Final Four: With Walter Clayton Jr. leading the way, Florida can beat anybody

SAN ANTONIO — Walter Clayton Jr. sensed that Florida’s big men were shellshocked as they jogged off the court at halftime of Saturday’s first Final Four game.

Johni Broome and the rest of the Auburn frontcourt were manhandling the Gators in the paint, overpowering them in the low post and shoving them aside for offensive rebounds.

Rather than lay into his teammates when he got into the locker room, Clayton pulled them aside and lifted them up. The All-American guard told Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Micah Handlogten that he trusted them, that he had confidence in them. He told them again and again, “Don’t listen to anything that anyone is saying. Just play the way you guys do.”

That pep talk was as big as any of the off-balance threes and acrobatic driving layups that Clayton Jr. hit to help rally Florida from an eight-point halftime deficit. The Gators’ frontcourt collectively displayed a different level of toughness and physicality in the second half of their 79-73 victory over SEC rival Auburn.

Broome did not score for the final 15:12 of the second half as the Gators denied the first-team All-American big man the ball whenever possible and prevented him from establishing deep low-post position when he did get it. With Clayton’s words ringing in their ears, Florida’s big men controlled the paint and forced Auburn to try to beat them with contested jumpers.

“To have someone like that boost us up and bring us back together, it just shows how good a teammate he is,” Handlogten said. “He’s seen us play in practice. He knows how physical we can play. Him saying all that, it really helped us slow down and not think, just play.”

Walter Clayton Jr. (1) has played a starring role for the Florida Gators all season, but he’s leveled up his game even further in the NCAA tournament. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

(Jamie Squire via Getty Images)

Add that halftime pep talk to the growing list of NCAA tournament heroics Clayton has delivered for Florida during its run to the national title game. The tough-shot specialist has piled up an NCAA tournament-high 123 points in five victories so far, building a reputation as the most feared clutch scorer in college basketball, the lethal shooter you can’t give a sliver of space in the final minutes of a tight game.

Clayton didn’t hit any 3s as insane as the go-ahead dagger he drilled in the closing seconds against Texas Tech last Saturday, but the degree of difficulty on his game-high 34 points against Auburn was still ridiculously high.

There was this off-balance corner 3-pointer with a hand in his face:

There was this pull-up 3 a few minutes later:

And this and-1 layup when Clayton turned what seemed to be a squandered possession into a knockout punch.

“I’ve never seen an offensive player like him,” Condon said. “I bet half the arena is like, ‘Oh my God, why did he shoot that shot.’ And then it goes in. He’s like no one I’ve ever played with.”

That Clayton was wearing a Florida jersey on Saturday night took some good fortune for the Gators. First, he had to pass on the chance to play football in college. Then he had to elect to play basketball for his home-state school.

At Lake Wales High School, about 45 miles south of Orlando, Clayton turned heads as a ball-hawking safety. The four-star football prospect received offers from the likes of Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Georgia and Tennessee.

Following his sophomore season, Clayton made a stunning decision: He was walking away from football cold turkey. He transferred to Bartow High and focused exclusively on basketball, leading his new school to back-to-back state championships and earning an opportunity to join coach Rick Pitino at Iona.

The potential that Clayton had on the hardwood began to show during his sophomore year at Iona. The MAAC player of the year averaged 16.8 points per game, led the nation in free throw shooting percentage and propelled the Gaels to a sweep of their league’s regular season and conference tournament titles.

At the end of that season, Clayton faced a difficult decision: Become the centerpiece of Todd Golden’s rebuilding efforts at home-state Florida or follow Pitino to St. John’s. Golden became concerned he might lose Clayton to the Johnnies after receiving a worrisome Easter Sunday phone call from Clayton’s mom.

“I guess one of the benefits of being Jewish is that we don’t celebrate Easter,” Golden said earlier this week. “Got on a plane that afternoon, flew up, met with Walt on Easter Sunday evening. Me and coach Korey McCray. Had a great meal talking through everything with him. Before we left that night, he let us know he was going to come home.

“I think that extra effort, going up there and sitting with him, reconfirming our vision for him, what our program would be like was really important. Obviously I’m really glad we got on that plane.”

Especially after Saturday, when Clayton saved Florida not just on the court but in the halftime locker room, too.

Clayton said earlier this week that his earliest memories of watching the NCAA tournament were Kemba Walker’s one-man blitz to carry UConn to a surprise national title.

“Kemba, on one of the biggest stages was calm, cool and collected,” Clayton said Saturday. “Watching that, I kind of admired that.”

Squint your eyes, and you can see a lot of Kemba in Clayton. With him playing this well, Florida is capable of beating anyone — even Duke or Houston on Monday night.

Showbiz Shadows

Final Four: With Walter Clayton Jr. leading the way, Florida can beat anybody

Leave a Reply Cancel reply