Florida basketball head coach Todd Golden spoke met with the media Thursday, as he does weekly, and touched on the upcoming Florida State game, Urban Klavzar being cleared to play and provided an update on the Title IX investigation currently underway.
Golden also spoke about what was going right and what was going wrong for the Gators through the first three games of the season. He spent time on individual players, too, namely Denzel Aberdeen, Sam Alexis and Olivier Rioux.
Here’s everything Golden said on Thursday.
Update on Title IX probe
“Before you start, I just want to, again, just make another quick statement just so you guys are caught up. (I am) continuing to actively engage in the schools inquiry.
“As I said Monday night, I’m not going to comment on absolutely anything in regards to the investigation, out of the respect to the process. And to be clear, I would love to be able to comment on multiple elements of the investigation, but I’m simply not allowed to do so out of the requirements due to confidentiality.
“I am also actively engaging with my legal team to see what potential proceedings I will have the ability to take as I proceed through this, if I desire to do so. And simply, I just appreciate you guys understanding where I’m coming from and what I am and unable to talk about at this moment.
“I hope you respect that. But I’m not going to comment anything in regards to the inquiry at this moment.”
Urban Klavzar cleared by NCAA
“Moving forward, we got some great news today. Okay. Great news for our program. We found out about 45 minutes ago that Urban Klavzar has been cleared by the NCAA and will be able to suit up and participate tomorrow night against Florida State.
“So, I’m incredibly happy for him. It’s been a really trying time for him as he’s moved over from Slovenia on his own trying to figure out this process. But he will be in uniform tomorrow and he will play tomorrow night against Florida State.”
Any difficulties adding a new player into the rotation?
“He’ll play tomorrow night, for sure. And it’s going to take some time for him to kind of become acclimated and integrate him in with the other guys. Obviously, we’ve played three games and we have a good flow going, but he’s a high-level player and he’s a guy that we have counted on being a part of this rotation, since the summertime, since he came to Florida.
“So, we’ll, we’ll have to work those kinks out. It’ll be a little similar to when Zyon (Pullin) came back last year, after three games, and trying to figure out the best way to get him into the lineup. But, again, it’ll be really nice to have him out there tomorrow night.”
On clearance process
“It was a process, to say the least. I give a lot of credit to our compliance staff here at Florida, as well as the SEC, and the NCAA for doing what was right and clearing this guy and allowing him to compete. He was unique, I think, in terms of cases that they’ve evaluated so far.
“But I think anybody that’s kind of studied this year’s class of freshmen from Europe realize that there was a lot of guys that had this unique circumstance. So, I’m not necessarily surprised it took a little longer. But I am, again, very pleased, with Jamie McCloskey, Kim Green, our compliance staff here at UF for the work they did.
“They were diligently working on it, making sure that they gave the NCAA and SEC every piece of fact that they needed to come to this conclusion. Obviously, we would love to have him three games ago, but we’re satisfied to get him now and to get them eligible.”
Does this set a new precedent?
“The one unique piece of this is that they’re relying on the sophomore, to start, and so I think obviously that’s unique. And I probably should have mentioned that also. But there’s time to figure that out. The key for us and the key for him was making sure that he could participate right now.
“So, he’ll have three years of eligibility. Again, I think by the time that fourth year rolls around, there might be some new rules and understanding of kind of navigating young men and women coming over from Europe to play college ball and I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
“But I’m really happy for him that he’s playing tomorrow night.”
How will Klavzar help the team?
“He’s just a good player, man. I mean, you’ve been in practices where he’s competed. Just another really talented, skilled guard. A guy that should help us against pressure. A guy that can really shoot the ball. A guy with moxie and toughness. A little undersized, but really competes on both ends, and a guy that’s played high-level basketball.
“The great thing about Urby, he’s not going to be your your normal freshman. He’s not a guy that’s coming out of the high school ranks, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed going into Florida State. He’s played in big-time environments. He’s played international basketball at the highest level, so I think he will be ready to help us right away.”
How about on defense?
