Gators begin fall practices after ‘positive summer’ with new faces

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden met with the media Tuesday for the first time since his team started preseason camp. The 2023-24 Gators held their first practice Monday and will open the season on Nov. 6 against Loyola Maryland.

Here is everything Golden said about his roster rebuild, summer workouts and how the team is coming together this fall.

On offseason progress and team rebuild:

Golden: “I thought we had a very successful offseason. You know, we added nine guys on scholarship so quite a few new faces out there but we’re fortunate enough to be able to work with them in the summer so we got to spend some good time together this summer, had a good fall and had a really good first day yesterday. So, now the important thing is making sure guys are on the same page getting guys to play together and making sure that those are things we continue to work through. But, overall, I would grade this as a positive summer for sure.”

On whether or not this is his biggest class of newcomers in his career: 

Golden: “Nine’s the max for sure. I think going into my last year at San Francisco we had six or seven, but we had additional scholarships that year.”

On the challenges of roster building:

Golden: “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.”

On the impact of the one-time transfer policy:

Golden: “I think, and we’ll see how football — I don’t follow the transfer waiver process as closely. I’ve seen some get denied that I know people are up in arms about and we’ll see how it goes for basketball here, there are quite a few in our league that we’re waiting to see what happens and I think if the NCAA continues to be consistent with denying a lot of those two-time transfers, I think it’ll pretty much even out. A lot of young guys are going to transfer one time but then they can’t leave until they graduate so you’re going to have a lot of guys in their middle years that are staying and will play in a place for an extended period of time. In our program, like Will, Walter, Micah, specifically younger guys that were transfers that’ll be in our program for a number of years. Guys that I think you could really win a lot with. Guys that are going to be in your program for a while. I think it’s going to be consistent with those two options: you’re going to have guys on the front end that aren’t comfortable or happy with their first choice and guys on the back end, whether it’s guys who want to play at a higher level or guys who want to drop down and play more, there’s just more opportunities for them to do it. I think it’s going to be pretty pertinent to our profession for a while.”

On improved depth and what he’ll be looking for to determine rotations:

Golden: “I think we have more depth in terms of our talent but we’re dealing with some injuries, and I think that might be a constant battle for us, just to make sure we’re healthy. 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.”

On the point guard position:

Golden: “I feel like we have a lot of guys who can play it and we feel fortunate in that position. Zyon is a guy who’s played the position his whole life, really stable, really good player. Denzel is really stepping up and making a jump going into his sophomore year and Walter Clayton’s a guy who can play the point and do it very well. So those three guys there, specifically. Then Kajus is a freshman, but he can really handle it and run a team. We have a number of guys who can do it and it’s an area I really think will be a strength for us this year.”

On frontcourt depth:

Golden: “TBD on the rebounding. We got to do it in a game first. It’s funny because in our non-conference last year, we were pretty good on the defensive boards. I think we were top 40 or 50 in terms of rebounding rate but then the SEC is a different beast. It’s really the best offensive rebounding league in the country and the numbers say that. It’s also a poor defensive rebounding league and I think a lot of that has to do with the shot blocking and the athletes in the league but I do think we’re deeper and that we have the ability and the capacity to rebound better but we have to do it and once the season starts we’ll learn but, really, once we get into SEC play is when we’re going to figure out if we have what it takes. That’ll be a big determining factor in how good we can be.”

On offensive rebounding and transition defense:

Golden: “It’s an area we’ve got to make a jump this year. Last year, we thought we weren’t going to be able to get back in transition and be aggressive on the glass and it really hurt us in games, so we adjusted. This year, we have to be able to do both and I think we have the personnel to do both.”

On offensive rebounding scheme:

Golden: “We want 3.5 to be honest. We want our threes, fours and fives to go and then one of our guards, generally to pick up the ball in transition and we want to be aggressive in going to get long rebounds. I think especially in this league, you have to be able to create second-chance opportunities and the guys we brought into the program I think will be able to do that better this year.”

On Micah Handlogten and Tyrese Samuel:

Golden: “They’re both just really good players. I feel like with Tyrese, he was a really good player being in the Big East and being a double-figure scorer playing on some really good Seton Hall teams. He’s a guy who we knew what he was capable of and that he would be a pretty seamless plug-and-play at this level, and he’s been what we thought he was. He’s been very consistent, a great young man and just a really talented player, someone who can score the ball when you don’t have great offense going and he’s a guy who can make a play for you in the frontcourt, which, we had Colin last year but outside of that we didn’t have much. He’s been great. Micah, I just really feel like he’s getting better every day. When he got here, we could see the talent and the potential with the size and he runs really well, really fluid athlete but the physicality was a lot for him early. But over the course of the six weeks of summer and the first few weeks of fall, he’s in there being super physical and really taking on that challenge of matching the physicality. He’s a guy that I expect to have a great year. I think both guys will be really beneficial for us.” 

