As I have mentioned, Golden was hired after Stricklin applied the exact same template Fooley used to hire Billy Donovan, which was an appropriate profile for a fledgling program with no sustained history of success in 1996.
Fooley got lucky and hired a generational coach that lifted the program, not only to places we’d never been but, to places we never imagined possible.
When Donovan left instead of updating the template to reflect the current status of the program Fooley brushed off the exact same profile even though the program was in a completely different place.
The template called for a young up and coming coach with the vision and the capabilities to “put Florida’s program on the map.” The program was already very prominent and required a proven winner to continue the progress. However the arrogance and/or incompetence of the AD resulted the hiring of an empty suit that looked and sounded like the template.
Seven years later Stricklin pulls out that same tired template and hires the same empty suit that looks right and sounds right and here we still are in the middle of the conference at best.
Meanwhile most of the SEC applied the “proven winner “ template when hiring coaches and one by one they have passed us by.
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Have joined Kentucky sitting well above the UF program that was the best in the SEC as recently as 2014. Now we find ourselves fending off the bottom feeders for NIT bids each year.
But remember what we have been told “UF is not a basketball school we just got lucky and got a great coach.” This statement alone is all one needs to understand what’s wrong with the program.
Just think if UF took that same approach when Spurrier left we might still have Ron Zook as our coach.
