Why the game of Florida Guard Walter Clayton Jr.

Athletics has a living reporting of Florida against Texas Tech And Duke vs. Alabama In the elite eight of the men’s NCAA tournament

Maryland coach Kevin Willard Florida Guard Walter Clayton Jr. is compared to a certain eleven-time NBA-All-Star.

“He reminds me of Steph a little bit of how good he is from dribbling,” said Willard.

That would be Steph Curry, the man who is widely considered the greatest shooter in NBA history. Photos of Curry decorate almost every wall in the entire chase center, many of which with him hold up one of the four championship trophy, which he won with the Golden State Warriors.

Clayton Jr. pursues his championship as a point guard for No. 1 seed Florida Gator, who hits the eight on the fourth seed on Thursday evening to find a place in the elite.

“Especially for people in the bay, it may be crazy to compare it to Steph-a lot of championships and MVPs, but it is possible to say from a college version that it is similar to Steph,” said Florida coach Todd Golden, who with curry coaching near Curry near Curry near the University of San Francisco from 2009 is familiar. It flies from deep. I think these things are very similar. “

Certainly they have similar builds. Clayton Jr. is 6-foot 3 and 195 pounds, while Curry checks in with 6-2 and 185. Both shoot well on the road that Curry said is one of the hardest to master-and neither of them seems worried that a look outside the range is concerned.

Walter Clayton Jr. 🤝 Steph Curry

(Above @Optastats))) pic.twitter.com/igdmydyzwj

– Betmgm 🦁 (@betmgm) March 23, 2025

Clayton Jr. himself seemed to agree and said that it is flattering to say someone that he resembles curry, but is not as safe as he is “one of the greatest ever”, the point guard that “changes” the game.

The basic statistics of Clayton Jr.-17.9 points, 4.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds per game with 44.6 percent could help someone to understand why the senior guard collected numerous all-America awards this season, and is one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which annually to the best point in the men’s college Hoops was awarded. But it is the basketball junkie analysis that will really make your eyes a pop according to Willard.

“He shoots the basketball that goes 48 percent on the left. He really shoots it to drive 38 percent,” said Willard. “We receive a scouting report from (Sport analytics Advantage), and he takes better than any player they ever had analytically and shot the basketball from the dribble to the right, from the dribble and left.”

One of Willard’s greatest findings when you study all these numbers and see so much film: Only fools will go under screens if they guard Clayton Jr. -Deforer who have guarded curry.

The curry comparison is quite far from what Uconn trainer Dan Hurley said last week. The day before the double defending champion Huskies, Clayton Jr. released 23 points in the 77-75 win of the Gators, said Hurley, Clayton and his quick release Hurley remind you of Fred Vanvleet.

Golden also sees a little Jalen Brunson in Clayton Jr. because he can “handle the ball, but get out (the ball), get him back and be a playmaker, decision -maker”.

Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. achieved an average of 17.9 points, 4.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.6 percent. (Zachary Tift / Imagn pictures)

Summary: Curry was the seventh election in the NBA design of the Davidson College 2009. Vanvleet no longer went out of the state of Wichita in 2016, but ended up with the Raptors and became an important player in her championship run 2019. He is now at the Houston Rockets. Brunson, a star at the New York Knicks, was number 33 in the 2018 draft after lending Villanova to two NCAA titles (2016 and 2018). Clayton Jr. is projected in the upcoming NBA design as a selection of the second round in the second round.

The fact that Clayton Jr. draws comparisons with an NBA player is wild when you look at his way.

Clayton Jr., a strongly recruited football security offer from Notre Dame, Georgia, Tennessee, Nebraska and Florida. His basketball applicants were mid-majors, he ended up in Iona. He received the honors of the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference as a newcomer and in the second year before moving to Florida before the 2023-24 season.

Alijah Martin, one of Florida’s other starters, said that he was regularly reminded of Clayton Jr.’s football background, given his physical game and “dominance every evening”.

But the most impressive is, according to almost everyone in the changing room of Clayton Jr.’s changing rooms, the ability to play every game at any time.

That was obvious last week against Uconn when he scored 13 of his 23 points in the last eight minutes to raise the Gator to Sweet 16.

“He just got ballistic,” said Center Alex Condon. “There is no one that we preferred to make the shot than Walt, so I try to get the ball into his hands at the right time. He tries to do the route. He is an amazing player and can make room at any time.”

But Condon wanted to add a restriction. Clayton Jr. dominates almost everywhere … unless it is about video games.

Although Clayton Jr. listed it as his “hidden talent” on the official school website of the Gator, Condon brated that during the downtime he smoked him in Raleigh, NC, “in (NBA) 2K”

But in San Francisco, Clayton Jr. insisted on making the record clear. When asked who the best NBA2K player is in the team, Clayton Jr. did not hesitate.

“By far,” he said. “No doubt. I gave up video games in this last month to join this run, but we played (last week).

This claim corresponds perfectly, as Condon said that Clayton Jr. reacted last weekend: “He sucks the loss.”

That also sounds like Curry.

(Photo by Walter Clayton Jr.: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)