'Houston is an amazing team': Todd Golden discusses Gators championship matchup vs Cougars

USA Today

07-04-2025

'Houston is an amazing team': Todd Golden discusses Gators championship matchup vs Cougars
The pinnacle of March Madness arrives on Monday, with the Florida Gators set to take on the Houston Cougars in San Antonio for the 2025 NCAA Tournament's national championship game. All eyes will be on the Alamodome as two of the top-seeded teams in the Big Dance collide for all the marbles in the culmination of the 2024-25 men's college basketball season.
Make no mistake, this epic promises to be an all-timer, with a fresh young coach leading his team against a grizzled veteran — both looking for their first national titles. In one corner, you have one of the most prolific offenses in the nation with Florida; the other corner features the stingiest defense in the land with Houston.
On Sunday ahead of the action, Todd Golden spoke with the sports media and shared his thoughts on what is the peak of his young coaching career and what he expects to see from his opponent on Monday night. Take a look below at everything he had to offer.
READ MORE: Gators Wire's expert predictions for Florida vs Houston in NCAA Finals
On Florida's scouting of Houston
"They're the best defensive team in America. They have just a great identity as a program of just being both physically and mentally tough. That's something we've tried to pride ourselves on this year. Houston I would say is a great example of that.
"Not only this year but Coach Sampson and his program have done it for a long time now. Talk about resilience and toughness, I feel like they showed that in a big-time way last night. I think they were down 14 at one point, down seven with a minute and a half to go. Never quit, never gave up. Didn't hang their heads. Made some big-time winning plays down the stretch to take that game away from Duke.
"I think your comparison is right now. I think Tennessee is a very good comparison in terms of their culture and their identity and toughness, the way they defend. We'll look at that film a little bit for us as a way to attack it a little bit. Houston obviously is exceptional. It's going to be a big challenge for us tomorrow night."
On deciding to move Clayton to point guard
"He did a really nice job for us off the ball last year playing with Zyon Pullin, being a secondary handler, play-maker. We saw some really great examples of his ability to make plays out of the ball screen. Watching him play pickup, pushing the ball in transition, he showed to us and proved to us that he could do that, become the primary ball handler, lead the team.
"I think he's done an incredible job of getting himself in great shape. He works on his game a ton. Having someone that's such an elite threat to score with the ball in his hands at all times obviously makes everybody else so dangerous as well. A lot of questions were asked last summer and this fall if we would have enough ball handling on this team, enough play making.
"Obviously, Walter has quieted those concerns and has led us to the national championship game."
Is it fair to call Houston-Florida a contrast of style?
"Yeah, it's funny, analytically, us and Houston, on KenPom, our efficiency margin is within point one of each other over a hundred possessions. We're an elite offensive team, a top 10 defensive team. They're a top 10 offensive team and elite defensive team. I think it's going to be a contrasting battle that way.
"Hopefully, we can get the game up and down a little bit. They're going to impose their will as they've done on everybody this year. We're a pretty tough team also. We're going to have to do a better job than we did last night. I thought first half we let Auburn take it to us a little bit. We can't allow that to happen tomorrow night. They're absolutely an elite team.
"The way they guard, they're going to make it really hard on us. I think they'll pressure the ball screen, try to get the ball out of Walt's hands. But they rotate, they're long, they play so hard, so tough. We're going to have great mental and physical toughness if we want to give ourselves a chance tomorrow night."
On avoiding a scoring lull like Duke experienced
"Yeah, I mean, their defense worries me a lot, absolutely (smiling). You look at a guy like Tugler, Roberts, they have incredible length and athleticism and physicality inside the paint. They wear you down, make it really hard on you. Yeah, it definitely concerns me. I think we're going to have a couple different ideas, a couple different pitches, for lack of a better term, to throw at them late in the game.
"I think there's going to be some issues for us out there. If we don't kind of troubleshoot well, we'll be in trouble. We're a pretty elite offensive team. We'll lean into that and allow our guys to go out there to make some plays and see what happens.