On Handlogten benefitting from the weight room:

Golden: “Yeah, he’s continued to get bigger and stronger, for sure. He’s a really good natural athlete. Even though he’s 7-1, he runs really well. He’s light on his feet. He’s very unique that way. He’s not your typical 7-1 guy who’s a plodder. He’s a good athlete. He will surprise some people with the way he moves and the way he plays.”

On Riley Kugel’s maturity in the offseason:

Golden: “I think he’s had a fantastic offseason, and it started with a discipline 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. He’s been really consistent all summer. 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 and Micah 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.” 

On how big perimeter shooting will be for this team:

Golden: “We did not shoot it well last year. Two guys, specifically in the league shot it really, really poorly. If you go back and look at some of the date of our team. We were really good in some areas, but we couldn’t rebound and couldn’t make an open shot. So those are areas that, if we can improve and just become average in those areas, we’ll take a big, big jump. Walter was a great, great shooter before he got here. He’s gotten even better since he’s been here and I think he can become one of the absolute best shooters in the SEC.”

On Seton Hall transfer Tyrese Samuel:

Golden: “I think the biggest thing with Tyrese is his skill. He’s a really, really skilled big. His physicality can continue to improve, but again, the experience you can’t create that for a guy. He’s played four years in college, so he has more experience than the younger guys. And I don’t think anything is going to be too new to him or catch him off guard. He’s really relishing the opportunity to be a leading front court scorer on a team with good playmaking. I think he’s going to have a really good year.”

On how the backcourt additions impact Richard’s role:

Golden: “Obviously, it really, really benefits him. He’s a guy that played really well as a sophomore. He made a big jump coming from Belmont and was either No. 1 or No. 2 in the SEC in shooting percentage. Really, really, really good shooter and scorer. When you surround him with better playmakers and shooters and scorers it takes a little heat off of him. Teams aren’t going to be able to face-guard him or take him out of his shots. You’re as good as the sum of your parts and I think he benefits by playing with better players. To his credit, I think his body has gotten better and his athleticism has taken a jump over the summer. His playmaking has gotten better. He’s more comfortable in pick-and-roll situations. And, again, the way he shoots the ball is even better than last year – he’s been really, really good at shooting the rock – so I feel he’s a guy who could have a really nice year for us.” 

On team-building exercises or scrimmages in the works:

Golden: “Well, we just had Gator Open the other day. My takeaway isn’t great, but everything else is pretty nice. We had a really good time with that. Some of these guys had been getting out there on their own. JC did a great job. He was awesome. He was out there teaching these guys some swing tips and had a really good message for our guys about how it took time with his program, and how – just a couple years ago – they were trying to figure out what their identity was and how they were going to get to the top; how it took great buy-in from everybody, from himself all the way down to the last player on the roster. Next thing you know, they win the national championship the SEC, individual natty, coach of the year – a clean sweep. I see a lot of the similar traits in our program, obviously in the early stages, as we get the right guys on board and guys who are really passionate about being here. But that was really fun and we’ve got some closed-door scrimmages coming up.” 

On whether UF would play position-less basketball:

Golden: “With this group we can play a lot of different things. We can play 3-around-2, we can play 4-around-1, we can play some of the 5-out stuff we ran next year. So, yes, the depth gives you some options with some things that we’ll look at.”

On his early impressions of the SEC:

Golden: “It’s not getting any worse, I promise you that. But’s is a reason why we want to be here. You want to play against the best. If you can play well in this league you can play with anybody. I’m anxious to see. A lot of times lost a lot of guys. There’s going to be a lot of turnovers, which creates a little of uncertainty with how teams are going to perform. But there’s a lot of talent in this league and I think it’s going to have a really good year.” 

On Julian Rishwain update:

Golden: “I’d say he’s progressing really well. He’s a little ahead of schedule. Still not playing any contact or 5-on-5, but to his credit he’s put in a lot of time and effort. Vic, our strength coach, has done a wonderful job and given him confidence in his hamstring, leg and knee to be out there and try to get back as fast as he can. We’ll see how soon he is ready to get back, but he’s doing everything to be back out there on the court.” 

On the absence of EJ Jarvis:

Golden: “Personal deal. TBD on his return.”