Coming to Gainesville from Louisiana Tech, Mike White was hired by Florida in May of 2015. White matched the school record for wins by a first-year head coach when he led the Gators to a 21-15 record last season.
The Gators played in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) last season. They beat Ohio State in the NIT, which was Florida’s first road win over a Big Ten team in program history. But they fell to George Washington in the quarterfinals, ending their season.
So the spotlight of the NCAA Tournament wasn’t in the cards for White’s inaugural season, but it’s not like he hadn’t been to college basketball’s biggest stage before.