BARTOW, Fla. – The Florida Gators will face off against the Houston Cougars for the National Championship Title Game. The player making all the difference is Walter Clayton Jr., a native of Lake Wales, who has led the Gators to their first title game since 2007. Bartow High School basketball coach talks Walter Clayton Jr., […]
BARTOW, Fla. – The Florida Gators will face off against the Houston Cougars for the National Championship Title Game.
The player making all the difference is Walter Clayton Jr., a native of Lake Wales, who has led the Gators to their first title game since 2007.
Bartow High School basketball coach talks Walter Clayton Jr., National Title.
The backstory:
Clayton Jr. was a point guard for the Bartow High School Yellow Jackets in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Head Coach Terrence McGriff says Clayton helped lead the team to back-to-back state championships.
He describes him as a fearless and unselfish player.
“He was a great communicator, so he wasn’t one of these guys who was up here, and everybody was down here, and the guys didn’t like him. He’s able to unify people,” said McGriff. “It’s his gift from the Lord. He’s able to unify a team.”
Clayton’s first sport wasn’t basketball. It was football which McGriff says made him work even harder to get to where he is now.
Courtesy: Bartow Basketball.
What they’re saying:
“It was a big gamble, and he had to work on the skill because basketball – the shooting that you see and the ball handling- you have to rep on it,” said McGriff. “So he wanted to focus on that, and he wasn’t quite ready for the college coaches. He wasn’t as polished as he is now.”
Now he’s ready for the moment.
Arguably the best player in the tournament, Clayton Jr., an Associated Press first-team All-American guard, is averaging more than 20 points per game since the start of March Madness.
“His ability to shoot the ball, both catch and shoot and shoot off the dribble and shoot contested shots has just gotten better,” said McGriff.
McGriff says no matter how the game goes Monday night, Clayton Jr. can already be considered a legend, especially for Florida Men’s Basketball.
“If he wins the National Championship, and he’s got to win it, I think they’ll put a statue of him like they do of Tim Tebow.”
McGriff will be in the stands tonight cheering on his former player in San Antonio, Texas. The championship game starts Monday night at 8:50 p.m.
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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Carla Bayron.
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