Walter Clayton Jr. makes his feelings clear on locking down Emanuel Sharp in final play to seal NCAA title for Florida

Florida star Walter Clayton Jr. was instrumental in the No. 1-seeded Gators' 65-63 win over the No. 1-seeded Houston Cougars in the national championship game on Monday evening. Clayton Jr., who has been solid in the NCAA Tournament, tallied 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

Clayton struggled to score, remaining scoreless in the first 25 minutes of the game. But he did a good defensive job on Cougars star Emanuel Sharp and was responsible for the game's defining moment after the Gators had mounted their comeback. Clayton played defense on Sharp, forcing him to pump fake and throw the ball on the ground, leading to the turnover that won Florida the natty.

During his postgame news conference, Walter Clayton broke down the thought process behind his defensive action on Sharp that closed out the win for the Gators (3:50).

"Coach had said that they'd try to get it to (LJ) Cryer or Roberts, and Sharp was kinda creeping to the baseline," Clayton said. "So, I'm yelling 'baseline' to Doe (Condal), and Sharp ended up slipping it, and they set an elevator screen. So, I just went out there, you know. We worked on it in practice, just closing out and jumping to the side so you don't foul the shooter.

"So, he kind of pump-faked and ended up throwing the ball down, ended up being a good play, and Doe got on the ball and we ended up winning the game."

Walter Clayton Jr. recovered from shooting woes to win natty

Against the Auburn Tigers in the Final Four, Walter Clayton Jr. became the only player since Larry Bird to tally 30+ points in the Elite Eight and Final Four. After missing all of his shots in the first half of the national championship game against the Houston Cougars, the Florida guard stepped up in the second half. He scored 11 points while adding three rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.

During his postgame news conference, he mentioned how he dealt with his cold shooting as the game progressed.

“We all can go,” Clayton said. “I understand that if it ain't my night, somebody going to pick me up. We understand we all just picking each other up throughout the year, man.”

In the end, after carrying his team to the national championship game, Walter Clayton got help from his talented teammates. Will Richard dropped 18 points while freshman Alex Condon added 12 points.