Walter Clayton found way to deliver Florida a national title
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CBS Sports |
Clayton Jr. was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player after helping lead Florida to a 65-63 win over Houston in the national title game.
Bleacher Report |
Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. was named the 2025 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
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According to CBS Sports Mike Trotter, Florida is the first team in the modern era to win a national championship without a top-100 recruit. Although the Gators do not have a top of the draft level player on their team, Walter Clayton Jr. is the next closest thing.
As such, he joined Larry Bird (1979), Jerry West (1959), Wilt Chamberlain (1957) and Clyde Lovellette (1952) to score 30-plus in wins in both the Elite Eight and the Final Four. It's reasonable to argue Clayton's Elite Eight and Final Four performances are the best we've seen in at least 45 years.
Walter Clayton Jr. did it to Auburn again. Except this time, it wasn’t a wakeup call, it was the end to the Tigers’ season. Florida’s star point guard exploded for a career-high 34 points in the Gators’ 79-73 Final Four win over Auburn, one-upping his own impressive day when Florida beat Auburn at Neville Arena in February.