{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","title":"Todd Golden: \"The Deepest Roster in America\" ","description":"Todd Golden sat down with Dan and didn't hold back. The Florida basketball coach breaks down how the early NCAA exit turned into a roster-building win, what it took to bring Tommy, Ruben, and Condo back, and why he believes the Gators are walking into 2026-27 with the deepest roster in college basketball.\n\nIn This Interview:\n\n🏀 The Iowa loss that helped them — Golden explains how the early exit gave Tommy Haugh, Ruben Chinua, and Alex Condon a reason to come back for their senior seasons\n🏀 The Denzel Aberdeen situation — already re-enrolled and working on his undergrad degree; Florida believes he has a strong NCAA case for an extra year of eligibility after playing only ~40 minutes his freshman year before transferring to Kentucky\n🏀 Navigating the NBA process — how Golden maintains open communication with players through the draft evaluation window and uses Florida's culture, education, and NIL/Rev Share as the closer\n🏀 Preseason No. 1 pressure — \"We welcome it at this point\" — Golden on coaching with a target on their back and why this group is ready\n🏀 Keeping the depth bought in — CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd both had conversations before Tommy announced his return; Golden credits his staff's honesty and the players' maturity\n🏀 Two European recruits — Arturas Butajevas, a decorated Lithuanian big with Tommy/Condo upside, and Domen Petrovic, a 22-year-old 6'8\" Slovenian shooter coming off his best pro season — \"Slovenian brothers\" with Herby\n🏀 NCAA Tournament expanding to 76 — \"If I was still at San Francisco, I'd be doing cartwheels\" — but Golden says Florida will play at a level where it won't affect them much\n🏀 Playing around Florida — Tampa's Benchmark International, Jacksonville, South Florida; \"we have the strongest brand in the state right now\"\n🏀 Jon Sumrall — Golden talked to him Thanksgiving morning as the hire was coming together; raves about his mentality, his openness with fans, and his understanding of what it takes to succeed at Florida\n🏀 What he's listening to — going country lately: Morgan Wallen, Ella Langley — \"my kids are 10 and 8, I can't listen to what I used to\"\n\nSubscribe to Stadium and Gale for the best Florida Gators coverage — football, basketball, recruiting, and more. 🐊\n\n#FloridaGators #GatorNation #StadiumAndGale #ToddGolden #FloridaBasketball #GatorsBasketball #TommyHaugh #RubenChinua #AlexCondon #BoogieFland #CollegeBasketball #JonSumrall #UFBasketball","author_name":"Stadium and Gale: A Florida Gators Podcast","author_url":"https://audioboom.com/channels/4996460-stadium-and-gale-a-florida-gators-podcast","provider_name":"Audioboom","provider_url":"https://audioboom.com","width":480,"height":95,"thumbnail_url":"https://audioboom.com/i/43674194/600x600/c","thumbnail_width":600,"thumbnail_height":600,"html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"95\" src=\"https://embeds.audioboom.com/posts/8910730/embed?v=202301\" style=\"background-color: transparent; display: block; padding: 0; width: 100%\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"allowtransparency\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"Audioboom player\" allow=\"autoplay\" sandbox=\"allow-downloads allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\"></iframe>"}