Florida men’s basketball head coach Todd Golden and senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. were named semifinalists for the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year and Player of the Year awards, respectively, the Naismith Awards announced on Friday. The lists narrowed their fields to 10 candidates each with Friday’s announcement.
 
The fourth-ranked Gators open SEC tournament action this evening following a 27-4 regular season that saw five top-25 wins, including a pair of wins vs. the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.
 
Florida is one of three teams in the nation to be top-10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and the Gators climbed as high as No. 2 in the polls, their highest ranking since 2014.
 
Clayton leads the team in scoring, assists and 3-point field goals this season, and his two-season point total is the third-highest in team history.
 
Golden and Clayton are one of five player and coach combos to both be recognized as Naismith semifinalists.
 
Naismith Player of the Year Semifinalists
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
RJ Luis Jr., St. John’s
Mark Sears, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
 
Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalists
Dennis Gates, Missouri
Todd Golden, Florida
Tom Izzo, Michigan State
Pat Kelsey, Louisville
Grant McCasland, Texas Tech
Ben McCollum, Drake
Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Rick Pitino, St. John’s
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Jon Scheyer, Duke