Interesting about Todd Golden and UK

PacoGator

Heisman
Dec 17, 2021
6,094
11,118
113
In the last 25 years UK has won 1 basketball title and UF has won 3 basketball titles. Things are a bit different these days when it comes to college sports.
 

Jeff Hoyt

Sophomore
Apr 11, 2024
54
104
33
Sorry, calling BS on this hindsight narrative.

In that offseason, Todd Golden had:

  1. Only been a head coach for 5 seasons
  2. Had never finished with fewer than 10 losses (a 24-10 season at San Francisco)
  3. Had coached the Gators for only 2 years, and made 1 NCAA tournament (lost first round)
  4. Never won an NCAA tournament game
  5. 2 of his 5 seasons as a head coach were losing seasons (including year 1 at Florida)
  6. Career record of 97-67 (69% winning percentage)
THAT is the head coach you would have been happy with in that offseason?

Explain it to me, seriously, I am putting you on the spot. WHY should Golden have been WAY above Pope in that offseason?

If you have good reason, fair enough, but I am dying to know what those reasons would have been.
Good job calling him out, but 96-67 is only a 59% winning rate. You smackdown is even nicer than you thought.
 

bbnkat02

Heisman
Nov 14, 2017
46,697
69,239
113
Oh wow he payed players. The horror.
When it was against the rules to do so.
and used his influence with his relations to the NCAA (his wife is like the daughter of someone high up) to push it off until LSU couldn’t ignore it anymore. Dude had FIVE Level1 violations. That’s almost unheard of.

Again. No thanks. That shows very low character. And I’m no means naive m- we don’t need a saint. But I’d rather not have a devil either.
 

bbnkat02

Heisman
Nov 14, 2017
46,697
69,239
113
If he wins a couple of games in the tournament, he’ll be a red hot candidate this off season. He’s going to Syracuse unless something bigger comes along.
I want guys that have good tourney runs or have proven themselves with conference titles.

Circumstances matter too. May was semi unproven (1 good run) but that seems to have paid off for UM.
 

FatCatMan

Senior
Feb 19, 2026
294
654
93
In the last 25 years UK has won 1 basketball title and UF has won 3 basketball titles. Things are a bit different these days when it comes to college sports.
Yeah, Mitch Barnhart has been our AD for all three of those titles at Florida. It’s no coincidence that our worse stretch in history has been due to him.

Florida has taken college basketball more seriously than Kentucky has under the current administration for decades at this point. I don’t know what the f-ck Mitch Barnhart’s priority has been, but it sure as hell is not basketball.

Unless Kentucky can rid the cancer that is Mitch and pals, we will never be relevant in basketball again.
 

bbnkat02

Heisman
Nov 14, 2017
46,697
69,239
113
Golden could win 2 and still take UK. Golden is not going to remain at Florida for a career. If you talk to a lot of Florida fans online they don’t believe it either, although they think he’ll end up in the NBA. But who knows, if he sees a Pitino legacy or coach K situation in the making, take UK and do it where it counts.
Yeah some coaches just don’t like the college gif or want to stay there. Sadly it doesn’t always work out.

Brad Stevens is about the only one I’ve ever seen do really well in the pros and then be a real good GM.

Pitino sucked at it. Cal sucked at it. Donovan has had varying success at it but is about to be torched.

It’s just a wildly different game and job.
 

bbnkat02

Heisman
Nov 14, 2017
46,697
69,239
113
Like I posted. Golden develops players and his players execute great on both sides of the ball. His teams only get better as the season progresses. All signs of a great coach and will win several nattys if he stays in college. Love to see him here but don’t be surprised if he ends up in Kansas unless he bolts for the nba.
That’s what I’m afraid of.

Self is about done. He could hang it up this year with his health issues.

KU comes open. We decide to be “fair” and give Pope a third shot.

Golden or Lloyd goes to KU. We’re screwed.
 
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FatCatMan

Senior
Feb 19, 2026
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That’s what I’m afraid of.

