What a basketball career it has been so far for Walter Clayton Jr. Even going back to his sophomore year at Lake Wales, Clayton nearly took the Highlanders to the state tournament as they lost in the regional finals. Then it was on to Bartow and back-to-back state titles, college at Iona where he won individual honors, then to Florida where individual honors were only surpassed by leading the Gators to a national title.
Clayton’s individual honors have been well-documented and include being a consensus first-team All-American, an SEC tournament MVP and a finalist for major individual awards.
So the question remains: Is Clayton the best college basketball player to come out of Polk County?
Two of the three top NBA players from Polk County are Tracy McGrady and A’mare Stoudemire, and they aren’t candidates because they went straight to the NBA and didn’t play in college. Stoudemire, of course, didn't even play high school varsity basketball in Polk.
So who are the top candidates to challenge Clayton?
Let’s start with Otis Birdsong, who for years was the top high school, college and NBA player from Polk County. After the high-scoring Birdsong led the Winter Haven Blue Devils to the state title in 1973, he went on to a stellar career at Houston. He was the first sophomore in school history to reach 1,000 career points. He averaged 26.1 points as a junior, leading the Southwest Conference in scoring and finishing eighth in the nation. As a senior, he set an SWC record by averaging 30.3 points per game, which ranked ...
