SAN ANTONIO – Steven Pearl and Todd Golden talk so often, it’s hard for Peal to remember precisely when they realized this weekend might be possible.
Friends since they played together at the 2006 Maccabi Games in Australia, Pearl and Golden have stayed close as they climbed through their playing and, now, coaching careers. It’s easier to remember the days they don’t connect, at least briefly.
So it was hard for Pearl to pin down exactly which Florida game — he estimated about three months ago — impressed him so much he realized Florida and Auburn might meet in San Antonio. That night, he called Golden and told him how good Florida looked. Golden replied in kind.
“‘If we both continue to progress, it’s not crazy to say we’ll meet in San Antonio for the Final Four,’” Golden told his friend.
Saturday night, they will.
“We were hoping it would be on a Monday night, not Saturday night, but the fact that we actually spoke it into existence a few months ago is kind of crazy,” Pearl told USA TODAY Sports on Friday. “We both ended up here. It’s pretty cool.”
Saturday’s early semifinal will be the latest reunion for two basketball families whose roots stretch back two decades. Pearl and Golden played together multiple times at the Maccabi Games, including in 2009 on a team coached by Pearl’s father, Bruce.
Now, Golden is coaching Florida in its first Final Four appearance since 2014. Bruce Pearl has Auburn in the national semifinal for the second time in the last six years, with his son, Steven, serving as associate head coach and defensive coordinator.
“It's a little surreal, to be honest, to be able to be here at the Final Four. That in itself is a little surreal. But playing on Saturday against one of your biggest and best mentors, not exactly something you expect when the season starts,” Golden said Thursday. “I know he's incredibly proud of me. I'm incredibly grateful for him and his family and the opportunities they provided for me.
“I would not be here if I didn't have my relationship and experience working with and being around Bruce and his son, Steven. A little bit of a full-circle moment for both of us.”
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Bruce Pearl brought Golden with him as an assistant when Pearl took the Auburn job in 2014. Golden spent two years with the Tigers before moving to San Francisco, where he worked three seasons each as an assistant and then three more as head coach.
When he parlayed that into the Florida job, in 2022, Golden returned to the SEC coaching against one of his mentors, and a pair of old ...
