s been good. He’s doing what we expect him to do and what we’d expect him or any other guy on our team to do. He’s not been the only guy to come off the bench. Will did against Wake. ZP, we brought him off the bench for a long time this year and to be honest he probably shouldn’t have been starting from the first day back, especially the way he’s been playing all year. It’s part of being a good team, is having guys that understand what their role is and understanding how they can do their best for the team and regardless whether they’re starting or coming off the bench that they’re gonna get minutes they deserve. And then if they’re doing what they need to be doing, they’re gonna be closing the game. At the end of the day, at least from a competitive standpoint, I would much rather be a closer than a starter in terms of minutes in the game. He’s handled it well and I expect him to handle it well, and I expect him to keep playing better over the course of the conference season.”

On where his up-tempo philosophy comes from:

Golden: “Nobody, to be honest. It’s a lot different. Oh, Bruce plays fast a little bit, but Kyle and Randy are not that way. I was more of just our personnel. 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.”