Mike Ridaught
Blake Golden is coming home.
Buchholz High School has named its alum and former long-time assistant coach as the next boys basketball coach.
“Being a coach at Buchholz High School means so much to me,” Golden said. “I have so much passion for the school, and I’m excited to take the program into the next era.”
Golden replaces athletic director George Atohi, who coached the Bobcats for one season in 2020-21 following the departure of long-time coach Bob Horodyski.
Golden played basketball for the Bobcats in the late ’90s and served as an assistant for 12 years under Horodyski.
“Playing under Bob was a great experience,” said Golden, who graduated from Buchholz in 1999. “He’s a great man and a great coach and mentor. He has done so much for basketball in the state.”
Golden, who was an assistant video coordinator at the University of Florida under Billy Donovan, also played under former coach Monte Towe at Santa Fe College.
He was an assistant coach for one season at Apopka and for the past five years at Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Orlando.
Now Golden will get the opportunity to serve as head coach at his alma mater.
“During my previous time at Buchholz I just tried to inject myself into every area of the program that I could,” said Golden, who is a sales representative for Baker’s Sporting Goods. “Once I left Buchholz, I tried to put myself in a position where I could learn the things I needed to in order to get back to be the head coach.”
Buchholz finished 8-10 this past season under Atohi. The Bobcats lost, 45-33, to Gainesville in the Class 6A-District 2 quarterfinals.