Self is about done. He could hang it up this year with his health issues.

KU comes open. We decide to be “fair” and give Pope a third shot.

Golden or Lloyd goes to KU. We’re screwed.
Holding out hope that KU lets Self decide on a successor. Despite what some feelings UNC fans have for Davis, he’s done a hell of a lot better than Pope has. Certainly with recruiting. If Pope can’t make it by the end of next season, which I’d be shocked if he turns it around, he probably isn’t coming back if boosters put their foot down. At the very least fans will put a lot of pressure on Pope to resign.

That’s my hope, at least.
 

Leo3011

Redshirt
Sep 7, 2019
48
22
6
Been trying to say forever. “Nobody wants to coach here” shows a clear misunderstanding of how this works. Donovan flirted with it AFTER two titles. You’re famous here it’s history it a blue blood. He can walk down the road in Gainesville and nobody stops him. This is why they get into coaching.

Why would anyone think college basketball coaches would turn down one of the only places they’re legitimately famous lol. Some of Our own fans don’t know the power of this place that’s bad.
You think everybody wants to be "stopped" when they "walk down the road"? Especially by some of these fans?
 

CRZ4UK

All-American
Jun 6, 2008
4,707
9,443
103
Been trying to say forever. “Nobody wants to coach here” shows a clear misunderstanding of how this works. Donovan flirted with it AFTER two titles. You’re famous here it’s history it a blue blood. He can walk down the road in Gainesville and nobody stops him. This is why they get into coaching.

Why would anyone think college basketball coaches would turn down one of the only places they’re legitimately famous lol. Some of Our own fans don’t know the power of this place that’s bad.
Because they would have to work for Mitch Barnhart. The most outdated, slow, lazy ,gullible yes man AD in the country. His main concerns are making the University money, Compliance to non existent rules and how much Faith you possess. I don’t believe any coach can succeed at a high level under him. Since NIL came into play. Which he fought tooth and nail. Our hall of fame coach crashed and burned, and was shown the door for talking with another team that was promising no hassles with NIL. Our Winningest football coach of all time was fired after crashing and burning while always complaining about NIL. Now everyone believes JMI isn’t a problem because Mitch says so. Bull crap. We won’t succeed under any coach till Mitch is gone. IMO. Pope didn’t want this roster. It’s all he could get with his JMI restrictions.
 

SamePooter

Senior
Feb 21, 2026
433
472
63
Golden is a good coach. I think he would kill it here. Can’t do much better than a championship right?

To me it would kind of being like kissing your wife after a long hard day of work and getting another man’s ball hair in your mouth. If you let it ride it will more than likely work out. You’d still get that wildcat every night as long as you go with the flow.

Set your own path. Hire a real coach that’s proven. Pray that Pope gets things running better year three when we see a few players he’s coached multiple years develop. Collin for example. Hopefully Pope gets us there this tournament.

maybe the players go hard for Pope from here on out from all the doubt from fans right? Maybe they go hard for theirsef from all the doubt?

Either way I don’t think a coach like Golden or Hurley are the ones you call. There’s others that can win a championship. We don’t gotta choose them hairy kisses.
 

BBNinSCar

All-Conference
Apr 23, 2013
1,232
1,935
81
I want guys that have good tourney runs or have proven themselves with conference titles.

Circumstances matter too. May was semi unproven (1 good run) but that seems to have paid off for UM.
I believe the best criteria is what Indiana used to find Cignetti. Find a coach who has won everywhere they’ve been. The interviewer needs to be able to recognize talent and potential when making a hire.
 
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Jan 10, 2015
18,469
30,668
62
I would have been ecstatic if we had originally hired Golden. But we didn't. And we just played our best game of the season. Pope is doing a good job this season with all the injuries this team has suffered, its incredible to me people can't see that. We have a good coach, we don't need a replacement
Pope is not a good coach he can't recruit and go look at those blow out loses this year. He might've beat a couple of good teams but he lost to a lot more than he should have. Instead of 10 loss Tubby we have 10 loss Pope. This year is a repeat of last year and it will be a continuous cycle next year too the only difference is he has 0 recruits coming.
 