“I think really high IQ, stronger than you really anticipate, good feel. Understands where to be, and when to be, and like a really good positional and really good team defender.”
When did the team find out, how did they tell him?
“An hour ago? And he was in the meeting. So you got the good news. But, I was, again, just really, really happy for him. It’s just a put yourself in his shoes coming over from Slovenia and leaving family, friends. So he was in Spain, playing and you’re over here and they tell you you can’t play.
“You’re coming over here to play. I mean, he’s a great student also, by the way. He’s doing phenomenal in the classroom. But he made this decision to play basketball, right? And he was sitting there unable to do that. So it was really challenging for him. But I think it speaks to his maturity and the type of person he is, the way he’s been able to navigate it, keep a good head on his shoulders, willing to help any way he can in practice.
“The good news for him is he gets to go tomorrow night.”
Golden’s outlook on first road game vs. FSU
“It’s going to be a great challenge. I think, to your point, being on the road for the first time, in a rivalry game, it’s a tricky one for your first road contest, but, it’s early in the year. I think it’s going to be a great opportunity regardless, to go out and see what we’re capable of.
“But, honestly, the thing that I look for the most is just consistency from our guys. Being able to execute the same way that we have neutrally and at home so far in the season (while) on the road and what we anticipate being a tough road game environment.”
What kind of distraction is the Title IX probe ahead of FSU game?
“Honestly, to me, it’s no different than any other road game. We anticipate it being a raucous environment, a crowd that is going to come after us, and we’re going to do everything we can to be prepared to go compete (to) the best of our abilities.”
On defending Jamir Watkins
“He’s a really good player. He was fantastic last year, kind of that do-it-all wing. A guy that is unique because at that position he’s able to initiate and execute a lot of the offense. He has a high assist rate. He makes good decisions. Shot the ball well in the past. He hasn’t shot it as well this year, but he’s capable of being a three-point shooter, and he’s strong and physical.
“So, he’s hard to guard with guards, but it’s hard to guard him with front court players as well. You’ve got to kind of find the right fit. I think Alijah (Martin), Will (Richard) and Tommy will all get cracks at him. But he is the head of their snake, and we’ve got to do a good job on him if we want to win tomorrow night.”
On Florida State’s defense
“On tape, they do defend like those (ACC Championship) teams. They’re (an) incredibly aggressive defense. They’ve played three games against teams that kind of range from 150 to 250 so far this year — one neutrally — but their defensive numbers, their defense and effective field goal percentage and their defensive turnover rate jump out at you.
“They’re insanely good so far. So, to me, I think the key is just taking care of the basketball. We cannot turn it over because that will lead to run-outs and easier percentage shots for them, and we got to make them work defensively all night long. If we take care of the ball, I think we’ll have a really good chance to win the game tomorrow night.
“But if we don’t and we end up leaving there with a 20% assist rate or so, we could be in some trouble. So again, I think the key for us is taking care of the basketball, especially on the road against a team that has turned teams over, I think about 25% of the time so far this season.”
Will Sam Alexis be a little more involved after a hot start?
“I do (plan on playing him more). I think it’s a fortunate thing that we have to deal with is that we have four really good frontcourt players, and they all, in different ways, give us a good chance to win and help us.
“I think for Sam, he’s played really well right over the course of the season. I feel like he’s a great low-post scorer. He’s a great rebounder. He’s done a really good job protecting the rim. But the more you play him, the less you’re going to be playing Tommy (Haugh), Condo (Alex Condon) and Rueben (Chinyelu).
“So, you got to figure that out, what the right balance is. But he’s definitely played at a high enough level to where I feel like he’s earned some additional minutes.”
On Olivier Rioux not playing yet
“We’re talking about redshirting him for this year. I should have made that clear because, honestly, it’s put him in a tough situation. He’s sitting over there than at the end of games and everybody’s yelling at him and trying to get him out there. They just hadn’t understood that that was our potential plan for him.
