The Florida men’s basketball team added a pair of assistant coaches to its staff, head coach Todd Golden announced on Tuesday. Jonathan Safir, who’s been UF’s director of basketball strategy and analytics since 2022, has been promoted to an assistant coaching role. In addition, Dave Klatsky joins Florida’s staff after three seasons as the head coach at New York University.
These hires come after a pair of Florida assistants in Kevin Hovde and John Andrzejek took head coaching jobs at Columbia and Campbell, respectively.
Safir has been a vital part of Florida’s run to the national championship, helping assemble the Gators’ roster and shape UF’s analytical approach to the game. Safir hails from Buffalo, N.Y., and is a 2015 graduate of Vassar College. Safir and Golden worked alongside each other at San Francisco where Safir served as the director of basketball operations from 2018-21 and an assistant coach in 2021-22 under Golden.
“I am excited to announce the promotion of Jonathan Safir to the position of assistant coach,” Golden said. “Jonathan deserves a lot of credit for his work in many different areas of our program that ultimately led to our national championship victory a few weeks ago. He will continue helping me with the various roster management responsibilities he has had, and will take on a bigger role on-court moving forward. I am grateful to have him and Ali remain with us in Gainesville!”
Klatsky comes to UF on the heels of leading NYU to the Division III national title game this season and compiled a 68-16 record over the past three seasons. Prior to his time leading NYU, Klatsky coached at Colgate for 11 seasons from 2011-22 and at Stevens Institute of Technology from 2007-11. A native of Holmdel, N.J., Klatsky is a 2001 graduate of Penn. If the last name sounds familiar, that’s because Klatsky is the cousin of former Gators basketball player Alex Klatsky, who graduated UF after the 2023-24 season.
“I am thrilled to add Dave to our staff as an assistant coach here in Gainesville,” Golden said. “I have known Dave for many years and am confident he will fit in with the rest of our staff seamlessly. Dave is a high achiever and a proven winner. Whether it was at Penn as a player, Colgate as an assistant, or NYU as the program’s head coach, Dave has won big everywhere he’s been. He has a great analytical sense for the game, and is a great teacher on the floor. We are excited to welcome Dave, his wife Abby, and their three boys to the Swamp!”