“Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin traveled to Indianapolis in March of 2022 to meet Golden, then the coach at San Francisco, before the Dons' first-round game against Murray State in that year's NCAA tournament. The sides met in person for the first time at the Le Meridien hotel in Indianapolis, directly next to St. Elmo's, in a meeting room named after counterculture actor Steve McQueen. It was a fitting setting, as Stricklin sought a different type of thinker for the sport's changing landscape.
In identifying Golden, who had yet to win an NCAA tournament game, Stricklin foresaw the end of the era of teams simply stockpiling talent. "Understanding how the pieces all fit together and having an analytical [view], I think that helps you in this day and age," Stricklin said.
What separated Golden was both understanding analytics and having a detailed plan on how to use them in the modern game. Stricklin wanted to be where the puck was headed. "So I thought at the time we hired Todd, this was where everything was going," he said. "So we tried to get there, and I had a lot of people questioning why we didn't go hire a quote 'established coach.'"
In identifying Golden, who had yet to win an NCAA tournament game, Stricklin foresaw the end of the era of teams simply stockpiling talent. "Understanding how the pieces all fit together and having an analytical [view], I think that helps you in this day and age," Stricklin said.
What separated Golden was both understanding analytics and having a detailed plan on how to use them in the modern game. Stricklin wanted to be where the puck was headed. "So I thought at the time we hired Todd, this was where everything was going," he said. "So we tried to get there, and I had a lot of people questioning why we didn't go hire a quote 'established coach.'"
Florida and Houston bring a clash of styles to the men's national championship
Monday night's title game will pit programs built on philosophies from different eras against each other.
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