Did Todd Golden play college basketball? Exploring Florida HC's playing days

Modified Apr 05, 2025 16:34 GMT

NCAA Basketball: Final Four-Florida Practice - Source: Imagn

Todd Golden has done a fantastic job since taking over as Florida's coach in 2022. He has led the team to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament this season and is just two wins away from etching his name into the history books.

Ahead of Florida's Final Four clash against fellow top-seed Auburn on Saturday, some want to know if Golden had played basketball during his college days.

Did Todd Golden play college basketball?

NCAA Basketball: Florida Gators HC Todd Golden - Source: Imagn

Todd Golden played four years of college basketball for the Saint Mary's Gaels from 2004 to 2008. He made 109 appearances for the program, of which he made 82 starts.

Throughout his college career with the Gaels, Golden averaged 5.5 points, 2.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds across 25.3 minutes played per game. He also averaged 0.7 steals and 0.1 blocks per game as part of the team's defense.

Golden scored a total of 595 points, 270 assists and 261 rebounds during his college career. He also totaled 72 steals, 13 blocks and 116 turnovers.

St. Mary's made it to the NCAA Tournament twice when Golden was at the university, in 2005 and 2008. However, in both seasons, the Gaels were eliminated in the first round.

Notably, Golden graduated St Mary's as the all-time leader in free-throw percentage (83.2%). However, that record was later broken by Matthew Dellavedova.

After his college career, Golden played two seasons for Maccabi Haifa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. During his time with the team, he made 22 appearances and averaged 2.2 points per game.

Following his playing career, Golden ventured into coaching in 2012. He worked as an assistant at Columbia and Auburn for two years each before joining San Francisco as an associate in 2016.

Golden was promoted to head coach at San Francisco in 2019 and led the program to a 57-36 record across three years. In 2022, Golden was hired by Florida.

In his third season with Florida, Golden has led the program to the Final Four, where his team will face Auburn.

About the author

Arnold is a journalist covering College Sports and the NFL at Sportskeeda. He has been with the company since August 2022.

Arnold graduated with a degree in Mass Media from MIC. As a sports fanatic, he pursued writing to express his thoughts and opinions on sports events across the globe. He has also worked at Wizcraft and Publicis.

Arnold began supporting the Kansas City Chiefs after watching Patrick Mahomes lead them to Super Bowl glory in 2020. He also has a soft corner for the New York Yankees since he's lived in New York for two years. Arnold's favorite coach of all time is Andy Reid, and the Chiefs dynasty looks far from over.

In his free time, Arnold enjoys reading, exercising, and traveling. He follows several other sports including football, cricket, tennis, basketball, boxing and F1.

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Edited by John Maxwell