Gators coach Todd Golden, surrounded by his 2024-25 team, on a morning outing to the bay.
SAN FRANCISCO – A Gator Welcome in the City
On Tuesday afternoon, a trolley bus rolled up to Post Street, where a line of police motorcycles outside the Westin St. Francis Hotel caught the attention of its passengers. When one rider spotted Walter Clayton Jr., he immediately called out the All-America guard’s name, sparking an impromptu Florida Gators cheer inside the bus.
HERE WE GO, GATORS, HERE WE GO!
HERE WE GO, GATORS, HERE WE GO!
Not long after, the team’s charter bus moved through downtown with a police escort, breezing past red lights. From his usual front-row seat, UF coach Todd Golden took in the scene, reflecting on how much the area had changed.
"It actually looks way better now," Golden said of Union Square, once known for its crime issues, as the Royal bus made its way toward Golden Gate Park. "When we were here, we wouldn't even come down this way."
Bird's-eye view of the University of San Francisco campus atop Lone Mountain.
Golden’s old circle of friends didn’t spend much time in Union Square. Instead, they gravitated toward North Beach and the Marina District, where his go-to spot was Original Joe’s, a classic Italian restaurant. The Florida coach had hoped to take his team there for dinner earlier in the week, but the restaurant was fully booked on Tuesday night. After the owner of “OJ’s” read a wire story about Golden and the Gators being turned away, a table for 30 was suddenly made available.
As Florida strength and conditioning coordinator Victor Lopez put it, "Todd was mayor of this place."
Not of the entire “City by the Bay,” of course, but Golden’s influence within the University of San Francisco community was clear. That community was eager to welcome back their former coach, now a rising figure in college basketball, as he returned for the NCAA West Region. On Thursday night, the No. 1-seed Gators (32-4) were set to face No. 4-seed Maryland (27-8) in a Sweet 16 matchup at Chase Center.
[Read senior writer Chris Harrys "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
Golden was just 34 when he was elevated from associate head coach to lead the San Francisco program in 2020 after Kyle Smith departed for Washington State. He inherited a solid roster but had to steer the team through the challenges of Covid and some of the strictest pandemic restrictions in the country. By 2021-22, he had guided the Dons to a 24-10 record and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 25 years.
That success caught the attention of Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin, who beat out several other power-conference programs to hire Golden in 2022 after Mike White left for Georgia. Three years later, Golden has collected 72 wins—the most by any Florida coach in his first three seasons—and now returns to a city where he built his reputation.
Florida’s first practice this week was held at USF’s Sobrato Center, a 3,005-seat arena perched on Lone Mountain, just below the university’s nearly century-old Spanish Gothic residence hall. Directly across the street sits a townhouse overlooking the gym.
Golden once lived there.
"It's been amazing," Golden said Thursday of his return. "We're trying to soak it all up the best we can while maintaining our focus, but it's been a great trip so far."
Added Walter Clayton Jr.: "It's been good to see Coach Golden back in his stomping grounds."
UF coach Todd Golden during practice Tuesday at USF.
The Florida team entered the Sobrato Center through its recently added museum hall, which features displays honoring the Bill Russell-led national championship teams of 1955 and 1956. Inside the gym, Todd Golden was welcomed by several familiar faces, including UF staff members Kevin Hovde, John Andrzejek, Jonathan Safir, and Victor Lopez. Collectively, that group, along with Golden, spent 18 seasons working with the San Francisco Dons.
Two of those assistants—Hovde, now Florida’s offensive coordinator, and Andrzejek, the defensive coordinator—were both named head coaches just last week, with Hovde taking over at Columbia and Andrzejek at Campbell. Their promotions added new branches to Golden’s growing coaching tree.
"I was that first branch," said Chris Gerlufsen, Golden’s successor at USF. "I pinch myself watching these guys."
Just two days after San Francisco’s 25-7 season ended with an NIT loss to Loyola-Chicago, Chris Gerlufsen was back in the gym Tuesday, watching practice and smiling as Todd Golden directed his team through a demanding 90-minute session. The workout shifted between on-court drills and film study at the baseline, a hallmark of Golden’s hands-on, floor-to-film style.
USF continues to use that same approach, Gerlufsen noted.
He reflected warmly on his lone season working alongside Golden. After arriving at USF from Hawaii, Gerlufsen said he quickly absorbed Golden’s modern, forward-thinking philosophy and coaching methods. At a program rich in basketball tradition but short on recent success, Golden managed to breathe new life into the brand.
Chris Gerlufsen
"Obviously, we have great tradition here to begin with, but Todd invigorated the fan base," Chris Gerlufsen said, standing beneath the retired jerseys and championship banners honoring legends like Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, and Bill Cartwright. "He put a different spin on everything, with his analytic approach, and was a little bit younger, so probably related a little different to the fan base. For me, to just have a chance to come in and learn from him for a year, we did some great things together. I wish I had worked for him longer, to be honest with you. To have the chance to just continue what he did here was just special for me. To see him walk back in here is pretty cool."
That same evening, Golden treated the Gators to dinner at Original Joe’s, a San Francisco staple that earned high praise from the players.
"I had the chicken parm," guard Alijah Martin said. "Elite."
The following morning, after breakfast, the team headed to Chrissy Field, a scenic park along the northern shoreline of the bay with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. The short 30-minute outing was suggested by Victor Lopez, who encouraged the players to enjoy the fresh air and even take off their shoes for some “grounding” in the grass.
After lunch, the Gators returned to work with a practice session at Chase Center, focusing on their upcoming matchup against a Maryland squad that has won six of its last seven games (10 of the previous 12). The Terrapins feature one of the strongest starting lineups remaining in the tournament, anchored by freshman center Derik Queen, a projected top-10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Remarkably, all five Maryland starters average at least 12 points per game—something no other team in the nation can claim. Still, few programs in the Sweet 16 can match Florida’s depth across both the frontcourt and backcourt.
"They run consistently. They're fresh," Maryland coach Kevin Willard said Thursday. "They're as good a basketball team as I've seen on film all year."
During Florida’s closed practice that afternoon, a familiar figure stood quietly on the sideline, arms folded, observing with pride.
"That's the Godfather, right there," UF assistant Carlin Hartman remarked, gesturing toward Kyle Smith.
From left: John Andrzejek, Carlin Hartman, Stanford coach Kyle Smith, Todd Golden, Kevin Hovde and Jonathan Safir, all of whom were once together on Smith's staff at Columbia. Five of them were on Smith's staff at University of San Francisco, which sent Golden to the Gators in 2022.
Kyle Smith now leads the program at Stanford, but more than twenty years ago he was working under Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s when the two recruited Todd Golden out of high school in Phoenix. Later, Smith offered Golden his first coaching role at Columbia, where the staff also included Carlin Hartman, Kevin Hovde, Jonathan Safir, and John Andrzejek. In time, all but Hartman would follow Smith to San Francisco.
"They're all really smart, and smart wins," Smith said when asked about the common thread among his former assistants. "After that, they go in a lot of different directions."
Different paths indeed, but this week the group found themselves reunited in San Francisco with Golden, just two wins away from reaching the pinnacle of their profession.
Who says you can’t come back home?
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
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