SAN FRANCISCO – Shoot hoops at USF’s War Memorial Gym. Eat prime rib at North Beach landmark Original Joe’s. Visit Crissy Field to admire the Golden Gate Bridge.
Coach Todd Golden, drawing upon his Saint Mary’s and USF roots, certainly knew how to show off this city to his University of Florida men’s basketball team upon arriving for the NCAA Tournament’s West Regional.
“Just landing in San Francisco (Tuesday) and driving back through the city, I had to pinch myself a little bit. It was a full-circle moment,” Golden said Wednesday at Chase Center, where top-seeded Florida (32-4) will face No. 4 Maryland (27-8) at 4:39 p.m. in the opener of a Sweet 16 doubleheader.
Golden left town only three years ago, after wrapping up his three-year tenure as USF’s coach with an NCAA Tournament appearance and heading to Florida’s big-time expectations.
“It’s an amazing jump from USF,” Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s 24th-year coach and one of Golden’s mentors, told the Bay Area News Group. “They never won the (WCC) here, and to go to the SEC and do as well as they have, it’s an amazing ascent. You don’t see it very often.”
Twenty years ago, Golden left his native Phoenix and arrived at Saint Mary’s as a 150-pound walk-one with what he called “an irrational level of confidence” that he could impact a rising program.
“Coach Bennett made it clear early it wouldn’t be easy and I had work cut out for me,” Golden said. “The big lesson playing from Coach Bennett was that his program was a meritocracy. I walked on and he didn’t care. He wanted guys to help him win games regardless of scholarship status, height, weight.”
“He’s running around with a red-white-and-blue headband, like USA Basketball. Back then, it was, ‘What are you wearing?’ ” Bennett fondly recalled. “We told him come here and we’ll eventually move you on to scholarship, and we did. But then he became a player, started for us as a senior on a good team.”
Golden’s finale for the Gaels came in the NCAA Tournament, when they fell 78-64 to Miami in first-round action in Little Rock, Ark. His second 3-pointer put Saint Mary’s ahead 32-25 with 1:16 before halftime, evoking memories of his 6-for-6 night from 3-point range a month earlier in an overtime home win against rival Gonzaga.
“That was an incredible moment,” Golden recalled. “These (Florida) guys know I can shoot the ball little bit.”
They saw from Tuesday’s shootaround at USF how much this area means to him. “He had a big smile on his face and his energy was great,” guard Alijah Martin said. “It’s always good to go back home.”
Guard Walter Clayton Jr. said he and his teammates try to steer Golden away from reminiscing on his playing days, adding: “We don’t talk about it too much but we definitely know coach is a good player.”
Something else that isn’t discussed much is the investigation Golden was under earlier this season after allegations of sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and stalking. Independent investigators from Florida’s Title IX office concluded there was no evidence Golden violated its gender-equity policy.
“We haven’t let some of the outside attention disrupt us and take us off our path,” Goldens aid. “I’ll continue to handle some of those situations after the season is over but for now we’ll continue on trying to win games and make it to the Final Four.”
Bennett said of the investigation: “I just reached out to him and asked if he’s alright. He said, ‘Yep, I’m good,” so I left him alone. I didn’t dig around on it. I just know Todd’s a sharp guy and a really good person.”
In reaching the Sweet 16 stage, Golden thanked his mentors – Bennett, current Stanford coach Kyle Smith and Auburn’s Bruce Pearl. Smith was a Saint Mary’s assistant from 2001-10 who brought Golden onto his Columbia staff in 2012-14, then Golden joined Pearl for three years before USF called.
“With coach definitely being young (39), he connects with us a lot more he sees our point of view on some things,” Clayton said. “People talking about him being young, it put another chip on his shoulder that he could do it at a young age.”
Florida made it here by dethroning UConn 77-75, and the Gators’ bid for a sixth trip to the Final Four hinges on them first beating Maryland before a potential spot in Saturday’s Elite Eight against the Arkansas-Texas Tech winner.
“I like his chances. They’re really good,” Bennett said. “He’s got them playing with a confidence and a freedom. They play at such an up-tempo, and they have a bravado about them that’s hard to have this late in the season. But they have it. They’re peaking at the right time.”
When it comes to San Francisco’s sights, Golden’s ultimate will be watching the Gators cutting down Chase Center’s nets to cap a whirlwind visit. “Our guys have really enjoyed it. It’s an experience a lot of these guys haven’t had, coming all the way west and being in a great city like San Francisco,” Golden said. “We’re trying to soak it all up while maintaing our focus.”