Todd Golden isn’t like most Southeastern Conference men’s head basketball coaches.
His hair isn’t gray, his skin still has a teenage-ish glow and his relaxed clothing sometimes even makes it difficult to distinguish him from Florida’s several student managers.
Golden has a different way of going about his moxie and philosophies. He’s not afraid to appear or think differently, an ideology that has been reflected in his roster decisions throughout his tenure at Florida.
The Gators men’s basketball team’s roster in 2024-25 will feature six internationally-based players. Sophomore guard Kajus Kublickas, freshman guard Urban Klavzar and freshman center Viktor Mikic are from Europe; sophomore forward Alex Condon is from Australia; freshman center Olivier Rioux is from Canada and sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu is from Nigeria.
Florida’s abundance of international players marks a stark contrast from the rest of the SEC. There are only 22 international players among the other 15 schools in the conference.
However, for those aware of Golden’s background, his emphasis on international recruitment shouldn’t come as a surprise.
The Phoenix native began his head coaching career at the University of San Francisco in 2019 after serving on the coaching staff for three previous seasons. Golden also served as an assistant coach at Columbia during the 2013-14 season. Both shared a common denominator: many international players.
Jonathan Safir, UF men’s basketball’s director of basketball strategy and analytics, worked and played under Golden at Columbia and San Francisco. He attested that international recruitment has always been a point of emphasis for Golden.
“We’re not afraid to think differently, operate a little differently [and] challenge tradition or conventional norms,” Safir said.
So how is Golden able to recruit internationally?
According to Safir, international recruitment is a process several of Florida’s coaches have been doing over the last decade.
“Really, it kind of all starts with knowing what events [to go to],” Safir said. “And then just getting to know the people, the boots on the ground, the agents, the coaches … people who have say or are going to have a constant stream of prospects or players.”
Safir spearheaded Condon’s recruitment two seasons ago and introduced him to UF associate head coach Carlin Hartman. After talks over Zoom and an eventual visit, Condon committed to Florida.
“If you put that kid in EYBL [Nike Elite Youth Basketball League], [he’s] every school in the country’s recruit No. 1, [he’s] somebody in the top 25, top 50 recruits,” Safir said. “You put him in the Centre of Excellence in Australia, and he really only has three schools recruiting him.”
Condon was the first international player to make significant strides under Golden regarding his production on the court for the Gators during his freshman campaign in 2023-24.
The Perth, Australia, native and rising sophomore played significant minutes in his first season with the program.
“Once I came over here, got comfortable,” Condon said. “It was the right decision.”
Condon averaged just under 8 points, over 6 rebounds and around 1 assist per game in his first season. He could be expected to take on a larger role this upcoming season as a starter, which Golden has been optimistic about throughout the offseason.
“I think both those guys are geared to really, really help us this year,” Golden said of Condon and Haugh. “They're incredible competitors, really smart guys and really driven. They both have high aspirations in terms of where they want their careers to go, and they spend a lot of time in the gym.”
It hasn’t just been Florida where international players are prevalent on the roster. In the West Coast Conference, international recruitment has been a staple for San Francisco, where Golden served as the head coach from 2019-2022.
Among 11 WCC teams in 2024, there are 63 international players or an average of six international players per team. This is a staggering difference from the average among all collegiate Division I basketball programs, which averaged two international players per team in 2022.
In Golden’s three seasons as San Francisco’s head coach, there were at least five international players each season. With the Gators, he has featured nine international players in three seasons. Before Golden arrived at Florida, the program only had eight international players in the last 10 seasons.
“If you have an international player who wants to come to America, the distance isn't going to matter,” Safir said.
However, the selling point isn’t quite the same in Gainesville. There are several other draws besides its location — the education, history of the program and presence of other international players were significant factors, Chinyelu said.
“Being able to have diversity, having different people coming together for one purpose is really lovely,” he said. “The school culture, just being a great sports school and also academically being a great school, it’s something that drove me down here. Being in The Swamp is lovely.”
Several of Florida’s other international players have expressed the benefits of joining a program with players outside the United States. Rioux, a 7-foot 9-inch freshman center who holds the Guinness World Record as the world’s tallest teen, cited this as something that has helped him being away from home.
“That does make it better because everybody is missing their family,” Rioux said.
There is no shortage of cultural differences among Florida’s roster.
Kublickas, who joined the program two seasons ago, is originally from Kaunas, Lithuania, and came to America with his wife. He said it was a difficult adjustment at first, but they’ve embraced the change.
“It definitely was [difficult] in first year,” he said. “But now going into the second year, she was waiting for that moment that we got back here. She likes it.”
Golden brings a distinctive perspective to UF, as evident by his diverse roster. The ties he’s made overseas have significantly improved Florida’s program and could continue to be a positive trend throughout his tenure.
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on X @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is a third-year journalism student and the Florida Gators football reporter at The Alligator. He is a cat ethusiast and completes the NYT Daily Mini in less than a minute each day.
