Florida Gators HC Todd Golden sends firm message to team that just winning isn’t good enough
The Florida Gators started off their NCAA Tournament run with a bang on Friday night with a 95-69 win over 16-seed Norfolk State. The game was never close after the Gators built up a 32-point lead in the first half.
It was a balanced game for the Gators, as nobody played more than 29 minutes and they were very efficient. Walter Clayton Jr. led the team with 23 points, including 7-8 from the free throw line to secure the win.
Todd Golden breaks whiteboard out of frustration
Despite the Gators having won by 26 points, it wasn’t good enough for head coach Todd Golden. The Gators earned a number one seed after winning the SEC Tournament, in which the SEC in 2024-2025 was arguably the most difficult conference college basketball has seen in years.
However, just winning wasn’t good enough for the Gators. 247 Sports’ Graham Hall reported that Golden broke the whiteboard after they allowed Norfolk State to end the first half on an 11-0 run.
If Todd Golden’s disapproval of the close to the first half wasn’t clear, the third-year head coach made sure his team understood how he felt as Florida entered the locker room of the Lenovo Center.
Golden proceeded to break the whiteboard in the locker room to drive home the message that complacency, regardless of the score, wasn’t acceptable.
That is quite the statement from Golden to the Gators, who were in need of the wake-up call. They were playing sloppy basketball and it continued for a few minutes into the second half. They got their stuff together and outscored the Spartans by 5 in the second half.
“Coach definitely wasn’t happy, but it was understandable,” senior guard Will Richard said. “We can’t let them go on a 11-0 run to end a half like that.
“We definitely got a little comfortable, and to get where we’re trying to be at, you can’t let that happen. We can’t let that happen again.”
The Gators will face the winner of UConn and Oklahoma on Sunday.
