Are you looking for a story of oppressed? Try N ° 3 from Florida, which is prosperous to be overlooked

Gainesville, Florida – Florida coach Todd Golden has a theme for this season, the one he tells in the locker room before each match: “Many of us were not supposed to be here.”

It is a friendly reminder on the path traveled by the third -row Gators – mainly as an individual but also in a group.

“We all feel like we have this collective energy with the chip on our shoulder,” said Golden. “If we keep this, we will be in good shape.”

When Golden began to reconstruct the Florida list over two years ago – he only had two players in his first season in 2022-2010 – he looked for ultra -competitive guys with something to prove.

The result was a difficult and tenacious team that tends to set the tone, regardless of the place or the opponent. This helped Gators (20-3, 7-3 Southeastern Conference) to win their first victory on the road against a n ° 1 team in the history of the program-a stunning 90-81 in Auburn-and to become the fifth Male team in the history of university basketball to strike off two most classified different teams during the same season. Florida then beaten. 1 Tennessee per 30 points in early January.

The Gators then play at n ° 22 Mississippi State (17-6, 5-5), a chance to face the former goalkeeper of Florida Riley Kugel for the first time.

Kugel, an Orlando junior nearby, played two seasons in Florida. He was often caught on the camera by brushing the teammates and coaches last season, was bench for two games in the dry tournament last year and clearly fell into disgrace well before entering the transfer portal .

Most should be said that Kugel’s departure ended up being added by subtraction for the Gators.

“We highlight the guys who have great attitudes, an excellent work ethics, but above all a pride and who want to be here in Florida,” said Golden. “Most often, our team talent and our collection will wear us. But we want to have these hunger guys who appreciate the opportunity and who want to continue to prove what they are capable of. »»

The oppressed mentality begins with Todd Golden

The 39-year-old Golden was a walk-on at St. Mary’s College, where he played Four Seasons (2004-08) for Gaels and became a reliable starter. He collected an average of 5.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in his career and ranked second in the country in the assistance / return ratio as a senior.

His first job as a head coach occurred in San Francisco at the conference on the west coast, but he previously spent three seasons (2014-16) in Auburn working under coach Bruce Pearl. Thus, obtaining Florida’s work was very far beyond the annual salary of several million dollars which accompanied him.

The rear area of ​​Florida is made up of half-majeur transfers

The Golden rear area could be the best example of its approach “Remember where you come from”. The top scorer Walter Clayton Jr. was transferred from Iona, his compatriot Will Richard de Belmont and Alijah Martin played four seasons in Florida Atlantic.

“Many people did not expect us to be where we are, we neglected when we were younger or something else,” said Clayton. “Now we have this group of guys, and I don’t think he wants us to lose this mentality. We worked hard to get here. You cannot get to this point and then what just stops having this mentality. »»

Even if Martin and the Owls qualified for the last four years two years ago, he landed in Gainesville with little fanfare.

“Sometimes you are reminded of where you come from, how you got there,” said Martin.

Team players also have a lot to prove

The Rueben Chinaelu center was transferred from the state of Washington, striker Sam Alexis de Chattanooga, and his colleagues great men Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh were recruits of three stars leaving the school. Condon played rugby and water polo while growing before germinating 6 inches between the 10th and 11th year and the taking of “brainless” hoops.

Now Condon and Haugh are one of the most effective postal tandems in university basketball – and could carry the torch when the seniors Clayton, Richard and Martin will spend in two months.

“None of us was supposed to be here, so it pulls the boys,” said Condon. “Everyone was humbly recruited and should not be here, so have that among us and have this on other teams, I think, it’s an advantage for us for sure.”