SAN ANTONIO -- In a different universe, Walter Clayton Jr. might have led Rick Pitino and St. John’s to the Final Four.
When Clayton transferred from Iona following the 2022-23 season, he was close to following Pitino to St. John’s.
“Very, very close,” Clayton told NJ Advance Media in the Florida locker room at the Final Four after playing EA Sports College Football 25 with his teammates. “It was like a 50/50. And then I found out my daughter’s on the way and that kind of shifted a lot.”
Clayton’s daughter, Leilani Leigh Clayton, was born in December, and Clayton, a Florida native, felt he had to be closer to her. Still it was neck-and-neck between St. John’s and Florida and the Gators had to close the deal late.
“It’s really hard to beat Rick Pitino, man,” Florida coach Todd Golden said here Thursday. Golden said he and associate head coach Korey McCray flew up to meet with Clayton on Easter Sunday in 2023 to “reconfirm our vision” for Clayton and he committed that night. Golden joked that he is Jewish, and it was fortunate that he was not busy on that Easter.
“Obviously, I’m really glad we got on that plane, it was well worth it,” Golden added.
The 6-foot-3 Clayton has been brilliant this season for the Gators, who meet Auburn here in an all-SEC matchup in the Final Four on Saturday. He’s averaging 18.1 points, 4.2 assists and 3.6 rebounds and was named a first-team All-America selection despite battling an ankle injury during the season.
He went for 30 points and 4 assists in Florida’s 84-79 win over Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. He had an alley-oop slam to put Florida up 10 late.
Meantime, his draft stock is in the rise and he may have played himself into the first round of the NBA Draft.
“He was, if not the best, one of the best guards in America,” Golden said here Thursday. “He certainly displayed that over the back half of the season as well.”
Said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl: “Walter Clayton has been the best guard on the floor almost every night.”
Had he gone to St. John’s, Clayton would have played alongside Kadary Richmond, the Seton Hall transfer.
“Kadary was the Big East MVP, you know that I think that,” Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News told NJ Advance Media. “But Walter would have given them what they lacked, the ability to shoot from that position that they didn’t have really strong at any position and then obviously he has shown an aptitude for this position.”
St. John’s, of course, was knocked out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as a 2 seed by Arkansas when Pitino benched RJ Luis down the stretch. Luis, the Big East Player of the Year and MOP of the Big East Tournament, has since entered the transfer portal and declared for the NBA Draft, while Pitino stands by his decision.
“100 percent the right decision not playing RJ Luis in that game,” Pitino said in the new episode of the VICE Sports doc “Pitino: Red Storm Rising.”
As for Clayton, he is looking to lead Florida to its first NCAA title game appearance since the Gators won back-to-back titles in 2006-7 under Billy Donovan.
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And Pitino has reached out to offer good luck to Clayton.
“I talked to him a little bit recently,” Clayton said.
And of course, Clayton feels he made the right call choosing Florida over St. John’s.
“Yes, sir, for sure,” Clayton said. “It definitely was the right decision.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.