Florida's Golden & Chinyelu Honored, Gators March On

0:00On March 20th, Florida men's basketball coach Todd Golden and Junior Center Rubin Chinyelu just made the cut as semi-finalists for Major Naismith awards. Golden is in the running for Coach of the Year, while Chinyelu earned a spot among the top 10 for defensive player of the year. In his fourth season with the Gators, Golden turned around a shaky five-and-four start into a strong 21 and two finish. That run clenched the southeastern conference regular season title and locked in a second straight number one seed for the NCAA tournament. Chinyelu dominated the boards with 379 rebounds, the most for any Florida player since Neil Walk. He ranks among the national leaders at 11.5 rebounds per game, tops an offensive board and tied the school record with 18. Double doubles. He also swept southeastern conference defensive player and scholar athlete of the year honors. Team mates see his second team all conference nod as an oversight, given his lockdown defense inside against all sizes.

1:03Still, they say Chinyelu stays focused with that extra motivation heading into March madness. The Gators tip off the tournament Friday at 9.25 pm, eastern against Prairie View A&M in Tampa. After turnover woes in the conference semi-finals, Golden reports sharp practices and expects cleaner play to fuel another deep run.