Walton Clayton Jr makes his feelings clear on lacklustre night vs Houston in the NCAA Finals

Modified Apr 08, 2025 04:32 GMT

NCAA Basketball: Final Four National Championship-Houston vs Florida - Source: Imagn — Walter Clayton Jr. in the win over Houston. - Source: Bob Donnan, Imagn

Florida Gators' Walter Clayton Jr. is capping off his red-hot 2025 March Madness run with a national championship on Monday, April 7. He and his team stayed in the hunt, despite the early struggles, and eventually won 65-63 against the Houston Cougars in the NCAA national title game.

Clayton Jr., coming off of a historic back-to-back 30-point outing in the winner-take-all tourney, struggled early on. But he came alive in the second half to help the Todd Golden-coached squad by finishing with 11 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and two stocks (steals plus blocks) in 35 minutes of action.

During the post-game national trophy presentation, basketball analyst Ernie Johnson asked Clayton Jr. how he overcame a lackluster first half. For the spitfire scorer, it was all about team synergy.

"Man, we been saying it all year, man. Our motto is, 'We all can go.' We have a team full of guys that can go. It ain't just by me. We got multiple guys on that go get a bucket and do anything. So, my team held me down until I was able to put the ball in the basket. Shoutout to them boys!," Clayton Jr. explained. (3:23)

The Lake Wales, Florida native also let out an awe-inspiring message to the Alamodome crowd.

"Hey, man. Gator nation, man, we appreciate y'all. All the hard workewe put in together, came to fruition. We've done this road, man. Shoutout Gator nation, go boys, stay hot!," Clayton Jr. said. (3:08)

This is Florida's first national title since they won consecutive national championships in 2006 and 2007 with Al Horford and Joakim Noah. Clayton Jr. and Co. finished the 2024-2025 season with an overall record of 36-4, 14-4 during conference play, as they also bagged the 2025 SEC tournament title earlier in the year.

Walter Clayton Jr. is named as the 2025 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player

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For his outstandng efforts in the 2025 NCAA national tournament, with his back-to-back 30-point outings and more, Walter Clayton Jr. was named as this year's March Madness Most Outstanding Player. He netted averages of 22.3 markers, 3.3 boards, 3.3 assists en route to winning his first national title.

In his fourth season of college basketball, second with the Florida Gators, Clayton Jr. tallied 18.5 points, 3.7 caroms, 4.1 dimes and 1.2 steals per contest. There is no word yet on whether he is going declare for the 2025 NBA Draft or play out his final year of collegiate eligibility.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash