Tag: Walter Clayton Jr.

Three key takeaways from Florida basketball’s win over Virginia

The Gators have opened their season with nine straight wins for the first time since 2005.

Florida basketball continued its hot start to the season with an 87-69 win over the Virginia Cavaliers in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Wednesday night inside the O’Connell Center.

After falling behind 18-9 early, the Gators rallied with determination, clawing their way back into the game before seizing control and turning up the pressure. It was a pivotal early-season test for head coach Todd Golden and his squad, as they sought to make a statement and build on their strong start to the season.

Florida leaned on standout performances from Walter Clayton Jr. and Alex Condon, as well as key contributions from their bench, to get the win. As a result of the midweek victory, the Gators are off to a 9-0 start to the year for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Here are three key takeaways from Florida’s win over Virginia.

Clayton and Condon steer the ship

Clayton and Condon led the charge for Florida, combining for 46 points. The former showcased his scoring ability, pouring in a game-high 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting, including five three-pointers, adding four assists and two steals.

Condon provided a strong inside presence, contributing 19 points on an efficient 7-for-8 from the field while pulling down eight rebounds — including five on the offensive glass. He also played well defensively, tallying two steals and a block.

Gators’ bench provided a spark

Florida’s bench provided a much-needed spark in the game, particularly in the first half, led by junior guard Denzel Aberdeen. The junior had 12 points on a 4-for-5 shooting effort — including a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc — in 21 minutes of action.

Sam Alexis also contributed valuable minutes grabbing six rebounds and adding physicality on both ends of the floor.

This kind of depth not only gives Golden more flexibility in rotations but also underscores the team’s ability to find contributions from up and down the roster.

Defense forcing turnovers

Florida’s defensive intensity was on full display as the Gators forced Virginia into 15 turnovers — a key factor in their victory. Aggressive on-ball pressure and active hands disrupted the Cavaliers’ offensive flow, creating opportunities for transition and quick scoring chances.

The Gators’ ability to force mistakes prevented the Cavaliers from gaining consistent momentum. The 15 turnovers translated into crucial stops and kept Florida in control during key stretches of the game.

Florida converted Virginia’s turnovers into 20 points, providing a crucial boost to their offensive output and helping to secure the victory.

Up next for Florida

The Gators will play against the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday, Dec. 14 as part of the Holiday Hoopsgiving Event in Atlanta, Georgia. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on SEC Network.

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‘We feel good’: Todd Golden previews Florida basketball season

Gators men’s basketball coach Todd Golden likes where the team’s at leading up to the season-opener.

Florida men’s basketball head coach Todd Golden shared an optimistic outlook on his team’s progress on Thursday, praising his players’ effort, commitment and development during a very productive training camp.

Entering his third year with the Gators, Golden emphasized the depth of the team’s roster as well as the team’s balanced offensive potential and ability to perform under pressure. With a focus on reaching top-40 defensive status, Golden is confident that Florida will shape into a strong, cohesive group poised for success as they prepare for their season-opening game against South Florida on Nov. 4.

Golden met with the media on Thursday and these are some things to take away from what he said.

Feelings on where the team’s at right now

“We feel good about where we’re at. I think we’ve had a good training camp. Feel like the guys have done a really good job of working collectively towards being ready to go for the beginning of the year. I thought we weren’t necessarily great in our first scrimmage, some positive things, but some things we need to do better.

“I thought we were better this past Saturday, just more complete, a little more physical, better on the glass. Looked more like the group that we want to be over the course of the year. So I think we’re tracking, but until we play the real games, TBD.”

The health of the team

“We’re in pretty good shape. I think as of today, we’ll have everybody lined up and ready to go for next week. Obviously, it’s end of training camp. Guys have bumps and bruises, some some soreness here and there. But overall, big picture we’re in good shape heading into the opener.”

Alijah Martin’s preseason performance vs. Charleston

“He played fantastic, obviously, was very efficient. I thought was impactful, not just scoring the ball, though, in all areas, did a great job defending and getting on the glass. And that’s kind of the benefit of having that perimeter with Walt (Clayton Jr.), Will (Richard), Alijah (Martin), Denzel (Aberdeen).

“These guys are all potent. They can all get you 20 (points) on any given night. Just having the ability to take advantage of a matchup where maybe a weaker defender is guarding one of those guys is going to benefit us all year. They’ve continued to be unselfish and play together.

“Saturday was Alijah’s turn. Monday, it could be Will’s or Walt’s or Denzel’s. We’ll see what it looks like. But I really think that’s going to be kind of the most important part of our success this season is that those guys continue to be unselfish. If they do that, we should be fine.”