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UKCowboys

All-Conference
Oct 14, 2019
2,528
4,218
113
Pope is not a good coach he can't recruit and go look at those blow out loses this year. He might've beat a couple of good teams but he lost to a lot more than he should have. Instead of 10 loss Tubby we have 10 loss Pope. This year is a repeat of last year and it will be a continuous cycle next year too the only difference is he has 0 recruits coming.
Ridiculous
 

Aike

Heisman
Mar 17, 2002
75,353
46,010
90
I’m still thinking Grant McCasland might be the play if the timing is right. I think he will be a championship winning coach.
 

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
38,501
60,265
113
Should have been way above Pope on the list in the first place.

Was Golden still in some of his allegations fallout when we made the hire? If not, it was still fairly recent and now that some time has passed, it seems like it *** mostly a nothing-burger.
 

BlueVelvetFog

Heisman
Apr 12, 2016
14,058
19,489
78
Been trying to say forever. “Nobody wants to coach here” shows a clear misunderstanding of how this works. Donovan flirted with it AFTER two titles. You’re famous here it’s history it a blue blood. He can walk down the road in Gainesville and nobody stops him. This is why they get into coaching.

Why would anyone think college basketball coaches would turn down one of the only places they’re legitimately famous lol. Some of Our own fans don’t know the power of this place that’s bad.
Ridiculous. Golden is highly recognizable in Gainesville and liked--just like Stein is recognizable here. So what if Florida is nuts about football. They like Golden and we kicked Floridas a$$ ....IN Football.
 

FatCatMan

Senior
Feb 19, 2026
294
654
93
Ridiculous. Golden is highly recognizable in Gainesville and liked--just like Stein is recognizable here. So what if Florida is nuts about football. They like Golden and we kicked Floridas a$$ ....IN Football.
If you win a title and keep consistency, you’re basically a god in Lexington and the state of Kentucky. Being the Kentucky coach is arguably one of the most important roles in the state. Golden despite winning a title is still second to a guy who hasn’t even coached a game yet
 

SamePooter

Senior
Feb 21, 2026
433
472
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These low IQ individuals make it embarrassing to be a UK fan. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️
Ikr
If you win a title and keep consistency, you’re basically a god in Lexington and the state of Kentucky. Being the Kentucky coach is arguably one of the most important roles in the state. Golden despite winning a title is still second to a guy who hasn’t even coached a game yet
ill stand by what I said. I’m not buying the second fiddle stuff at any school.

Kroger field holds three times as many fans as Rupp. Doesn’t mean a thing. I highly doubt Golden feels second in line over there with his national championship trophy. The third since the 2000’s….

sure I agree Florida is a football school even if basketball has outperformed them in the modern era. By a large amount. Sure they love football. They obviously love basketball. Matter fact they love basketball more than us apparently. Three titles since 2000 speaks for itself.

Edit.. take the fans out of it. The university loves football and basketball.
 
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FatCatMan

Senior
Feb 19, 2026
294
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Ikr

ill stand by what I said. I’m not buying the second fiddle stuff at any school.

Kroger field holds three times as many fans as Rupp. Doesn’t mean a thing. I highly doubt Golden feels second in line over there with his national championship trophy. The third since the 2000’s….

sure I agree Florida is a football school even if basketball has outperformed them in the modern era. By a large amount. Sure they love football. They obviously love basketball. Matter fact they love basketball more than us apparently. Three titles since 2000 speaks for itself.

Edit.. take the fans out of it. The university loves football and basketball.
I’ve seen enough from Florida fans where I don’t believe they care about basketball on average, tbh.

Football reigns supreme in northern Florida. Gainesville on average probably cares more about the NBA than college basketball.
 
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SamePooter

Senior
Feb 21, 2026
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I’ve seen enough from Florida fans where I don’t believe they care about basketball on average, tbh.
Their university does. The people who Golden gets paid from and gets support from.

we have the biggest fanbase but theirs still some saying this isn’t our team. Fans don’t mean anything apparently.
 
