A year ago, Todd Golden addressed a room full of reporters in Birmingham, Alabama, for the Southeastern Conference Basketball Media Days, for the fourth time at the helm of the Gators.
During his 15-minute slot, Golden addressed the media for the first time as a defending national champion. And as a result, he faced the pressure of the high expectations that come with being the team to beat.
Fast forward a year, the circumstances are almost identical.
On Wednesday, Golden addressed the media at SEC Tipoff ‘27 at the Grand Bohemian Hotel, and while his program was not the defending champion, the Gators have the expectations as such. Two days prior, the Gators were given the No. 1 spot in the SEC preseason rankings for the second straight year.
Throughout the event, Golden, along with Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu — who were also selected to attend last year’s conference media day — faced those expectations head-on with the media once again. This time, however, they were able to do so building on last season’s experiences, which included a regular-season SEC title.
“All of our guys, myself included, can use last year as a learning experience to not allow the expectations to affect us or dictate how we go,” Golden said. “We are more ready for this this year than we were last year.”
Another parallel from last year’s media day is the drama surrounding Florida and Golden’s relationship with Denzel Aberdeen.
Last year, the coach was asked about what it was like to lose Aberdeen, who played a key role off the bench in Florida's 2025 national championship run.
“We would have loved to have Denzel back,” Golden said at last year’s SEC Media Day. “There were other things that were more important to him than what we had to offer.
In his sole season at Kentucky, Aberdeen averaged 13.5 points and 3.4 assists per game. He averaged 17 points across his three games against UF last season. This year, Golden was asked about what it was like to bring him back after Aberdeen received a temporary injunction on Sept. 29, clearing him for the upcoming season.
“When he left, obviously we were disappointed to see him go, but there was never really ill will,” Golden said. “He remained really close with the guys on the team … Of course we were excited to bring him back.”
As aforementioned, Florida’s frontcourt trio was selected to appear at SEC Media Day, as they did last year. And once again, all three of them came in with high expectations.
“All three of them are great models, great leaders,” Golden said. “These guys have put the team first, and I've really appreciated the way they led so far.”
Ahead of last season, Condon was an AP Preseason All-American, Haugh earned preseason All-SEC third-team honors, and Chinyelu entered his second season as Florida’s starting center.
On Wednesday, the hype and expectations for the trio are arguably greater.
“Us three, we want to leave a legacy at Florida,” Condon said. “We were able to get that national championship our sophomore year, and hopefully our fourth year we can say the same thing.”
Haugh and Chinyelu received preseason All-SEC first-team honors this year. At the same time, Condon earned second-team honors, making UF the only team with three players to receive preseason recognition.
Chinyelu enters the season as the defending Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. After averaging 10.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game last season, the then-junior center became the first Gator in 50 years to finish a season averaging double-digit rebounds.
Condon, who experienced his fair share of ups and downs, averaged 16.5 points in the second half of the 2025-26 season.
Most notably, Haugh was named preseason SEC Player of the Year, becoming the first Gator to receive the award since Keyontae Johnson ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. Haugh finished last year with All-SEC First Team honors after averaging 17.1 points and 6.1 boards per contest.
“Playing in this league, it’s the most difficult, the most physical league in America and college basketball,” he said. “Being able to play in this, you become the most pro-ready player.”
All three returned to Gainesville for their respective senior seasons, forgoing the 2026 NBA Draft, where they were all almost guaranteed to be selected. Many mock drafts had Haugh as a lottery pick.
“It was an amazing decision that was in front of me either way I chose,” Haugh said. “Eventually, it was these guys coming back … Just that ability to have another year to go try to cut down a net was huge for me.”
With the same expectations heading into last season, the Gators will strive to earn a different result than a second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament.
Florida opens the 2026-27 campaign against Miami on Nov. 2 in Tampa at Benchmark International Arena, the same venue where the Gators fell short in March Madness.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the Fall 2026 men's basketball reporter and a third-year journalism sports & media major with a media, management and production minor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family and rooting for the Miami sports teams.