On valuing multi-sport players, what they bring to table
"It's definitely happened. I don't know if it's necessarily happened on purpose or if it's more just like the type of guy that we like. Seems the high IQ, just super athletic guys generally are guys that are multi-sport guys. It's funny 'cause just from my experience, I feel like the multi-sport guys have really good feel, really good IQ. They've had to get used to playing different sports and being in different situations.
"I think it's definitely helped our team a lot. These guys, their knowledge and their ability to just use some of those experiences and toughness. We have a couple guys that played football, Tommy, Walt, Alijah. They're pretty tough also. They're not afraid to take hits. I do, I think that's kind of a hallmark of our team."
On resilience of both Florida and Houston, what it says
"I think for me it's really just about the players, the guys we have in our program. Coach Sampson, I love the way he talks about his team, the way he talks about his staff. I saw something that he doesn't take phone calls when he needs spots on his staff, he just promotes from within. You can tell by the way they recruit, they're not worried about rankings, they're worried about finding tough-minded young men that are willing to put the Houston program above themselves.
"That's what we've tried to do at Florida as well. After three years, as I said last night, I think we have a great group of those young men in our program that are resilient, that are tough, that are unselfish. Being compared to Houston's program in terms of resilience is a huge compliment for us. It's what we continue to strive to build here in Gainesville."
On getting transfer to buy-in, acclimate quickly
"It's part of the recruiting process. We talk a lot about it. We try to make sure we cross our T's and dot our I's before they even get to campus because we don't want to have those issues or run into any problems that way. To become a part of our program these last couple years, you had to buy into our vision, you had to buy into putting the program above yourself.
"Actually, four of our starters are transfers. Micah is another one that plays for us coming off the bench. They're all guys we brought in. This is how we want to do it. We think you guys can be a huge part of this, really perfect in terms of fitting in with what we want to do. You have to be unselfish and buy into it. They all have from the moment they've gotten to campus. They've allowed us to coach them hard. Our team talent is elite. That's why we're still alive."
On mental focus in a home game-type environment for Houston
"We can draw a little experience from the SEC tournament championship game. Obviously, playing Tennessee in Nashville. I probably took for granted what that environment would be like. We walked in there, and it was 80% Tennessee fans. I was like, man, we got a road game to try to win the SEC title. I anticipate it being somewhat like that tomorrow as well. It's just part of what you have to get through to win a national championship.
"Houston is an amazing team. They deserve this opportunity. Obviously they're going to have some great momentum. They should have a lot of people here tomorrow night. For us, it allows us to add another chip on our shoulder and prove, try to prove, that we belong and that we can win in another hostile environment. It will be a bigger challenge because of that. It's nothing that we haven't seen before this year. We've been able to fight through it. I'm hopeful we will, as well, tomorrow night."
On offensive gameplan when Clayton is doubled
"The key is going to be the other guys stepping up and making enough plays to where they don't feel comfortable doubling him every time. The great thing for us is our bigs are great decision-makers and play-makers in the middle of the floor. Last time with Tommy, we could just throw him the ball. Now he's playing four-on-three. He's a great decision-maker. We'll live with the results of that.
"If our bigs are able to hit a couple pick-and-pop threes in the middle of the floor, I think that will be very important, that might take away a little of their aggressiveness in the ball screen coverage. I think Walter is going to be able to run around it a little bit, keep their on their toes in terms of whether he's going to get off it quick and let somebody else make the play or get in the paint. It's going to be a challenge.
"I think the other guys, as we've done all year, are going to have to step up and take advantage of having four-on-three after he uses a ball screen."
On challenge of facing a veteran head coach in Kelvin Sampson
"I mean, he's just an amazing coach. That's the biggest challenge. He's done it at an incredibly high level for a long, long time, at a lot of different places. Coach Sampson and the Houston program is definitely one of if not the toughest programs in America. They've been doing it for a long time.