Striving to be just as good on defense as on offense

“Just continuing to build off of our offensive success last year and, like we’ve talked about a lot, just making sure we can get in the ballpark defensively of being a really good team. Our goal internally is to be a top-40 defense. I think we were 91 or two or three on KenPom so that’s a big jump. That’s not going to be easy to do.

“But, I do think if we’re able to accomplish that, it will give us a good landing spot for where we want to go. Obviously, the defensive side of the ball being much better but without sacrificing any of the growth we’ve made on the offensive side of the ball.”

Feeling good on the team’s depth

“Yeah, I am. I think our roster’s continued to improve every year. I think depth is something that we have this year, obviously. We gotta stay healthy also. That’s really important. But guys like Kajus (Kublickas) now being a second year player. I feel better about his ability to help us in games.

“Isaiah Brown is a playable freshman. He’s a guy that’s capable. He’s behind some really talented older guys in front of him, but if we had an injury or if we had an issue, I think Isaiah could be more than serviceable out there and our front court’s deep right now with those four guys. So I feel good about that. But you can never have enough, for sure.”

Walter Clayton’s preseason accolades

“He’s been great. I think Walt (Clayton) is a guy that has a lot of confidence regardless. I think whether he was named preseason Naismith or not, he was going to be very confident in his abilities in a good way. So I think he takes it in stride.

“I think he appreciates the recognition, but he understands that at the end of the day, it’s more important to be on that list at the end of the year than it is at the beginning. And it’s gonna be very important that our team has a lot of success for him to continue to be recognized as well as other guys in a program like Will or Elijah.”

Florida basketball season opener

The Gators will face the South Florida Bulls in the Jacksonville Sports Foundation Invitational to open the schedule on Monday, Nov. 4 in Jacksonville. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network and can be heard on the Gators Sports Network.

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Gators star guard declares for NBA draft, might return to Florida

This Gators guard definitely has the chops for the pros but he could come back for one more season if things don’t pan out.

The news that the Gator Nation has been waiting for finally dropped on Monday when Florida basketball’s standout guard Walter Clayton Jr. announced his intention to enter the 2024 NBA draft.

However, if things do not work out, he noted that he will return “to no other than the University of Florida” for his senior collegiate season.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 195-pound guard, who is originally from Lakeland, Florida, returned to his home state last year through the transfer portal after two seasons under Rick Pitino with the Iona Gaels. There, he won the MAAC Player of the Year award in his sophomore campaign after leading his team to regular season and conference tournament titles.

He blossomed further under Todd Golden’s tutelage, picking up where he left off when he arrived in Gainesville in March 2023. Clayton averaged 17.6 points per game, including 36.5% from beyond the arc (in 255 attempts), giving him the highest season scoring average by a Gator since Anthony Roberson (17.9, 2003-04) and the fifth-best in school history.

The junior’s efforts earned him second-team All-SEC honors for the regular season while grabbing an All-SEC Tournament Team mention as well. He tied a program record with 42 consecutive free throws made and had a top-10 single-season UF free throw percentage of .877.

Clayton scored at least 20 points in nine of the final 14 games, including the postseason, for a total of 15 such performances over the 2023-24 campaign. The guard dropped a career-high 33 points in the NCAA Tournament against the Colorado Buffaloes — the second-most ever by a Gator in March Madness play.

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Recap: Auburn blitzed by Florida for third SEC loss

The game was never close as Auburn suffered its worst loss of the year.

That was a mess.

Coming off their biggest win of the season, the No. 11 Auburn Tigers came out flatter than the head of a Florida alligator on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville and eventually fell to the host Florida Gators, 81-65.

Bruce Pearl’s team never had a chance to breathe against a phenomenal Florida offensive attack led by star guard Walter Clayton Jr.

The junior and the rest of the Gators shot well over a 50% clip from the field in the first half. Those made shots came early and often, as the Gators jumped out to an early 9-2 lead that became double digits just six minutes into the contest.

From there, the rout was on. Auburn’s offense simply could not keep up with forwards [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] going colder from the field than your Super Bowl spread by the third quarter.

Whenever Auburn’s top scoring duo combines for just 18 points, its going to be tough sledding against any opponent, especially one as potent as Florida.

The blowout loss continues a concerning trend for the Tigers of bad offense in true road games. [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] and company seemingly fixed their struggles last week against Ole Miss, but that game is now looking like more of an outlier than the norm.

Either way, the Tigers will need to regroup quickly to prepare for another Quad 1 opportunity when they host SEC-leader South Carolina on Wednesday.

As for Florida, the Gators are almost certain to claim an NCAA Tournament bid after another dominant performance. They’ll have the chance to distance themselves further from the bubble on Tuesday against LSU.

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