Gators host a top-10 transfer nationally on official visit this weekend
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — One of the nation’s top transfers, Walter Clayton Jr., is set to visit the Florida Gators. Clayton will officially visit UF this weekend, he told On3’s Joe Tipton on Thursday.
The former Iona point guard and MAAC Player of the Year entered the transfer portal Tuesday after Gaels coach Rick Pitino left for the St. John’s job. Walter Clayton spent two seasons at Iona.
Clayton averaged 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Gaels, leading them to a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He also led the country with a 95.3 free throw percentage.
Clayton is also planning to officially visit Pitino and St. John’s next week, according to Zach Braziller of the New York Post, and his decision will come down to those two programs.
“It’s really just between St. John’s and Florida, to be honest,” Clayton said to the NY Post. “My mind is either going back down south or coming with Coach P.”
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Clayton is ranked No. 10 nationally in the On3 transfer portal player rankings. He will have two years of college eligibility remaining at his next school.
Background on Walter Clayton Jr.
After starting four games as a freshman, Clayton made 31 starts last year and averaged 30.4 minutes per game. He finished in double figures 27 times and scored 20 or more points in 12 games.
Clayton’s 2022-23 season was highlighted by a career-high 30 points at Niagara and a 22-point performance in a rematch against the Purple Eagles in the MAAC Championship Game.
Clayton is from Lake Wales, Florida and attended Bartow High School, where he was a dual-sport athlete in basketball and football. He now has an opportunity to return to his home state at UF.
“He was heavily recruited by Power 5 schools like Notre Dame, Georgia, and Florida as a quarterback and wide receiver,” Pitino said when he signed Clayton. “He chose Iona because basketball is his first love. At 6-2, Walter has good size and distributes the ball very well. He comes from an outstanding Bartow program that went 31-1 (in 2021).”
Todd Golden on his offseason approach
Following Florida’s loss to UCF in the NIT, coach Todd Golden reflected on his first year with the Gators and discussed how he wants to attack the offseason with his staff.
“It’s been a long year,” Golden said after the Gators’ last game. “After playing in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, the day after that we finalized this opportunity (with Florida) and I feel like we haven’t stopped since then. So, getting 24-48 hours to just kind of take a deep breath and gather ourselves and then kind of evaluate our processes, see what worked this year, what didn’t.
“The roster is going to be important. We’ll kind of take a look at everybody that’s available and out there and evaluate and jump on the ones that we think can help us win and continue to build the program. Obviously a really tough way to end the year, but I think some good foundational things were laid and we had some really good efforts this year that we can build as we move forward.”
