Florida's Todd Golden rounds out his coaching staff and officially fills 2 roster spots
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Todd Golden officially filled two open spots on his staff Tuesday by promoting analytics director Jonathan Safir and hiring New York University head coach Dave Klatsky.
Safir and Klatsky replace John Andrzejek and Kevin Hovde. Andrzejek left to take the head coaching job at Campbell, and Hovde took over at Columbia.
Safir has been Florida's director of basketball strategy and analytics since 2022, and Golden praised his work during the team's national championship run in the NCAA Tournament. Klatsky, meanwhile, went 68-16 in three years at NYU and advanced to the Division III national title game last season.
Klatsky is married to Hovde's sister.
'Dave is a high achiever and a proven winner," Golden said. 'Whether it was at Penn as a player, Colgate as an assistant, or NYU as the program's head coach, Dave has won big everywhere he's been. He has a great analytical sense for the game and is a great teacher on the floor.'
Florida also formally added Princeton transfer guard Xaivian Lee and incoming freshman CJ Ingram.
Lee averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists last season and will be a much-needed ball handler for Florida, which lost guards Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard to graduation and backup Denzel Aberdeen to the transfer portal.
Ingram headlines Florida's 2025 class, which also includes Alex Lloyd. A 6-foot-6 wing, Ingram holds a consensus, top-25 ranking in the recruiting class. His father Cornelius Ingram played football and a little basketball for the Gators (2004-08).
___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
44 minutes ago
- Fox News
Stanley Cup Final: Florida Panthers even up series after thrilling 2OT win against Edmonton Oilers
Brad Marchand had the potential game-winning goal for quite some time - when it was snatched away from him, he made up for it. The reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers evened up the final on Friday night with Marchand's double-overtime goal, giving the Cats a 5-4 win in Game 2 against the Edmonton Oilers. After scoring three goals during the first 12:37 of the game, Edmonton could no longer find the back of the net. In desperation mode and down 4-3, the Oilers pulled Stuart Skinner from the net with 2:33 left in regulation, which seemed early, but with the puck in the other zone on a faceoff, they could take advantage. And they did. With 17.8 seconds left, a puck was loose in front, and 40-year-old Corey Perry jammed it home to tie the game at four. After allowing a goal on three of his first seven shots faced, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped each of the next 24 before allowing the one that sent the contest into overtime. Both teams had their chances in overtime, especially the Panthers, who hit the post on one shot and had a breakaway saved, but both teams were blanked. With just over eight minutes into the second overtime period, Marchand did it again, squeaking one by Skinner on a breakaway and giving Florida a tremendous win. Much like Game 1, the scoring began early – this time with the Florida Panthers scoring first. Sam Bennett, who fought his own teammate Matthew Tkachuk's brother in the 4 Nations while teaming up with Edmonton's Connor McDavid, found the back of the net just two minutes into the game, but roughly five minutes later, Evander Kane scored an equalizer. Edmonton got on the power play and scored again, but Florida answered right back to tie the game at 2 at 11:37. During another power play, Leon Draisaitl scored to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead, capping off five goals in the game's first 13 minutes. While the Oilers' offense cooled off in the second, Florida's did not. Dmitry Kulikov tied it up 8:23 into the period, and Marchand gave Florida the lead with a short-handed goal four minutes later. The 4-3 Panthers lead held until Perry's miraculous goal late in the third. The hero in Marchand was a trade deadline acquisition, almost quite literally being traded from his former longtime Boston Bruins down south in the final minutes. The trade was worth it. Game 3 will take place Monday night back in Florida, which has hosted a Cup Final game for three consecutive years. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Ageless Marchand plays hero for Panthers in Game 2 of SCF: ‘He's a beauty'
EDMONTON - Brad Marchand slipped a puck under Stuart Skinner's pad on his own rebound. That effort off the stick of the Florida Panthers winger dribbled through Edmonton's crease and touched the post before being cleared to safety. That agonizingly close call in Friday's first overtime period came after Marchand connected on a short-handed breakaway in the second period. The 37-year-old didn't miss on his next chance. Marchand scored on another breakaway — this time in double OT — as the Panthers beat the Oilers 5-4 to even the Stanley Cup final 1-1. 'Pure excitement and adrenalin for the whole group,' he said in describing the moment before getting mobbed by teammates inside a stunned Rogers Place. 'We all knew we were one shot away … luckily it went our way.' Florida, which beat Edmonton in seven games in last year's final for the franchise's first title, recovered after Corey Perry tied the game with 17.8 seconds left in regulation. 'We've always had a very calm team,' Marchand said. 'You draw from your experiences. We do a really good job of focusing on the moment.' His ninth and 10th goals all-time in Cup final play gave him the lead among active players. Marchand's performance came exactly 14 years after he scored short-handed in the 2011 final against the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo — the opposing netminder at the time and now special adviser for the Panthers — posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter: 'Favourite player of all time.' 'Lu is awesome,' said the Halifax product. 'He's an incredible person. Happy to be on the team.' Marchand was acquired from the Bruins, who were eliminated by the Panthers from the 2023 and 2024 playoffs, at the trade deadline buzzer back in March. The fit has been seamless for a player that has made plenty of enemies throughout his career. 'Brad's an honest man,' said Florida head coach Paul Maurice, whose group dropped the series opener to Edmonton 4-3 in OT. 'He loves the game. He loves the people around him. He's very open, very gregarious. He (was) completely accepted. An incredibly positive human being. He's up and down our bench all the time just pumping tires, stays in the fight. He is going to be the same way at breakfast (Saturday) morning. He's just going to be jacked, high-fiving everybody at the table.' 'He enjoys the moment,' Panthers winger Evan Rodrigues added. 'He doesn't shy away from it.' Marchand's parents were in the stands Wednesday, with his mother was caught on camera celebrating her son's heroics. He was asked post-game to describe Lynn Marchand as a hockey mom. 'She is one that you need to put a muzzle on,' he said to laughter from reporters. 'She gets pretty amped up at the games. They've always been so supportive. I don't think any player in this league could say that their parents are not the main reason why we're here.' Marchand, who won the Cup in 2011 and also played in the 2013 and 2019 finals, has shown no signs of slowing down at age 37 in his 16th NHL season. 'He could play till he's 47 the way he's going,' Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said. 'Unreal player, unreal competitor.' Marchand's fifth career playoff OT goal tied Perry, Patrick Kane and Panthers teammate Carter Verhaeghe for the most among active players. The veteran forward also became the seventh player in NHL history to reach that number. 'He just finds a way,' said Florida defenceman Nate Schmidt, who had a couple of run-ins with Marchand earlier this season when he was still captaining Boston. 'I don't think it gets too big for him. He was one of our most vocal guys throughout the third and the intermissions. It doesn't seem like he ever gets too riled about it, which is something you need. 'He is a veteran presence guy that's got a ring. We're really lucky to have him.' Maurice called Marchand 'a unique human' that has found a new home as the best-of-seven series now shifts to South Florida. 'In the northern parlance,' said the coach, 'he's a beauty.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Edmonton Oilers fans react to Game 2 loss
The Florida Panthers evened their championship final rematch with Edmonton, and defeated the Oilers 5-4 in a wild Game 2 on Friday. Despite the loss, some Oilers fans said they still believe their team will win the Stanley Cup. (June 07, 2025)
