SAN FRANCISCO — Todd Golden knows he might need to leave NCAA Tournament tickets for a couple of VIPs, his special longtime mentors and former coaches at nearby Saint Mary’s College.
That’s just how it can work sometimes come March when you’re the youngster and part of a coaching tree with extra-long limbs.
While Randy Bennett and Kyle Smith were both busy monitoring the transfer portal for potential additions to their respective teams — Smith just completed his first season as Stanford’s head coach — Golden got to work preparing top-seeded Florida for a Sweet 16 matchup against Maryland.
It certainly felt like reunion day at Chase Center. As the Gators took the practice floor, Golden said a quick hello to Smith, who sat along one baseline catching up with Golden’s father, Scott — and former NBA coach P.J. Carlesimo stopped to chat them up, too.
“This is why he is the way he is,” proud dad Scott said, referring to all of those who influenced his son’s cross-country journey from San Francisco to Gainesville. “It’s been beyond surreal, the year they’ve had. This year’s been beyond belief. Hopefully it keeps on going.”
Golden has provided his players with some glimpses into what his life looked like here. He served as an assistant to Smith at the University of San Francisco before replacing him as head coach in 2019 when Smith took over at Washington State — the step that ultimately led Smith back to the Bay Area and the Stanford job last spring.
The Gators visited iconic Crissy Field along San Francisco’s waterfront to see the Golden Gate Bridge in all its splendor.
After practicing in Golden’s old gym at USF in what he called “a full-circle moment,” they managed to get their large group into Golden’s favorite Original Joe’s in the North Beach neighborhood for dinner. The coach had prime rib because “being here in San Francisco you can’t go wrong.”
Initially, the restaurant told Golden it couldn’t accommodate his group of about 35 people.
“It’s been amazing. When the bracket came out and we saw we were the 1 seed in the West and obviously you see that the regionals in San Francisco, you can’t help but think about how awesome it would be to be able to experience that,” Golden said. “But there’s two games before that that you have to find a way to advance.
“And once we were able to get past UConn, it kind of all hit me and (wife) Megan and our family that we’d have a chance to come back to the Bay Area. Just landing in San Francisco yesterday and just kind of driving back through the city, I had to pinch myself a little bit.”
The Gators (32-4) hope to make it an extended stay by getting through No. 4 seed Maryland (27-8). Florida, which ended UConn’s bid for a third straight NCAA championship in the second round, is seeking its first Final Four berth since 2014.
Golden even has one of Smith’s former Washington State players starting, Rueben Chinyelu.
However long this NCAA run lasts, Golden will have huge fans in Bennett and Smith. Seeing the 39-year-old Golden on the big stage brings a smile to Smith’s face. He finds it remarkable that Golden “doesn’t age.”
Golden recalled Smith constantly challenging him to be tough as a mid-major player in the East Bay suburb of Moraga. They’ve both come so far.
“It’s awesome,” said Smith, who had dinner with the team and never saw a bill. “I think part of why they’re successful and why they’ve been able to get good quickly is because Saint Mary’s is one of the tougher programs in the country and Todd did five years. He had to bring it every day and prove himself.”
