While the basketball program hasn’t been bad by any stretch, Florida certainly isn’t living in those glory days. A lot has happened since those national titles during the 2000’s, but Todd Golden’s first two seasons as head coach in Gainesville have been productive. He has the Gators trending in a good direction against a strong and relatively deep SEC.
This Florida program used to be one of the very best in the league but now sits a tier or two behind a number of programs. Last season was a step forward, with 24 wins, a 6th place finish, and a return to the NCAA Tournament. The Gators actually finished below .500 in Golden’s first season, though obviously just making the Big Dance isn’t the end goal in Gainesville.
Florida boasted one of the nation’s top offenses last season, but it’s the defense that let them down time and time again. Golden has coached a few solid defenses in his young head coaching career. With a number of offseason changes in this roster, things will look pretty different next season, but have the Gators added enough talent to make a noticeable difference and compete for an SEC title?
There’s no question that this program is currently below Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee in the SEC hierarchy, with programs like Arkansas and Kentucky certainly faring better than them in the recent past as well. With hopes that this changes this season, the Gators put together quite the rotation, and we’ll look closely at each of those players and what’s ahead on the year.