GAINESVILLE, Fla. — An early breakfast the day of the Sweet 16 in San Francisco gave Florida’s Alijah Martin something more to chew on.
The main course was another glimpse into the beautiful basketball mind of Todd Golden.
While he quietly ate, the veteran guard received a rare peek behind the curtain as his coach broke it down with Gators assistant John Andrzejek.
“I was just sitting there listening,” Martin told the Orlando Sentinel. “I was at the table, but I was ear hustling. I was like, ‘I agree, we should do it that way.' ”
The plan worked to perfection during UF’s resounding win against Maryland. The fly-on-the-wall moment reminded Martin why.
Sometimes, Golden’s genius is easy to overlook, but at the same time is hard to miss.
“He’s super smart,” Martin said. “His journey just speaks for itself. The trajectory of this program speaks for itself.
“I think it’s only up from here.”
Golden’s star continues to rise entering Saturday’s Final Four matchup with Auburn.
The success is no surprise for those who play for the 39-year-old with boyish good looks, a computer for a brain and an insatiable passion for his sport.
“Even when I was talking to him early on, you could tell he was different,” said veteran guard Will Richard, Golden’s first transfer signing three years ago. “He has a mind for basketball.”
Golden’s approach is unto himself.
Golden is hip — witness his ball cap turned around as he addressed reporters after Saturday’s Elite Eight win against Texas Tech. The third-year coach by way of stints as a player and later a coach on the West Coast also is different, evidenced by his reliance on analytics at a level matched by few other coaches currently in the game.
“Everything we do in our program is viewed from and kind of decided within an analytical lens, whether it’s scheduling, recruiting, roster management, playing time,” he said. “Whatever it is, very few of those decisions are off of human feel. We’re trying to gather as much data as we possibly can on every decision that we’re trying to make, and then make the best decision we can based off that information.”
Consider the comeback against Texas Tech, seemingly in command while leading by nine points with 3:52 remaining.
After UF cut the Red Raiders’ advantage to six on a Thomas Haugh 3-pointer, Golden decided to foul with 2:43 to go.
“They’re killing clock. They’re starting to score on us in the post where they really hadn’t bothered us for the first 25 minutes of the game,” Golden told the Sentinel. “Making a football analogy, we were down two scores and they’re just dominating us at the line of scrimmage.”
When All-Big 12 forward Darrion William missed the front end of a one-and-one, Haugh answered with another 3 to cut the lead to three. Another Florida foul followed as did another missed Texas Tech free throw, this time by Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin with 2:08 to go.
“We go from being down nine to being down three,” Golden said. “Just like that, we’re right back in the ballgame.”
A 3 by All-American Walter Clayton Jr. tied the score. From there, the Gators would not be denied.
“Things like that don’t always guarantee success,” Golden said of his analytics-based strategy, “but they give you a better chance.”
College basketball’s rapidly changing landscape with the transfer portal and NIL drove many old-school coaches — Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, Jay Wright, Jim Boeheim — into retirement a few years ago. Virginia’s Tony Bennett stepped away from the game before this season at age 55. FSU’s Leonard Hamlton and Miami’s Jim Larrañaga joined him before the season ended.
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