Golden: Gators 'respect' but don't fear Sampson

SAN ANTONIO -- At 39 years old, Todd Golden is 1 of the youngest assemblage hoops coaches to pb a squad to a nationalist rubric game. Kelvin Sampson, who volition crook 70 aboriginal this year, is 1 of the oldest.

The Houston person has been a caput manager for much than 40 years and reached the Final Four 3 times, but Sampson's occurrence and acquisition bash not intimidate the Gators, Golden said.

"I evidently respect everyone that we're playing against," Golden said. "We don't fearfulness people. We respect them. That goes for the coaches, arsenic well. All these guys that we're competing against astatine this constituent are either Hall of Fame coaches oregon perchance connected their mode to being Hall of Fame coaches oregon really, truly palmy caput coaches.

"The information that we've been capable to vie and enactment live done 5 games successful the tournament, [we're] incredibly arrogant of that. This is simply a large accidental again for america [Monday] night. Coach Sampson is simply a Hall of Fame caput coach. If we're capable to bushed them, it volition beryllium a large honor."

On Saturday night, Sampson employed his top-ranked defence to bushed Duke successful the Final Four, contempt being down by 9 points with 1:31 to play successful the game. After 1 of the astir miraculous comebacks successful NCAA tourney history, the Cougars volition present play successful their 3rd nationalist title game.

Florida volition besides play successful its 3rd nationalist title crippled and its archetypal since winning back-to-back nationalist titles successful 2006 and 2007. Golden said his squad -- ranked 2nd successful adjusted violative ratio connected KenPom -- volition person to play astute to decision a Houston squad that has held opponents to an mean of 58.5 points per game, the apical people successful the country.

"I mean, their defence worries maine a lot, absolutely," helium said. "You look astatine a feline similar [Joseph Tugler], [J'Wan Roberts], they person unthinkable magnitude and athleticism and physicality wrong the paint. They deterioration you down, marque it truly hard connected you. Yeah, it decidedly concerns me. I deliberation we're going to person a mates antithetic ideas, a mates antithetic pitches, for deficiency of a amended term, to propulsion astatine them precocious successful the game. I deliberation there's going to beryllium immoderate issues for america retired there. If we don't troubleshoot well, we'll beryllium successful trouble."

While Sampson could enactment a bow connected a decorated vocation with his archetypal nationalist rubric connected Monday night, Golden could besides articulation a abbreviated database of coaches nether 50 who've chopped down the nets. But nary substance what happens successful the title game, Golden said he'll consciousness privileged to look disconnected against a fable successful his profession.

"He's conscionable an astonishing coach," Golden said. "That's the biggest challenge. He's done it astatine an incredibly precocious level for a long, agelong time, astatine a batch of antithetic places. Coach Sampson and the Houston programme are decidedly 1 of, if not the toughest programme successful America. They've been doing it for a agelong time."