“That’s where we’re at at this moment. I’m not saying that 100% going to be the plan. We’ll continue to talk to him and see if he changes what he wants to do. But as of right now, that’s the plan that we’re going to have with him as we move forward.”
On conversation with Rioux at the end of the last game
“I was just explaining to him ‘Hey, the reason why I’m not putting you in right now is what we’ve talked about a little bit.’ And this wasn’t a choice that I made for him. This is something that people out of our program have talked with him and his family, his parents, his AAU coach, and just kind of trying to figure out what the best route for him is.
“So, I just went up to him, and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m not trying to be disrespectful to you. I’m just not trying to burn you here. Put you in for 30 seconds.'”
On Rioux’s reaction to potential redshirt year
“He’s been great. He’s a great kid and he’s a pleaser. He wants to do what others think is best for him, and he’s coachable. So, again, if this is what our staff, his parents, the people around him that care about him think his best, I think he’s going to be comfortable.
“Ultimately, it’s his decision. But I think that’s where he landed.”
How is the team gelling?
“I think they’ve been great and I think you can see it through the way we play, to be honest. You’ve seen other situations where you can tell that certain guys don’t like being on the floor with other guys — and I’m not saying in our program but across the country — and I think you look at the way our guys share the ball, and play for each other indicates how they care about each other and the type of relationships they have.
“I thought there were multiple examples of that in the last game. A couple popped up in the first couple of possessions. Walt (Clayton Jr.) had a pretty good look at three. He made the one more (pass) to Alijah in the corner. Alijah knocked it down, and then two possessions later, Alijah had a pretty good look, and then he one more’d it to Walt for the open three. Knocked it down.
“Our favorite play from the other night was after Will had that incredible defensive segment in the second half — steal, dunk, gets another steal, go down and he could have easily just whammed it, and he turns around and sees Rueben running down. Just flips it to him.
“All these guys are trying to play at the next level. They’re all trying to create the best portfolio of stats, whatever, for themselves. And for him to dish back what is the highest percentage, two-point field goal percentage of all time, to his teammates so he could go rock the rim. … It was awesome. It just infused the whole team again just in terms of the unselfishness.
“Honestly, that’s what we expect. Will is a great leader. He understands that it means more to get Rueben that basket than for him to go slam it, and I think it just talks more about our program that he’s willing to do that.”
On three-point struggles early on
“We shot it well in the preseason. We shot it well in pickup. I think early in the year it can happen. I think we’re taking pretty good shots too. So, I would anticipate, over these next couple weeks, that number going up and obviously Urby playing helps that too.”
On Denzel Aberdeen playing well
“He’s a really good player, man, and he’s playing in this backcourt role with these other guys that are veteran, senior leaders, and he’s doing a good job complementing them. Zel, these first couple of games is having consistent rips of playing like eight minutes in a row.
“We put them in around the 16-minute mark for whatever perimeter we feel is like a little fatigued or maybe not on their stuff as they should be, and then we’re taking the next one out and the next one out before we take him out. So, he’s playing. I mean, he’s in that mix with those three other guys. He’s just not starting.
“We expect a lot out of him and he’s a guy that’s ready for this opportunity and he’s made some really, really big winning plays. And I think he’ll continue to get more comfortable as the year goes on. But for what we need him to do and what we expect out of him, I think he’s doing a good job so far.”
On the team starting games off quickly
“Yeah, the South Florida game, I’d say probably wasn’t, and our defense in the second game was probably not what we what we expected it to be. But besides the South Florida contest — and to their credit, they shot the absolute lights out in the first half — we feel like we’ve been pretty systematic in the way we played, all the way back to the scrimmages as well.
“We’ve been up double figures at halftime four out of the five times we played. We were up, in these last couple of games, 25, 27 points with five, six, seven minutes left in the game. So, we’re we’re doing what we need to do systematically over the course of 40 minutes. The starts are going to be it’s a small sample size, the first four ot eight minutes of the game, we might shoot well, we might not. We might be playing well and not shooting well, and the score might not be where we want, but if we do that over 40 minutes, we feel like the process will play out the way we need it to.”
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.