Gators Hoops Add Assistant, Taurean Green Assumes On-Court Role

Photo: Taurean Green; Credit: David Coyle (University of Florida Athletic Association)

Florida has added former Washington State assistant John Andrzejek to its staff and moved Taurean Green to an on-court role for the 2023-24 season. 

In addition to its new coaches, Florida returns every member of its 2022-23 staff. The newcomers are the byproduct of an NCAA rule change, which went into effect this offseason.

Andrzejek's move to Florida was reported Monday while Taurean's transition from the team’s director of player development to on-court development assistant was reported Tuesday. Stadium’s Jeff Goodman and Swamp247’s Jacob Rudner, respectively, reported the coaching staff moves.

Andrzejek’s ties to Golden date back to 2016-17, when the two worked on staff together at San Francisco under now Washington State head coach Kyle Smith — a mentor to the Florida head coach since he broke into the coaching world.

The familiarity of Andrzejek's work at USF, continued involvement alongside Smith and well-versed analytics background played crucial roles in Golden’s decision to bring the rising-star assistant into the fold.

That’s not to mention the effective international recruiting prowess Andrzejek had while occupying his position in Pullman (Wash.). He’s highly touted in the area and supplemented the praise by aiding the staff in landing Mouhamed Gueye and Efe Abogidi in Wazzu.

On the other hand, Green, a two-time national champion with the Gators, returned to Gainesville prior to the 2022-23 season as part of Todd Golden’s inaugural staff. The move came on the heels of a 14-year professional career for the 6-foot point guard. 

During his tenure at UF, Green served as a staple in the Florida backcourt to elevate the unit to unforeseen heights. He averaged 10.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.2 and 1.1 steals per contest over 111 career games, proving to be an uber-effective floor general at the peak of Billy Donovan’s program.

His return to the team as a staffer created waves in Golden’s first offseason as the newly minted head coach hoped to rekindle the fire present in the Gators' prestigious history. Bringing back a piece of that success was a key element to doing so in his mind.

“I couldn’t be more excited for Taurean to join our staff,” Golden said of Green’s hiring last year. “He’s one of the best to ever wear the Gator uniform and understands what it takes to achieve at the highest levels here. He’ll be an incredible resource for our student-athletes and an important connection to the tradition of excellence here, both for our fans and for all the past Gators who will always be part of the Florida family.” 

Now, one season later, Green will assume on-court responsibilities, coaching mainly the team’s backcourt moving forward.

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