Todd Golden's 'meritocracy' has Gators on verge of an SEC championship
Todd Golden likes to call his Florida basketball program a “meritocracy.”
Golden will play you if you practice well. He will sit you if you do not. A former walk-on at St. Mary’s who became the team’s sole captain by his senior year, leading the Gaels to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances, Golden doesn’t care if you are an equipment manager, a walk-on, or a preseason All-SEC media selection. If you show you can impact winning in practice, you will play.
“If you come in here, whether you’re a freshman or senior, if you prove to give us the best chance to win you’re gonna be on the court,” Golden told assembled media in Gainesville earlier this month.
Plenty of coaches say that practice matters, or suggest that stars don’t get special treatment.
Fewer coaches back up that talk with their actions.
Golden’s meritocracy, however, is more than just media messaging.
Nowhere was that more evident than Saturday afternoon in Bridgestone Arena. Down 18 points in the first half, Florida’s bench — namely seldom-used guard Denzel Aberdeen, sparked a furious comeback that ended with a 95-90 win over Texas A&M that sent the Gators to Sunday’s SEC Championship game against Auburn.
Aberdeen entered the SEC semifinal averaging just 9 minutes and 2.6 points per game. On Saturday, Aberdeen was magnificent, scoring 20 points in 23 minutes and igniting Florida’s defense, hapless throughout the first half, with hard-nosed on ball defense to slow Texas A&M’s physical guards enough to give the Gators a chance to win. Aberdeen added 4 3-pointers, including a huge one late in the first half to spark a huge Florida rally to cut the lead from 18 to just 8 at the break, which gave the Gators confidence at the break.
With second-team All-SEC guard Walter Clayton Jr. sitting much of the second half due to difficulties slowing Texas A&M’s outstanding guard trio of Wade Taylor IV, Manny Obaseki and Boots Radford, Aberdeen’s defense was just as important, as the Gators limited the Aggies to just 34% from the field and 25% from deep in the second half.
While many in the building at Bridgestone Arena and others at home may have been surprised by Aberdeen’s production, the staff’s trust in him has been on display throughout the SEC Tournament. Look hard enough, and you see that was evident even in Thursday night’s grind it out second-round win over Georgia, when Aberdeen played 1 minute. After sitting for 39 minutes, Aberdeen entered the game to help the Gators break Georgia’s late-game press. He delivered on consecutive possessions, and Florida won by 5 points.
Aberdeen’s teammates weren’t surprised, either, according to Florida veteran Will Richard, who added 19 points and 4 three pointers of his own in Florida’s comeback win.
“Denzel practices great all the time,” Richard told the postgame media. “He doesn’t complain or whine about minutes. He just works hard. It’s easy to be happy for someone that does things the way Denzel does and I’m happy that today we saw it come to fruition.”
For Golden, Aberdeen’s breakthrough was proof of the meritocracy concept.
“It’s very rewarding,” Golden said of Aberdeen’s breakthrough. “Here is a guy who we have a lot of belief in. His practice production just hadn’t translated in games. We, as a staff, probably expected this to show up in games closer to January from Denzel. It just didn’t happen then. But he didn’t get discouraged. He kept working and practicing hard. A big part of our program is that practice matters. We felt Denzel deserved to be the first guard off the bench, and he took advantage of that opportunity today.”
Golden’s meritocracy didn’t end with Aberdeen Saturday, either. All-SEC freshman Alex Condon, whose only SEC offer was from Florida, came off the bench to score 9 points, grab 9 rebounds, and block a key shot late. Another freshman, Thomas Haugh, played solid defense a night after an outstanding performance in a win over No. 19 Alabama.
The Gators have stars, on paper if not in concept. Their best player, first-team All-SEC guard Zyon Pullin, had 15 points and 5 assists. Clayton didn’t let reduced minutes impact his offense, and the sharpshooter converted a 4-point play to put the Gators up 11 late.
WALTER CLAYTON JR. FOUR POINT PLAY. GATORS LEAD BY 11. CLOSE IT OUT. pic.twitter.com/H5kmuBxZxc
— Old Row Florida (@OldRowGators) March 16, 2024
The Gators, who have blown double-digit leads in 7 games this season, held the Aggies off from there.
“I think this was a testament to our growth throughout the season and as a program. We were incredibly resilient. Down 18 in the first half, we maintained our composure. I’m incredibly proud of that,” Golden said.
For the Gators, their reward is a chance to win the SEC Championship Sunday against No. 12 Auburn, which dispatched Miss State handily in the other Saturday semifinal. The Gators last won the SEC Tournament in 2014. Fans can track all the odds for the matchup with SDS’ best sports betting apps.
Golden, who worked for Auburn coach Bruce Pearl at Auburn before becoming the head coach at San Francisco, knows the Tigers well. He also knows the SEC Championship will be a different game than the one Florida and Auburn played on Feb. 10, when the Gators hammered Auburn in Gainesville, leading by as many as 29 points. There won’t be the Rowdy Reptiles to back the Gators, and this time Auburn, which was coming off an emotional win over Alabama and playing a Florida team coming off a bye, is the better rested team, having played one less game than the Gators thanks to a double bye.
No matter. Meritocracies don’t have time for excuses.
But they often are good enough to hang championship banners.