Florida is off to its first 8-0 start since 2009, including a dominant performance at the ESPN Events Invitational on Thursday and Friday.
Head coach Todd Golden spoke to the media after the championship game, which Florida won, 88-51. He touched on the team’s hot start, key players over the past first month of the season and
“Really proud of our group. I thought we played pretty good basketball over the last two days, and (it’s) hard to win championships,” Golden opened his post-game press conference. “We’ve talked about it before. You get four opportunities. Generally, each year, you get your MTE (multiple-team events), your regular season conference championship, your conference tournament championship and NCAA championship.
“Getting one in a year is tough to do. We got our first and just really proud of the way we played. I felt like we made a jump as a team over the past couple days. Obviously, on the defensive side of the ball, we’ve shown the ability to guard, and if we can continue to grow on that side of the ball, and maintain our efficiency on the offensive end, we’re going to be tough to beat.
“Really proud of the way our guys have competed, and just being 8-0 is hard to do. We’re off to a good start.”
November assessment, early results
“Looking back at opening night, I feel like we’ve we’ve gotten a lot better since then. It’s more complete, more consistent and again — going back to the defensive side of the ball — we held Wake (Forest) to 58 last night, held a really good Wichita team to 51 today. I’m saying the same thing again, if we can continue to to do that on the defensive end, we’re going to be tough.
“We’re seeing guys like Walt(er Clayton Jr.) really guard, guys like Will (Richard) really guard, obviously Rueben (Chinyelu) has played really, really well over the last couple days. I thought he had his best game as a Gator.
“When he provides that backbone of the defense at the rim, I think they were 2-for-20 from two-point field goal range in the first half, and he was a big part of that. Just more guys are playing better, and I feel like we are slowly becoming a more complete team.”
On Rueben Chinyelu’s emergence
“He (Chinyelu) just played awesome, in all facets. He rebounded, he protected the rim, finished with great efficiency — I think he had four assists. He was just fantastic. He was plus-26 in 20 minutes. Seven-for-nine from the field. He just was great across the board.
“The way he played, along with these other guys playing well, made us really, really tough today.”
On physicality
“He played with great energy. He was really physical. His hands were really good today. He was grabbing every rebound, catching every drop off, punching every dunk. He just looked like an awesome, awesome player today, and a lot like he showed in the summer, a lot like he showed in camp.
“We knew it was going to take time for this team to come together and gel, but I feel like the way he stepped up over the last two games provided another level for us.”
On the 27-0 run for Florida against Wichita
“A 27-0 run is impressive, obviously. I think we were up three with like six minutes to go in the first half, and you look up there about four minutes in the second half, we’re up 30.
“Again, we have the capability to play really, really well. That group was super connected. They guarded. Obviously, we finished with rebounds. We didn’t give them second chances. We didn’t bail them out with fouling, and we took great care of the ball, which allowed us to prevent them from getting runouts in transition.
“We just played really, really complete basketball.”
On Walter Clayton Jr.’s scoring ability, impact
“He’s an awesome player, and he continues to get better and better. The thing I’m most proud about is his effort on the defensive end. I think he’s really started to guard consistently, over the course of the whole game, and he was great. Honestly, a couple guys could have got MVP, probably. A number of guys played really, really well, but him being our senior leader along with A-Mart and Will, he’s a guy that the younger guys follow.
“When he plays with great intent on the defensive end like he has over the course of the season, for the most part, we’re really, really good.”
On Will Richard’s growth
“He had five assists and one turnover, right? I mean that’s that’s incredible growth from where he was last year. He’s done a great job making the right play, keeping it simple and showing he’s more than just a catch-and-shoot guy. Now you can put it on the floor and make reads and make good decisions.
“Honestly, his one turnover I thought was a pretty good decision. Just the big didn’t catch it. But the thing that allows us to have this high ceiling is the unselfishness between Will, Walt and Alijah (Martin). Today, Walter, it was his turn to score. A couple games ago, it was A-Mart. Will had 14 or 16 yesterday, so as long as they continue to play with that unselfishness, we’re going to be really tough.”
On Wichita State
“They’ve played really well lately. Obviously, they haven’t lost prior to this game. The thing that they’ve been able to do to their opponents is get downhill, get to the rim, finish as well as draw fouls. So, a big emphasis for us today, which our guys executed incredibly, was defending with physicality on the perimeter and then defending with verticality at the rim.
“We talked about it at our pregame meal this morning that if we held them to under 12 free throw attempts over the course of the game, that we would be in really good shape. We would have a really good chance to win. They only had two attempts in the first half. Obviously, they got some late, which can happen, but the game was out of reach at that point.
“We kept them off the line. They’re not a great three-point shooting team. They made four early and kind of kept them in it, but once they dried out a little bit that way we were able to run away from them.”
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