The No. 20 ranked Florida Gators men’s basketball team is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
After wins against USF, Jacksonville, and Grambling State, the Gators are off to face the in-state rival Florida State Seminoles on Friday night at 6:00 PM. But before Florida makes their way to Tallahassee, head coach Todd Golden and guard Will Richard spoke to media Thursday afternoon.
Coach Golden opened the press conference by addressing the recent sexual allegations. “Before we get started, I just want to, again, just make another quick statement, just so you guys are caught up. Continuing to actively engage in the school’s inquiry. As I said Monday night, I’m not going to comment on absolutely anything in regards to the investigation out of the respect to the process. And to be clear, I would love to be able to comment on multiple elements of the investigation. But I’m simply not allowed to do so out of the requirements due to confidentiality. I’m also actively engaging with my legal team to see what potential proceedings I will have the ability to take as I proceed through this, if I desire to do so.”
After making those comments, Golden brightened the room by sharing great news regarding Urban Klavzar, the Slovenian who has yet to play this season due to an eligibility battle with the NCAA.
“We found out about 45 minutes ago that Urban Klavzar has been cleared by the NCAA and will be able to suit up and participate tomorrow night against Florida State,” Golden said. “So I’m incredibly happy for him. It’s been a really trying time for him as he’s moved over from Slovenia on his own, trying to figure out this process. But he will be in uniform tomorrow and he will play tomorrow night against Florida State.”
Klavzar, who is just 20-years-old, converted 47.7 percent of his field-goal attempts and 42.7 percent of this 3-point tries in 2023-24 while playing overseas in Spain. The 6’1 guard competed extensively with the Slovenian national program, appearing in six FIBA championships.
“He’s just a good player, man. I mean, you’ve been in practices where he’s competed at you know, just another really talented, skilled guard, a guy that should help us against pressure, a guy that can really shoot the ball, a guy with moxie, toughness, you know, little undersized, but really competes on both ends. And a guy that’s played high level basketball, you know. So the great thing about Urby is he’s not going to be your normal freshman, you know. He’s not a guy that’s coming out of the high school ranks, you know, bright eyed bushy tailed going into Florida State. He’s played in big-time environments. He’s played at international basketball, at the highest level, so I think he will be ready to help us right away.”
Golden added that he has a “really high IQ, stronger than you would anticipate, good feel, understands where to be, when to be, and like a really good positional and a really good team defender.”
Golden admitted that it is going to take some time for Klavzar to get adjusted.
“It’s going to take some time for him to kind of become acclimated and integrate him in with the other guys. Obviously, we played three games and we have a good flow going. But he’s a high-level player and he’s a guy that we have counted on being a part of this rotation since the summer time, since he came to Florida. We’ll have to work those kinks out. It’ll be a little similar to when Zyon (Pullin) came back last year after three games and trying to figure out the best way to get him into the lineup. But, again, it’ll be really nice to have him out there tomorrow night.”
It’s a “feel good” moment for the Gators to be able to get Klavzar cleared to play, especially since it was a very long process. Klavzar is a guy that is going to be playing at least 10 minutes per game off the bench, and provide some lethal shooting for the Gators.
“I give a lot of credit to our compliance staff here at Florida, as well as the SEC and the NCAA for doing what was right and clearing this guy and allowing him to compete,” Golden said. “He was unique, in terms of cases that they’ve evaluated so far. But I think anybody that’s kind of studied this year’s class of freshmen from Europe realized that there were a lot of guys that had this unique circumstance. So I’m not necessarily surprised it took a little longer. But I am very pleased with Jamie McCloskey, Kim Green, our compliance staff here at UF for the work they did. They were diligently working on it, making sure that they gave the NCAA and SEC every piece of fact that they needed to come to this conclusion. Obviously we would love to have them three games ago, but we’re satisfied to get them now and to get them eligible.”
In other news, Coach Golden announced that 7’9 freshman Olivier Rioux, the world’s tallest teenager, is likely going to redshirt.
“Yeah. We’re talking about redshirting him for this year, yeah. And I should have made that clear, because, and honestly, it’s put him in a tough situation. He’s sitting over there at the end of the games, and everybody’s yelling at him and trying to get him out there, and they just hadn’t understood that that was our potential plan for him. So that’s where we’re at at this moment. I’m not saying that’s 100% gonna be the plan. We’ll continue to talk to him and see if he, you know, changes what he wants to do, but as of right now, that’s the plan that we’re gonna have with him as we move forward.”
Through just three games, the Gators have had big leads late in games, leaving people wondering why Rioux hasn’t checked into the game. Now, we have a little bit of clarity regarding what Florida’s plan with Rioux is going to be. He’ll be able to practice with the team and grow his skillset while still remaining a freshman (four years of elgibility) next fall.
“He’s been great. He’s been great. I think he’s, he’s a great kid, and he, he’s a pleaser, you know, he wants to do what others think is best for him. And he’s, he’s coachable, and so, like, again, if this is what our staff, his parents, you know, the people around him that care about him, think is best. I think he’s going to be comfortable. Ultimately, it’s his decision, but I think that’s where he’ll land.”
The bad news is that the Rowdy Reptiles in the student section will no longer be chanting his name.
“Yes, now that should be the case (on if the students will stop chanting). I think by next week people will know.”
With Klavzar ready to play for the first time this season, the Gators have their eyes set on FSU, which sits at 4-0 this season. The Gators are 46-29 all-time against the ‘Noles, including 19-14 on the road.