The Florida Gators on Monday night did what was thought to be the impossible: come back against the Houston Cougars. The Cougars, who had the best defense in NCAA Division-1 Men’s Basketball all season long, blew a 12 point second-half lead to give the Gators their first championship since 2007, winning 65-63.
This was tied for the third largest comeback in the history of the NCAA Men’s championship game. Florida was no stranger to comebacks in this tournament. But beyond that, we saw the source of Florida’s greatness. Walter Clayton Jr. may not have had his finest game, shooting 3-10 from the field (1-7 from three) and scoring just 11 points. But against the best defense in college basketball led by hall of fame coach Kelvin Sampson, who can blame Clayton for having a bit of an off game?
After his overall performance in the tournament, he should be considered not only to be a first round pick, but a potential lottery pick as well.
Despite Clayton Jr. not scoring a single point in the first half, he showed the grit that earned him a starting spot on the one-seed Gators, scoring 11 points in the second half and finishing with a well-rounded five rebounds and seven assists, on his way to earning Most Outstanding Player of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Clayton’s tournament run was dominant, averaging 22.3 points per game. In the first round, Florida breezed past Norfolk State thanks to Clayton’s 23 points. In the second round, the Gators came back against UConn thanks to Clayton again scoring 23 points. In the Sweet 16, Clayton faltered against Maryland but still willed his team to victory.
In the Elite 8 and Final Four, Clayton truly shined, scoring 30 against Texas Tech and 34 against Auburn. Both of those wins were in comeback fashion as Clayton put the Gators on his back to victory.
Beyond his grit and ability to score 30 points on any given night, Clayton possesses traits that should make him a solid NBA player.
His ability to shoot the three was huge during this tournament, and will continue to be huge for him in the next step of his basketball career. Shooting 38.2% in his collegiate career from beyond the arc, Clayton possesses great shooting touch.
Clayton is able to make the tough shots and beyond that, is a clutch free throw shooter, shooting 87% from the line in his collegiate career, as well as over 90% in the tournament, skills that NBA teams look for.
While his playmaking skills need some improvement in order to make the leap as a NBA point guard, averaging just under three assists per game in his collegiate career, his passing certainly improved over the 2024-25 season, averaging over four assists per game in his senior year.
All in all, in a draft class that doesn’t possess much in the way of superstardom outside of Duke’s Cooper Flagg, Clayton could find himself vaulting up draft boards due to the tangible and intangible skills he possesses.
