SAN ANTONIO — Nothing Florida point guard Walter Clayton Jr. does will surprise Auburn during Saturday’s Final Four showdown.
The Tigers saw Clayton coming before the rest of the college basketball — and surely NBA decision-makers — might have completely caught on.
Clayton’s effort during an 90-81 upset Feb. 8 on top-ranked Auburn’s homecourt left an impression.
“People knew who he was,” Tigers associate head coach Steve Pearl, son of head coach Bruce Pearl, said Thursday. “He just woke everyone up at our game and showed that he could do it on the biggest stage.”
Word about Clayton has continued to spread as he’s risen to the occasion on an even bigger stage during the NCAA Tournament. Late-game 3-pointers were the difference during come-from-behind wins against UConn in Round of 32 and Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.
“He’s having one of those March Madness-type tournaments,” Auburn point guard Denver Jones said. “You look back at like, ‘Whoa, he came alive in March.’ That’s the tournament he’s having.”
Clayton aims to do it again during the rematch between the Gators (34-4) and Tigers (32-5) at the Alamodome.
On Thursday, the 22-year-old played “College Football 25” against walk-on Cooper Josefsberg while a crush of media in the Gators’ locker room looked on, waiting to no avail to get some thoughts from one of the stars of the Big Dance.
Chants of “DJ Lagway, DJ Lagway” by teammates while Clayton maneuvered the controller were a reminder that football is never too far way for UF athletes, even at the Final Four.
Yet, Clayton and coach Todd Golden have led the Gators back to basketball prominence during their two seasons together.
Reaching the SEC Tournament final and the NCAA Tournament in 2024 were a major step in right direction, highlighted with a season-ending and season-high 33 points by Clayton during a loss to Colorado in the opening round.
Clayton set the tone for a big senior season with 29 points in the opener against USF, one of five games with more than 20 points in UF’s first 10 contests. He had 33 points at Kentucky and 28 vs. Missouri in early SEC losses.
After UF answered with three wins, Clayton injured his ankle during a 20-point loss (64-44) on Feb. 1 at Tennessee. But he sat out just one game, a win against Vanderbilt, three days before going to Auburn and taking over the game.
With fellow guard Alijah Martin sidelined with a hip pointer, Clayton played all 40 minutes and finished with 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting to go with a career-high 9 assists, 6 rebounds and just 3 turnovers. It was the Tigers’ first loss on their homecourt where they were 10-0 and winning by an average of 32 points.
“It kind of cemented what we’ve known about him ...
