Florida basketball coach Todd Golden received another reminder that he’s part of a select, special fraternity.
Golden led the Florida Gators to their third national basketball title and 49th overall national title in school history last April.
In winning the national title, Golden, who turned 40 on July 7, had his portrait painted by local artist and former Florida football standout James Bates to hang in Spurrier Gridiron Grille’s Hall of Champions. He’s portrait number 20 and will hang on the wall with Billy Donovan, Urban Meyer and the Head Ball coach himself, Steve Spurrier, who attended the unveiling ceremony on July 24.
“I remember our first spring getting a job hosting recruits in there, not really understanding what was going on,” Golden said. “At that point, it didn’t necessarily think that would be a real option and now three years later, we found a way to do it. It’s an incredible honor, most if not all of those coaches are Hall of Fame coaches so to be alongside them in that room is an incredible honor.”
Bates, a self-taught artist whose artwork also hangs at Cypress Grove and First Magnitude breweries in Gainesville, said it took a few hours to finish the portrait.
“Todd has very distinctive features,” Bates said.
Golden noticed some of those features when the portrait was unveiled.
“You got me on the eyebrows, for sure,” Golden said. “You got me on the gap; I’ve got a little gap. I can deal with that; I’ve got a little gap in my front teeth.”
About 50-100 attended the ceremony including players Alex Condon and Tommy Haugh, assistant coaches Taurean Green, Jonathan Safir and Carlin Hartman. Tickets also were sold to the general public as part of a fundraising effort for Florida Victorious, UF’s Name, Image and Likeness fundraising arm.
Florida returns two starters (Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu) and star sixth man Thomas Haugh from a team that went 36-4 last season. As a result, the Gators are projected as a top five national team entering the 2025-26 season in their quest to repeat as national champions.
“We’ve recruited well, we’ve retained well,” Golden said. “This team will be different but will be competitive.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Floridia basketball coach enjoys picture-perfect night as championship portrait is unveiled