"In my estimation, a little underrated, as hard as that might be to believe. They're just an elite, elite program. They're so consistent, they're so tough. 19-1 in the Big 12 this year. 18-game winning streaky think right now that they're on. It's a huge challenge for us. But for us to continue to put ourselves on the map and continue to get Florida basketball where we want it to be, tomorrow night is a great opportunity. We got 40 minutes for one chance to win a national championship, continue to put ourselves in that conversation.
"But obviously, he has a longer résumé than I do. He's been at it a little longer than I have. It's going to be a huge challenge for me to compete against him tomorrow night."
On any memorable interaction with a longtime UF fan or booster
"When we got back to the hotel last night, there were a lot of people there that were fired up, really happy about our advancing to the championship game. It's been awesome. These last couple weeks, I go back a month, I feel like we've gotten some really good momentum. Winning the SEC title tournament championship, ever since then, really before that, but that was really when the support started coming in waves.
"It's been awesome, man. Our players really appreciate it. Our staff appreciates it. I know our fans and our alums and our boosters enjoy being back in this environment, being back having an opportunity to compete to win a national championship. We're just hopeful that we continue to bring them joy and have them be able to enjoy the experience."
On Clayton moving to point guard, growing pains of transition
"He's done a pretty dang good job of it all year. I think the conditioning part was a huge key. I think for him going to get NBA workouts last spring and summer, whatever you want to call it, I think was really, really big for him, too, to be able to get some good feedback from six or seven NBA teams. It really motivated him. He was a good, hard worker prior.
"I feel like after he got back from the combine, it was like he wasn't going to be denied. He just really raised the bar in terms of his work ethic. We felt really good all summer, watching these guys play and practice, that he would be able to handle it. We had enough weapons around him with Alijah and Will in our front court being so good with the ball, Zel, shooters coming off the bench, that he would be in a position to be successful.
"Obviously, he hasn't been perfect all year, but he's been pretty dang good over these last couple months. Again, I'm just really happy for him."
On lessons Golden learned from NCAA Tournament run
"I mean, none of these games are the same. All of 'em provide different challenges and different decisions that we have to make, different preparations in regards to how we want to get our guys ready. I think the UConn game was huge for us. That was the first time in a while that we had been really tested, had our backs against the wall.
"To be honest, I think we came into this NCAA tournament with some pressure after winning the SEC tournament championship. We were playing free and loose for a long time leading up to that. Then that first weekend, we played great for the first 50 minutes against Norfolk, then tightened up a little bit.
"The UConn game, we felt so much pressure to win, as you need to in the tournament. We weren't playing as free as we had before. Winning that game gave us a little bit of freedom and we relaxed. I would say the Tech game was similar. I thought we played great against Maryland. Tech was kicking our butts for a while, got us down 10 in the second half. Showed grit and resilience.
"Once we got here, we kind of felt like we had the weight of the world off our shoulders. We made the Final Four, now it's time to go out and hoop, see what happens. That's definitely how I feel now going into tomorrow night."
On if Billy Donovan being inducted into the Hall of Fame added motivation
"I wouldn't say that it added any motivation. We were awfully motivated to make this championship game regardless (smiling). I would say it's really neat to be able to do it with him in the building, with him being honored, for all of our fans and supporters that were here. Just an incredible full-circle moment.
"For him being celebrated at halftime, 20 years ago him leading this program to back-to-back national championships, it's special for them to see him being honored, see us be able to win last night. I didn't speak to him before the game. It's funny. Taurean said they caught eyes at halftime.
"He said, 'You guys are going to be fine, stay the course, you'll get it done.' I appreciate him believing in the Gators last night."
On what makes L.J. Cryer a challenge to defend
"Yeah, I mean, they're obviously an amazing team. L.J. and the rest of their perimeter all shoot the ball so well, him, Sharp. Uzan is shooting the ball great, a guy that wasn't thought of as an elite shooter prior to getting to Houston. They've done an incredible job of getting him confident from behind the line.
