Florida Basketball: 2023-24 season preview for the Gators

Things have not gone according to plan at Florida Basketball in recent years. Former head coach Billy Donovan unforgettably led these Gators to consecutive national championships, but that was way back in 2006 and 2007. He led Florida back to the Final Four in 2014 before leaving the college game a year later, and it’s since then that things have gone awry.

We won’t focus too much on the recent past, especially with the Gators preparing for a new slate under second-year head coach Todd Golden. Hired to get Florida back into the national conversation, his first year was quite an underwhelming performance, as the Gators finished just 16-17, with a .500 mark against conference play while missing the Big Dance for a second straight season.

Making matters even more difficult are the losses from last season, as former star Colin Castleton exited the college game and was not the only important departure. Five other players who averaged at least 5 points a game last season are gone, meaning there are a lot of new faces or players playing new roles for Golden this upcoming season.

Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially for a program coming off their first finish below .500 in nearly a decade. Things just didn’t click offensively last season, with this team mightily struggling both on the boards and in long-range shooting. With plenty of different faces this season, you could certainly argue that there’s more talent in Gainesville; but what will be this season’s result?

We’ll get into what exactly to expect from this year’s Gators, but there are definitely reasons for optimism. Along that line, we’ll be focusing on those changes on the roster and looking ahead at the schedule, all things we’ll consider today as we examine just what the future holds for Florida. Will Golden’s second season be a major breakthrough?