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NCAA Makes Walter Clayton Jr. Announcement After Florida Wins National Title

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Crissy Froyd | Last updated Apr 10, 2025 6:22 PM ET

Walter Clayton Jr. is continuing to turn heads on the basketball court, with the NCAA recently announcing that the Florida senior guard led the nation in points scored during March Madness.

He totaled 134 points over six games en route to a Gators national title after the team defeated the Houston Cougars, 65-63. That put him directly ahead of Houston's LJ Cryer (112 points), Duke's Cooper Flagg (105 points), Auburn's Johni Broome (84 points), Texas Tech's Darrion Williams (84 points), Florida's Alijah Martin (83 points), Houston's Emmanuel Sharp (77 points), Texas Tech's JT Toppin (77 points) and Auburn's Tahaad Pettiford (76 points).

Despite a slow start in the biggest game of his career, Clayton ultimately finished out the contest as an impact player, putting up 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting.

And he came into that game with a tremendous amount of momentum, combing for 64 points in his two appearances prior to that. There's no question Clayton Jr. projects as an intriguing NBA Draft pick, and he's already turned plenty of heads.

Clayton took advantage of his opportunity to raise his stock in the postseason, as ESPN analyst Jonathan Givony noted in his mock draft.

“Clayton helped his standing significantly in the NCAA tournament, posting an efficient 30 and 34 points in the Elite Eight and national championship semifinals,” Givony wrote. “… NBA teams have questions about Clayton’s defense, passing and feel for the game, as he can be mistake-prone on both ends of the floor and isn’t blessed with great physical tools with his average size, length and strength.”

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Givony, but the potential has made itself evident.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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