"They're a unique team. They don't necessarily finish great from two. Their two-point field goal percentage is lower than you would expect for an elite team, but they shoot the ball great from the three. I'm not sure how analytical they think about the game, but they're an incredibly efficient analytical team. They don't turn the ball over. They get back all their misses. They're very difficult to defend because of that.
"I think a big part of this game tomorrow is going to be the battle of the boards. Whatever team is able to gain an advantage there I think is going to give themselves a great chance. We have to take care of the ball because they don't turn it over. They don't beat themselves. At times we hurt ourselves that way. With L.J. and the rest of the perimeter, we have to do a good job of limiting their good three-point attempts.
"Big-picture goal is going to be make them take tough twos, fight like hell to get the rebound. Every rebound we get is going to feel like we won the game, I feel like. If we can do a good job of keeping them off the boards, we'll give ourselves a chance."
On measuring up to Houston's frontcourt
"I thought our front court was super important for our victory yesterday. Johni had a great first half, but I thought we made him work really hard to have that first half. In the second half, I just thought our depth played out pretty well. Having Micah, Tommy, Rueben and Condo being able to run bodies at their front court was effective.
"They did a great job of guarding one on one the second half. We're going to have to do the same thing tomorrow night."
Has Golden's success story sunk in yet?
"Yeah, I mean, it's been an awesome journey, man. I've been super fortunate. Talk about it a lot. I played for a great coach, great coaches at Saint Mary's in Randy Bennett and Kyle Smith. I feel like those guys gave me my backbone as a basketball player and coach. Coach Kyle Smith and I laugh about it all the time.
"If you're able to make it through the Saint Mary's program, you kind of get a badge of honor. You have to be pretty tough to make it there. I was there for five years with those guys, the first couple as a walk-on (smiling). Earned your stripes that way. I do think that gave me a great base and foundation.
"Then obviously working with Bruce gave me some other great experience. I've been fortunate to be around great coaches. I feel like I've learned a lot from those guys, tried to impart some of the wisdom that I learned from them to my players and staff. Along with those different things, just being myself. Probably happened a little faster than some people thought it might.
"But we're here now and we're 40 minutes away from being national champs. We have to beat an incredibly difficult team on Monday night, but we're in the arena. At this point it's all I can ask for."
Does he relish facing veteran head coaches such as Kelvin Sampson
"It's an honor to be able to do it. I'm just happy we're still playing. I don't really necessarily… I obviously respect everyone that we're playing against. We don't fear people. We respect them. That goes for the coaches, as well.
"All these guys that we're competing against at this point are either Hall of Fame coaches or potentially on their way to being Hall of Fame coaches or really, really successful head coaches. The fact that we've been able to compete and stay alive through five games in the tournament, incredibly proud of that.
"This is a great opportunity again for us tomorrow night. Coach Sampson is a Hall-of-Fame head coach. If we're able to beat them, it will be a great honor. Again, just having the opportunity is something that I don't take for granted."
Thoughts on if NCAA held the men's, women's Final Four in same city
"I think it could be awesome. I don't have a great answer or understanding of what the logistics of that would look like. I think it might be a little bit difficult to be able to do that. The Women's Final Four has been incredibly exciting. I think it would be pretty neat to be able to bring the fan bases, both the men's and women's side, together and have an experience like that.
"There is never too much great basketball that you can have going on at the same place at the same time, especially in the collegiate ranks."
On role of UF's rim-running big men
"I'm glad you asked that because it's an incredibly valuable part of what we do. We talk about the backcourt a lot. Just how hard our front court plays. You talk about the rim running, a constant rim pressure that I think wears bigs down and wears other defenses down. We occasionally will steal four to six points a game being able to throw ahead, let them finish the basketball.
"Again, it's a 40-minute game. Our depth, our ability to run guys at our opponents, just that constant pressure that we put on the rim, that makes defenses account for those bodies, I think it's really, really important to the way we play offensively, for sure."