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FatCatMan

Senior
Feb 19, 2026
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Their university does. The pope who Golden gets paid from and gets support from.

we have the biggest fanbase but theirs still some saying this isn’t our team. Fans don’t mean anything apparently.
You’re not wrong about the fans not mattering for Kentucky top brass, sadly.
 
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BlueVelvetFog

Heisman
Apr 12, 2016
14,058
19,489
78
If you win a title and keep consistency, you’re basically a god in Lexington and the state of Kentucky. Being the Kentucky coach is arguably one of the most important roles in the state. Golden despite winning a title is still second to a guy who hasn’t even coached a game yet
Football is simply big. Big scale and a big event. When you're decent at it, everything else is gravy. Come Fall, football will be big, then come Winter, basketball is the talk. Let's be great at both and dispense with all this second fiddle stuff. Elevate both programs.
 

The Nightman2

Senior
Nov 30, 2019
878
920
93
Football is simply big. Big scale and a big event. When you're decent at it, everything else is gravy. Come Fall, football will be big, then come Winter, basketball is the talk. Let's be great at both and dispense with all this second fiddle stuff. Elevate both programs.
Yeah, football is king almost everywhere ... I don't know why you wouldn't want both to succeed. You have some here that hate the idea of that .
 

FatCatMan

Senior
Feb 19, 2026
294
654
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Football is simply big. Big scale and a big event. When you're decent at it, everything else is gravy. Come Fall, football will be big, then come Winter, basketball is the talk. Let's be great at both and dispense with all this second fiddle stuff. Elevate both programs.
That’s not happening in most SEC and B1G schools. Winter/Spring is talking about CFB recruiting and spring practice.

Despite what Kentucky football fans think, football will always play second fiddle unless they pull an Indiana and win a title. This idea of “fans will love and support everything the school does” is wholly naive. Fans usually prefer one or the other.
 
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The Nightman2

Senior
Nov 30, 2019
878
920
93
That’s not happening in most SEC and B1G schools. Winter/Spring is talking about CFB recruiting and spring practice.

Despite what Kentucky football fans think, football will always play second fiddle unless they pull an Indiana and win a title.
Lol so you're one of the basketball only fans ?
 

FatCatMan

Senior
Feb 19, 2026
294
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Lol so you're one of the basketball only fans ?
I’ll keep up with football, but I never watch it like I do basketball. I prefer basketball. Both college and professional. I don’t really watch football outside the occasional big UK game while I can throw on a random NBA or CBB game and enjoy it. Like I couldn’t tell you who the big NFL stars are.
 
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The Nightman2

Senior
Nov 30, 2019
878
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I’ll keep up with football, but I never watch it like I do basketball. I prefer basketball. Both college and professional. I don’t really watch football outside the occasional big UK game while I can throw on a random NBA or CBB game and enjoy it. Like I couldn’t tell you who the big NFL stars are.
Gotcha.... I love both, really anything UK. I just always felt like UK football was a sleeping giant. We've supported so much bad football for so long, if Stein could get us crashing the playoffs, BBN would be insane .
 

Loucatfan30

Junior
Apr 11, 2024
347
339
57
Pope is not a good coach he can't recruit and go look at those blow out loses this year. He might've beat a couple of good teams but he lost to a lot more than he should have. Instead of 10 loss Tubby we have 10 loss Pope. This year is a repeat of last year and it will be a continuous cycle next year too the only difference is he has 0 recruits coming.
Tubby is the best example of what we can expect from Pope (minus the title) based upon talent level of the players that each coach will attract to play for them. Above average x and o but very suspect recruiters.
 

Loucatfan30

Junior
Apr 11, 2024
347
339
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I’m still thinking Grant McCasland might be the play if the timing is right. I think he will be a championship winning coach.
I am not interested in who might be a championship winning coach. We need a coach that has done something.