Todd Raymond Golden ( he, טוד ריימונד גולדן; born July 7, 1985) is an American-Israeli former basketball player and current head coach of the

Florida Gators men's basketball The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I's Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played in the O'Connell Center, Exactech Arena at the ...

team.

Early life and education

Golden grew up in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, where he graduated from

Sunnyslope High School Sunnyslope High School is in the Glendale Union High School District in Phoenix, Arizona and offers courses for grades 9–12. Description Sunnyslope was designed by the local architecture firm Edward L. Varney Associates. The construction con ...

in 2003. Golden played basketball and baseball at Sunnyslope and helped Sunnyslope win the 2002 Arizona 4A state championship in basketball. In 2003, Golden enrolled at

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic Church, Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college of ...

, where he played

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

Saint Mary's Gaels The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams and to the school's club sports teams. Most varsit ...

from 2004 to 2008. The Gaels would make appearances in the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

NCAA Tournaments during his career, though he did not appear in their sole 2005 NCAA tournament game, a 65-56 loss to

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

. Golden played a total of 109 games with 82 starts, averaging 5.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. During his senior season of 2007–08, he ranked second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, and graduated as the Gaels' all-time leader in free-throw percentage (83.2%) before the record was broken by

Matthew Dellavedova Matthew William Dellavedova (born 8 September 1990) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Saint Mary's College. In 2016, he won ...

Pro basketball career

From 2008 to 2010, Golden played for

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

. In two seasons with Maccabi Haifa, Golden played in 22 games and averaged 2.2 points. Golden also competed in the

2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Ol ...

with the USA Open Team.

Coaching career

After working in the private sector in advertising sales once his playing career was over, Golden entered the college coaching ranks, joining Kyle Smith's staff at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, first as director of basketball operations, then as an assistant coach. He then took a director of basketball operations position at

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

under

Bruce Pearl Bruce Alan Pearl (born March 18, 1960) is an American college basketball coach, and the head coach of the Auburn Tigers men's basketball team. He previously served as the head coach at Tennessee, Milwaukee, and Southern Indiana. Pearl led Souther ...

, his coach during the

. Golden rose to assistant coach with the Tigers in his final season, before reuniting with Smith at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

San Francisco

On April 1, 2019, Golden was officially introduced as the 20th men's basketball coach in Dons history, replacing Smith who departed for

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. In his first season as head coach, Golden led San Francisco to a 22–12 record (9–7 in conference play) and a fifth place finish in the WCC. The Dons' season was ended with an 81–77 loss to Gonzaga in the WCC tournament semifinals. In 2020–21, the Dons took a step back from the year prior, amassing an 11–14 record (4–9 in conference play) and finishing eighth in the WCC. On November 27, 2020, the Dons defeated No. 4 ranked

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

61–60, Virginia's first loss to a non-major opponent since their 2018 NCAA Tournament loss to 16-seeded

UMBC The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

. The 2021–22 season was the most successful of Golden's tenure, achieving a 24–10 (10–6 in conference play) record, and qualifying for the NCAA tournament, the program's first appearance since 1998. They lost in overtime 92–87 to

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...

in the first round. The program's 24 wins represented their highest mark since winning 25 games during the 1981–82 season.

Florida

On March 18, 2022, Golden was announced as the next men's basketball coach at

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, following the departure of Mike White to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. His contract with the school is for six years, worth $18 million over the life of the contract.

Personal life

Golden is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Israel. He is married to former Saint Mary's volleyball player Megan York.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, Todd 1985 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Auburn Tigers men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Arizona Basketball players from Phoenix, Arizona College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Columbia Lions men's basketball coaches Israeli Basketball Premier League players Jewish men's basketball players Maccabi Haifa B.C. players Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball players San Francisco Dons men's basketball coaches Florida Gators men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Phoenix, Arizona Maccabiah Games basketball players of the United States