Photo: Taurean Green; Credit: David Coyle (University of Florida Athletic Association)
Sometimes, the best way to move into the future is to seek to rekindle what worked in the past.
As soon as Todd Golden was announced as the head basketball coach at the University of Florida, the 36-year-old began to reach out to a plethora of all-timers who left a mark on the program.
Namely, Billy Donovan — the uber-successful coach who led UF to back-to-back national championships, 14 tournament appearances and earned his name on the court in Exactech Arena — helped Golden grasp the foundation to build on while at UF.
As Golden attempts to return the Gators from their current status of mediocrity to a national powerhouse on the hardwood, he returns a crucial member of Donovan's championship teams to Florida. Former guard Taurean Green is set to rep orange and blue from the sideline as the Gators' director of player development.
"One of the things, and I've talked about this is a lot, [that is] really important to me is kind of recapturing that tradition and that pride that the program had in the 2000s," Golden said when asked about the hiring of Green on Thursday.
Playing three seasons in the orange and blue from 2004-05 to 2006-07, Green compiled 10.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in 111 total appearances.
He provided reliability and consistency from the point guard position on talent-riddled squads to complete an improbable run of back-to-back national champions victories.
No program has replicated that level of success since.
When his hiring was officially announced on May 23, Green said he shared his excitement to once again serve as a member of the Gators basketball program.
"Gainesville became like another home to me during my time at UF, and I can't wait to be back," Green said. "Florida is such a special place, and I'm ready to do everything I can to help our players, Todd Golden, the coaching staff and the entire program have success.
"Gator Nation, it feels great to be coming home!"
Golden believes that Green's reappearance in Gainesville gives his current players a blueprint of guys who have had success and are passionate about the University of Florida.
The passion for the logo is a message he has exuded in his words and actions since stepping foot on campus in March.
"I'm really passionate about being here; I'm very proud to be the head coach at Florida - and all my staff is as well," Golden proclaimed once again.
"So, you add a guy like Taurean who talks about the years that he spent here in Gainesville as the best years of his life, I just thought, what better role model can these guys have? What better example can we have than a guy that played on those teams, won national championships and can impart his wisdom to the guys?”
Spending last season as the player-development coordinator with the Chicago Bulls, Green reunited with his former collegiate head coach in Donovan to embark on his new career journey following professional basketball.
Earning rave reviews during his short stint in the NBA, Green not only brings nostalgia to Golden's first staff at Florida but a well-versed understanding of the game.
Donovan's endorsement of the 14-year professional basketball veteran spoke volumes to Golden when he began to inquire about his potential services.
"This makes a lot of sense," Golden said. "The fact we were able to get him in the director of player development role is huge. He's a guy that will do a great job for us there and has potential to rise the ranks in coaching."
With Green returning for what everyone hopes to be another illustrious run in Gainesville, his knowledge of what it takes to win and championship-level expectations have the potential to rekindle a fire in the program to return to the heights he once reached as a player.
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