On Houston landing L.J. Cryer, how much it helped
"No, compare it to Alijah. Obviously, Alijah didn't win, but making it to the Final Four, playing for a great coach in Dusty May. I have to imagine L.J. is similar for Coach Sampson. I was watching Scott Drew talk about L.J. on GameDay yesterday. He had great things to say about him in that he wished he was still in a Baylor jersey. That's a pretty big compliment to receive from a coach.
"He's an incredible offensive player, and we have to do a good job on him early and often to give ourselves a chance tomorrow night. His experience I'm sure is helping them along their journey, as well."
What does Florida practice for frontcourt in rim-running mentality?
"Football pads for tomorrow wouldn't be a bad idea, getting ready (smiling). No, we're pretty consistent with that work in the way we watch film. There's a lot of accountability with our rebounding and the way we break down film and show not just our bigs but our perimeter as well. I think that's going to be really important, our guard rebounding tomorrow night.
"Just the bar, the way our guys understand if they're not physical, if they don't rebound, they're a couple guys behind them or that are on the bench that are going to be willing to do it. Just that kind of constant raising the bar for yourself and your teammate. But we talk about rebounding a lot. We focus on it a lot. That message will definitely be sent a lot leading up to this game tomorrow night."
Balancing competing in NCAA Tournament with roster rebuilding
"I don't know if I have a great answer for you on the second one (smiling). The first one, we're all in on this team. We're just all in on this team. We're obviously keeping track of the portal and what's going on, but we're not out there actively recruiting guys. We'll wait for Tuesday on that.
"We have a lot of guys in our program that have the ability to come back. We're going to make sure we focus on getting those guys back in our program. If we miss on some guys because we're still playing in the championship game, then we'll miss on those guys. My staff has done a great job of staying focused. I have two guys on my staff that have already accepted head coaching positions at other institutions. They're grinding to make sure we have every opportunity possible to win this game tomorrow. My staff has been amazing all year that way.
"We got 24, 36 more hours to do it before those guys can move on and lead their programs. But yeah, they've done a great job balancing it. We'll attack our roster as soon as this run's over. I'll have to get back to you on the song. I don't have a good answer for you on that right now."
On roster-building at Florida upon his arrival at Florida
"Yeah, at that point, I'm pretty sure that was when Matt (Norlander) was flying around with us when we were recruiting. We needed an influx of talent in our program and fast. We focused that first year, after our first year, in the portal, making sure that we could kind of get, for lack of a better term, some guys that could help us in the moment moving forward.
"With that being said, though, we have done a really nice job of finding the right young guys to recruit and to bring into our program. We had three guys that were committed to Florida when I was fortunate enough to get the job. Two of them de-committed and left. Denzel stayed the course. I remember driving down with Jonathan Safir to Orlando to meet him. We were thinking what are we going to have to do to make him stay, be part of our program.
"We walked down to his house, sat down with his parents. After a minute, he was like, 'I'm good, I want to be a Gator. I'm coming.' We were excited about his mentality and his willingness to buy into what we wanted to do. With Tommy and Condo, as we had said, we were focused in on bringing in some older guys. Both those guys had great attitudes, great work ethic, wanted to be at Florida. We thought they had really good potential. High IQ, came from great families, really fit the DNA of what we wanted our program to be.
"Isaiah Brown is another guy that I would throw in that bucket. I think he's going to be a really, really good player for us. Now we're at the point in our program where we want to recruit young guys that are high-character kids that want to be Gators, regardless whether they're playing a lot or not as a freshman, want to stick with us. Then retaining, retaining, retaining is going to be huge just like last year.
"We're in this position because we retained Walter, Will, Condo, Tommy and Denzel. We were able to fit and bring in the right pieces. I think it's going to be similar for next year. We have a lot of guys we can bring back and build around, then pepper in what we need to. I would say it's a healthy balance at this point.
"It's going to be a year-to-year decision whether it's more portal guys or young guys kind of seeing how the roster shakes out."
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