NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A 22-point victory over Alabama secured, sending No. 2 seed Florida to the SEC Tournament’s final round against Tennessee, UF head coach Todd Golden did what he’s frequently done throughout the season: the third-year Gators head coach praised his senior point guard, Walter Clayton Jr.
Clayton had yet another 22-point scoring night while recording six assists without a turnover to lead the Gators to victory, and it felt only right to vocalize the fourth-year guard’s value to not just the Florida program – Golden felt it necessary to make a case for Clayton at the professional level as his Florida career nears its conclusion, though Florida hopes a deep run into the NCAA Tournament occurs before the senior’s time with the program is in the books.
“We know he’s first team All-American, first one in Florida history, which is crazy. Just playing at an insanely high level,” Golden said. “For me, I just hope people just understand how gifted and talented he is and how much of a winner he is.”
The 39-year-old head coach may be a bit of a rarity among collegiate head coaches. Rather than ignore the speculation and reporting concerning the world of collegiate and professional basketball, Golden and his coaching staff pay attention to what’s being written about not just the team, but the opposition, too.
He’s also perused a handful of NBA mock drafts as of late, which have featured a pair of UF players in Clayton Jr. and sophomore forward Alex Condon.
Florida is optimistic Condon returns to the program for his third season despite appearing in the first round in several mock drafts, including No. 26 overall to the Brooklyn Nets in ESPN’s latest.
Clayton on the other hand has appeared typically in the mid-second round of mock drafts thus far, including at No. 47 to the Utah Jazz in Bleacher Report’s latest draft projection.
If that were to occur, professional organizations would be making a mistake, in Golden’s mind. The way UF’s head coach sees it, as a First-Team All-American on a team on the cusp of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Clayton’s resume speaks for itself, and it should be factored into the conversation regarding his Draft status.
“I see all these mock drafts. Some places he’s like late second round. I see all these guys that are mocked to be first,” Golden said. “Winning has to matter. Leading has to matter. Being efficient has to matter. Being able to play the point guard position on the top two team in America has got to matter. This guy deserves more recognition and credit than he’s getting nationally. I wouldn’t trade him for anybody in America. I think that says something for how good he is.”
Some team will take a chance on Clayton – that feels certain. Whether it will be as a second-round pick or potentially as an undrafted free agent considering the uncertainty of the NBA Draft remains to be seen.
Whichever team adds Clayton to its roster will be grateful, according to Golden.
“Some NBA team will figure it out. They’ll add him to their roster and he’s going to be a guy that plays 10 years in the NBA. We’re going to be talking about him in four years, ‘how wasn’t this guy not more highly touted coming out of college’. I understand he is a senior. Winning, winning is pretty important, too,” Golden said. “The guy has been the starting point guard on a 29-win team, playing an incredible floor game, 22.6 assists, no turnovers, three steals. Again, playing like the best point guard in America right now.”
In the interim, Clayton will continue to make his case, with his next opportunity to impress NBA scouts, many whom have been in attendance in Nashville to observe the SEC Tournament, coming at 1 p.m. ET against Tennessee for the SEC Tournament Championship.
Regardless of how Clayton and the Gators fare against the Volunteers, Golden’s mind won’t change: he’ll continue utilizing the team’s starting point guard for as long as Florida has him, and whichever team takes a chance on Clayton at the next level will benefit.
